Review on Lisle 51250 Spark Plug Puller by Leon Johnsson

I bought this spark plug wire puller for a non-standard application: to make it easier to remove the glow plug/cylinder pressure sensor connectors on my 2010 VW Jetta Sportwagon CR (Common Rail Diesel). )TDi. For those who want a Twitter-style answer on how well this works: It works very well. For the rest of you who need more information, the glow plugs on 4 cylinder CR TDi diesel engines are in pretty much the same place as the spark plugs. in a modern 4-cylinder DOHC gas engine - both the spark plug and the sensors are removed and installed in the same way as a spark plug. The problem with VW/Audi CR TDi engines is that the hard plastic boot/glow plug/cylinder pressure sensor connector is notoriously difficult to remove and the VW/Audi (VAG) OEM special tool for removing the connector is not cheap. This tool from Lisle costs about $10 and makes removing the plug easier—and more importantly; It removes the connector without damaging it. The low price makes this an even better deal; especially since sensors/connectors are usually replaced every 80,000-120,000 miles or so. There are far fewer problems when an effective tool is inexpensive, especially if the tool is used only a few times over the life of the vehicle. When one of my sensors failed, I went online to find out how to replace it. . There have been some people who have tried the trunk puller with pliers and damaged the hard plastic connector on their car. Several DIY videos show people using a modified flathead screwdriver to pry off the bottom of the connector, but warn that this method can damage the connector. Given that a damaged plug is an expensive repair, I didn't want to use a risky method to save $80 on a custom tool, especially when the repair would cost more than an OEM tool. However, I wanted to consider sensible options to avoid buying an unnecessarily expensive OEM tool. I bought this puller after considering several other options. Initially, the low price of just under $10 was low enough to buy it to see if it works - and to my surprise, it works great (better than I imagined). This design works so well with the CR TDi glow plug/sensor connector because it provides even pressure around the center of the connector mount. It works very well in the tight space inside the glow plug well in the valve cover and easily maneuvers between the valve cover and fuel rail. Best of all (aside from being a lot cheaper than the VW/Audi (VAG) part - and just as effective): no modifications required.