Pre-emptive answer to 30% of the upcoming month's threads.
 

Have you checked your glowplugs?

Yes when my indy did the head gasket he was good enough to check the plugs and he replaced two. However i'm still getting some rough starting (I think an injector is leaking and dropping fuel while the car sits overnight)

5 new bosch in February:)

Yes, all are ~.5 ohm.

Why does my heat not work :P

because you haven't checked your glow plugs!;)

all mine replaced 3 months ago. wee

I always change mine every October. Best month of the year. Baseball ends, Hockey starts! :D

Depends, what are the symptoms?

Maybe there needs to be a sticky about not starting & we can all refer those who ask about what is clearly a GP issue to it.

Hmmm - What is the expected life of a set of glow plugs if you start in the morning and then at the end of the workday to come home.? Probably depends on where you live, as they will be glowing longer for each start in the winter in a northern, colder climate than in a southern if you are in the northern hemisphere.

I am headed into my 5th winter with the glow plugs on my 84 and I have had no problems starting up to this point. I do not know when the PO replaced them.

There are definitely differences between brands, with forum members reporting various results. Glow plugs also seem to act something like incandescent light bulbs: some last forever and some fail early. Some folks change them all at once and others change them as they fail. Clearly, if you have to pay someone to change glow plugs for you, it's cheaper in labor cost to do them all at once.

It also depends on how much the glow plugs are used. My cars don't get driven a lot so the glow plugs seem to last for years. In 4 years the '85 never needed a glow plug, while the '87 and '96 have each needed two since I bought them (4 years for the '87 and 3 years for the '96).

Then there's the condition of your engine and the weather in your area. If you live in a mild climate and/or your engine is strong, you can get away with a bad glow plug or two. OTOH, folks with tired engines in cold climates must have good glow plugs (and a block heater, and a heated garage, and . . . ).

Jeremy

No.

Gee....I love being made to feel like an idiot...................

Valve adjustment, too. Can affect compression if too tight, and hard starting esp when cold ;) I just couldn't stay out of this one.