Life of Glow Plug/Transmission Service Question - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

bostondiesel · #1 01-05-2009, 08:38 AM

Just replaced all five glow plugs on the 83 300D and was wondering if anyone knows or has an idea what mileage they should be changed at down the road, just curious on their estimated life. I know they could go very far, or some could die before others, just a general idea on their life would be great! Was also wondering on trnasmission service, it's an automatic, not sure when last service was done, when and what should be done as far as maintenance on it? Any ideas?

#2 01-05-2009, 08:42 AM

There is no mileage since the number (and duration) of uses in a given distance can be drastically different from driver to driver. Anything from 1 year to multiple decades is normal. Brand name plays a big part in lifespan; Autolite is trash while Beru and Bosch are the best.

AT service is every 25-30k miles. Drain the pan oil, replace the filter and drain the torque converter. There are guides to doing it on the forum.

TimFreeh · #3 01-05-2009, 09:01 AM

I agree with Forced - but to amplify the point he made in the frist sentence.

The life of the plugs, to a large extent, is determined by how many times they are used. Short drive cycles will increase the number of times the plugs are used, people that drive the cars longer distances between engine starts will see longer service lives from their plugs. As Lance points out that can be a year for a frequently used car driven short distances in the city or several decades for a car that is infrequently driven and used mainly for highway service.

My average based on two decades of MB Diesel ownership is that a set of plugs will last 4-5 years before they begin to fail. For the kind of driving I do that's about 70-90K miles.