Glow Plug Life Expectancy ??

[fidowanttobe]

How often do you all have to change your GP's?
For a 3 cyl engine it seems like 2 a year is irritating.
I don't rely on them hardly at all, under 40 degrees it is plugged in before I need the tractor and then don't use gp's.
I think it starts very easy above 60 without them, never been ethered, #1 in the winter, Hobb's fuel treatment always.
160 hrs on 2 gp's, maybe used them 20 times.
Yet this week I tested them with a test light and all 3 are dead.

 

[JJT]

25 years and 2000 hours on the originals for me. I did change the glow plug relay and controller this year.

 

[MoKelly]

25 years and 2000 hours on the originals for me. I did change the glow plug relay and controller this year.

That is great. I’m at 12 years and 1700 hours.

 

[chim]

Never needed to replace any:

Ford 1210 (1980's vintage, bought used w/ under 1000 hours in 1991) was main tractor for 110 years, still have it.

Kubota B7500HST - bought new in 2002, sold in 2012. Don't recall hours.

Kubota L3200HST - bought new in 2012, sold in 2019. 524 hours.

Kubota L4240HSTC - bought used in 2018 with 977 hours, currently around 1,500 hours.

 

[ruffdog]

My 1999 NH TC33D never had any GP's replaced. I had it for 20 years and always activated the GPs unless tractor was being restarted when warm.

 

[scott_vt]

How often do you all have to change your GP's?

Good Afternoon fidowanttobe,
I have a 1986 Massey Ferguson MF1040, about 2000 hours, still have the original GP's ! If its cold I have to have the plugs on for 30 seconds, if its warm its much shorter ! Tractor still runs great !

 

[4570Man]

Glow plugs should last decades and thousands of hours. If you’re burning them up annually then there’s an underlying problem.

 

[fidowanttobe]

So, . . . . .
Is it the copper anti-seize I put on them, too much torque installing, or just the quality of the gp?
They are fed with a 10 gauge wire, copper bus bar and a relay off the starter stud.
Dunno what 'm doing wrong. Can they be used not enough?? I know, sounds stupid.

 

[4570Man]

So, . . . . .
Is it the copper anti-seize I put on them, too much torque installing, or just the quality of the gp?
They are fed with a 10 gauge wire, copper bus bar and a relay off the starter stud.
Dunno what 'm doing wrong. Can they be used not enough?? I know, sounds stupid.

I guess it could be extremely substandard glow plugs but I’d guess they’re coming on more frequently than they should and burning up. The 3rd option is maybe they’re not actually burned out. I’d wire one up and stick it across the battery post for a reliable test.

 

[m7040]

The glow plugs on the Mercedes V6 diesel have failed periodically> they are very fragile and subject to breaking when removing. Have to let the engine warm up before attempting to remove so the differential expansion in the aluminum block works. The glow plugs on the Kubota diesels have never failed

 

[ruffdog]

After reading many threads about the subject of anti seize, I have seen no clear answer. Some say not to use anti seize at all, while other's recommend different types of anti seize. They all say not to goop it on thick or get it on the end.

 

[skipmarcy]

Had 225k miles on my '99 7.3 Ford before needing glowplugs, 2 crapped out about the same time. My 2001 Mahindra 4110 still has the originals at 3196 hrs.

 

[5030]

Glow plugs should last decades and thousands of hours. If you’re burning them up annually then there’s an underlying problem.

EXACTLY. The op has something that is causing GP failure. If operating correctly they should never have to be replaced.

In my case, 6000 hours on one M9 (new in 2002) and 4500 hours on the other (new in 2001) and they work just fine and I expect them to last basically forever.

 

[CaptPat]

Never had a glow plug fail on my 13 y/o B7800, or the Kubota engines in my zero turn or RV generator. I did have one glow plug fail in a Ford 350 Powerstroke at ~90,000 miles. I'd say GP failures are fairly rare.

 

[arrow]

Glow plugs fail for several reasons with high heat being the most predominant. Kinks in the inner coil can cause higher resistance and thus more heat. You change out your relay or gp controller at all?
Could be a substance in the fuel treatment you're using making ignition hotter and may erode the plug but primarily, a good dual coil glow plug should last for decades.
Cheap ones cannot and do not go the distance.

 

[Citydude]

could they be activated all the time as in never shut off?

 

[camshawn]

In my Mahindra 3616 the glow plugs lasted about 6 yrs and around 500 hrs if my memory is correct. Mine cycle every startup and I do lots of start and stop cycles.

 

[Williy]

Either you have something wrong with your system or
you need to change brand of glow plugs that you have
been using.
Are the gp's the same brand that don't last long?

willy