Changing glow plug after break-in?

[jpsonoma]

I've heard people say to just throw away the glow plug and put in a new one after your finished breaking in an engine. Is this true, and if so why? I've had a few engines and never changed the glow plug after break in, and they have all worked just fine. but i just recently bought an OS .18 cvr, and broke it in, but it always takes a while to get it started. It doesn't matter if it's cold or hot, it still takes at least 8 pulls to get it to fire. My old TRX 2.5 would fire on the first pull every time, hot or cold. Once the OS is started it runs great, and never stalls, but if it runs out of gas it will be hard to start again. Any sugestions? i guess thats where my question comes in, could it be the glow plug? thanks in advance.

 

[HeartBreak]

Personally, I change them out after every gallon. It's cheap insurance, and ensures a well running engine.

Now, your problem sounds more like a priming/possible air leak problem than a plug problem. Have you checked your temperatures?

 

[jpsonoma]

I don't have a temp gauge, so I'm not sure on exact temps. But it seems to be fine, it has never over heated. It's got smoke, in fact it's slightly rich on the low end. Like I said the engine runs great, never stalls, lots of compression. Everythings great when it's running. I don't have a primer on my tank so I hold my finger over the stinger opening and pull the recoil a few times to prime it. But I'm still wondering what people have to say about replacing the glow plug after break in?

 

[HeartBreak]

I do that too - sorry, minor brain fart. :smoke:

The main reason being that during breakin, your needle settings are so rich, that it can distort, and therefore weaken your coil.

Same thing with running a clogged air filter - does nothing but make the engine EXTREMELY rich and pop plugs left and right.

You'll definately want to invest in a temp gauge. They are hands down the most valuable tool you can get for your tool box.

 

[olds97_lss]

Also, during break-in, part of the reason to run rich is to flush out aluminum filings that are in the crank case from milling it. You'd be surprised how much crap is in there that we crank through brand new engines. Anyway, the aluminum filings have a tendency to stick to the heater wire in the plug when it's hot which takes away from it's performance and reliability and can make it fail or hard to start prematurely.

Ever since I pulled an engine apart before starting it once (my third engine) just to look inside to see if anything was wrong, I now pull all my engines apart and take them completely apart. I take the head off, piston out, crank out and the carb apart. I wash everything thouroughly with a bath of DA, then I clean as much as I can internally with DA and a q-tip. You would be very suprised at how much crap I've found in my engines.

OS seems to be the worst out of Omega, Orion, TRX 2.5 and OS for some reason.

 

[rbmaxxbasher]

I do the same on my engines. both omega engines i've gotton (x3 and x2 in that order) were very clean engines out of the box.

As far as my glow plugs are concerned, they get changed when they are bad. I always keep an A3, A5 and an 8 in my box. My engines all start on the first pull.

 

[Pinblaster]

I started out with used equipment when I started messing with Nitro's and pulled the engines apart to clean and inspect them before running. After reading an article about filings being left in the mils from the factories and the need to seal the crank case up good to prevent air leaks, I pull all of my engines apart (new or used) and clean and reseal. I use automotive carb cleaner and an air compressor to clean with and ultra copper to seal them up.

As for the glow plugs, I've had to replace them after break-in and running about 3 or 4 tanks once I had it tuned. The plugs will either deform or will have heavy carbon fouling on the first 2 coils. Both will cause hard starts.

 

[aj200415]

not to steal this thread, but can you clean plugs as long as the coil is not deformed, i was thinking like soaking them in like DA or some other cleaner?

 

[rbmaxxbasher]

anyone else here ever wonder why glow plugs cost more than spark plugs in a 1:1?

 

[Mr T-Maxx]

anyone else here ever wonder why glow plugs cost more than spark plugs in a 1:1?

Supply and demand.

There are probably 100 spark plugs manufactured and sold to every 1 glow plug.



Mr T

 

[Pinblaster]

not to steal this thread, but can you clean plugs as long as the coil is not deformed, i was thinking like soaking them in like DA or some other cleaner?

If you are going to soak them in something to clean them I recomend using M.E.K., Its in the same isle as the thinner and DA at your local hardware store. DO NOT USE M.E.K. on plastic or anything else you don't want the finish striped off of. Wear Gloves and keep your skin out of it. It will draw any other chem's right into your blood stream through your skin. Also only use it in well vented areas. IF you drink a few beers or alcohol after breathing it, you will have a hang over and head ache from hell.

I haven't tried the M.E.K. yet but I have used an X-acto knife to scrape the carbon off the tip coils of a couple of GP's and got a little more life out of them.

 

[jpsonoma]

Thanks for all the tips guys, maybe I will try a new plug and see how it goes. I've never thought about takeing an engine apart when it was new, but I might take it into cosideration now that I've heard some of the reasons for it. Thanks again.