Second Hand Alfa Romeo 159 Glow Plugs

Yes, glow plugs are a diesel-only component, so they only exist on 159s fitted with a diesel engine – the 1.9 JTDm, 2.0 JTDm, 2.4 JTDm, and 3.2 JTS V6 diesel variants. If your 159 has a petrol engine (the 1.8, 2.2, or 3.2 JTS petrol), it will never have had glow plugs and what you may actually need is spark plugs instead. Check your V5 logbook or run a VIN check to confirm your fuel type before searching.

The Alfa Romeo 159 ran as a single generation from 2005 to 2011, with a facelift in 2008, so on the face of it the generation is the same throughout. However, fitment of glow plugs is governed primarily by engine code rather than model year – a 1.9 JTDm from 2006 and a 1.9 JTDm from 2010 are likely to use the same plug, but mid-production engineering changes can affect compatibility, so you should confirm the engine code from your V5 and check it against the donor car's code with the breaker before buying.

The 2008 facelift on the Alfa Romeo 159 was largely cosmetic and trim-focused, and the core diesel engine family carried over, so the facelift year alone is unlikely to change the glow plug specification. What matters far more is whether the engine code on your V5 matches the donor car's engine code – particularly given that the 1.9 JTDm was updated in power outputs over the production run. Confirm the exact engine code with the breaker rather than relying on the facelift year as a guide.

Trim level makes no difference whatsoever to glow plug fitment on the Alfa Romeo 159 – Lusso, Turismo, and Veloce are trim grades affecting interior, equipment, and cosmetics, not the engine. What determines the correct glow plug is your engine code (for example 939A2 for the 1.9 JTDm), which you'll find on your V5 or via a VIN check. Give the breaker your engine code and they can match the part correctly regardless of which trim your car is.

The number of glow plugs matches the number of cylinders, so a 1.9 JTDm or 2.0 JTDm four-cylinder needs four glow plugs, while the 2.4 JTDm five-cylinder needs five. Breakers often sell them individually from stripped engines, so tell the breaker your engine code and how many you need to make sure you're quoted correctly. It's worth replacing all of them at once on a high-mileage used set rather than mixing old and new.

If the Brera or Spider donor car shares the exact same engine code as your 159 – for example both running the 1.9 JTDm – the glow plugs themselves are an engine-specific component and are likely to interchange, since the plugs serve the block rather than the bodyshell. However, you should confirm this with the breaker against both registration numbers, as ancillary specifications can vary even between models sharing an engine family. Supplying both engine codes gives the breaker the best chance of confirming a match before you commit.