i used to change glow plugs every two years at the outside. the idea of waiting for failure seemed absurd to me
back when i had my VW, i'd changes points and spark plugs every 5k miles and the rest of the igntion components in short mileage spans as well . never had the slightest hint of an ignition problem i want the car to start every time without adventure. i can't get that by waiting for parts failure On Tue, Dec 3, 2013 at 9:03 PM, Curt Raymond <curtlud...@yahoo.com> wrote: > 10 years ago when I started driving a diesel full time (actually it was 10 > years ago next month) we had one of the coldest winters ever around these > parts, it hit -20F something like 5 mornings in a row which is unheard of. > After the second morning I had to roust Angie to drive the Dakota to drag > the 240D up and down the driveway to get it started I knew I needed a > better system. The car would start fine down to 0F (new battery, M1 0w40 > oil, new starter), at -10F it was iffy, at -20F forget it. It had a block > heater but we lived on the wrong side of the apartment building so I > couldn't get a cord to it. > > I went to Autozone by work and picked up a 110ah marine battery and a box > to put it in (which I use as a toolbox now). I'd haul that heavy bastard > down to the car from my third floor walkup, hook up my 400w inverter (some > people will say a 400w inverter won't do this job, they're wrong), plug in > the car, go back inside, shower and have breakfast. Go out and start the > car, haul the battery back inside and put it on the charger (this was a > REQUIRED step) and off to work. > > Then one day one of the glowplugs took a dump. Rusty got me a new set next > day and the weather cooperated, it warmed all the way up to 10F when I > replaced them, in the dark... > > Marshal used to argue that you only needed to replace the plugs as they > failed. I suspect he either had a heater garage or somebody to do the work > for him. Now at the FIRST SIGN of GP failure I swap 'em all. > > -Curt > > Date: Tue, 03 Dec 2013 19:26:45 -0500 > From: Larry T <l02tur...@comcast.net> > To: mercedes@okiebenz.com > Subject: Re: [MBZ] '78 240D Block Heater > Message-ID: <529e76c5.6020...@comcast.net> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed > > Hi Gang, > I guess I wanted the block heater to help start the car so I could > avoid a proper fix. i broke down and replaced all 4 GPs ; (I had a new > set on the shelf in the garage - duh) Normally the Richmond Va area > doesn't get so cold to need a pre-heater (teens is about as bad as it > gets) but as others mentioned, it's easier on a engine to pre-heat it. > Unless the cost of electricity get too outrageous, of course. anyway, > I replaced the 4 GPs and hit the key (waited about 15 secs.) And it > started _/instantly/_. I thought the engine was basically healthy - I > had rebuilt it about 50K mi ago with new pistons, cylinders, bearings, > etc - everything needed to make it a new engine except for a new > crankshaft and was very pleased at how easily it started once I had new > GPs - i'm glad to have it drivable again.... > > Thanks for all the suggestions.... now, it's time for a oil change.... > > Larry > Please Visit My AMSOIL Online Store: > http://www.amsoil.com/StoreFront/default.aspx?zo=5114156 > Oil Analysis Site - www.youroil.net > _______________________________________ > http://www.okiebenz.com > > To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ > > To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: > http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com > -- *reliable vendor of superior parts for mercedes and other european cars* *www.BuyEUROparts.com <http://www.BuyEUROparts.com>* _______________________________________ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
