Just to beat the drum, owner sold the truck due to starting issues, "had recently had the shop go through the GP system." Worked for a while, then back on the ether train....

New Motorcraft/Beru and started first cycle of the GP controller.All 8 Autolites bench tested dead. Two were broken at the spade connector, and one was a bear to get out...

So, a new to me, 148K mile super cab 4x4 XLT that is straight as an arrow and the A/C even works......

I almost feel bad....

 

That controller's probably going out then, it stayed on too long and killed the GPs, been there, done that.

Got my next controller from IH, never had a problem again.

 

Autolites dont last with a good controller. total junk.

 

I never had a problem with them, ran them for more years than many people keep their trucks.

 

I'm a newbie, but I agree with TypeFour. When I first got my truck 4 years ago, the previous owner told me that the GPs had just been replaced. two months later in October when the weather started getting colder, the truck had a horrible time starting.

Determined that the 4-6month old GPs were bad and decided to replace them. Bought new Motorcraft GPs and replaced all 8 - the truck has been starting great ever since.

oh, and the scariest part was that when I was pulling the autolites, two of them had swelled so much that I had to use my fingers to turn and pull at the same time. Ended up with "score marks" on the GPs that looked like threads. I was extremely happy to get them out without breaking it off in the engine.

So my opinion autolite GP = crap! (stronger words apply, but this is a family friendly environment.)

 

They ALL fail. And we all have different experiences to report, I have never had an Autolite swell, but most of the Champions I've run across were badly swollen. But there is another member in these forums that swears by Champions, he loves them.

But the "Autolites are crap" phrase has been repeated so often that people blindly believe it without any personal experience one way or the other. After all, if something is repeated often enough it must be true, right?

I've posted pics here of Motorcrafts/Berus that have had the ends burned/broken off and people just give them a pass.

So the logic is:

If an Autolite fails it is crap.

If an Motorcraft/Beru fails it is the best damn plug you can buy.

If Autolites were as bad as the mantra repeated ad-nauseum in these forums they wouldn't be in business.

 

real world experience. 50 ford 7.3 IDI ambulances
bought 200 sets of autolite glow plugs because the price was rite.
within 6 months they were all burned out and in the garbage can.
the parts buyer then bought 200 sets of champion glow plugs because he was told they were better than both the autolites and motorcrafts.
within 2 months all 200 sets were in the garbage because they were dead, some not even working rite out of the box.
after that he listened and bought 200 sets of motorcraft ZD-9's
6 years later there were still 65 sets of glow plugs sitting on the parts room shelf when they sold the now 175 rigs and business to rural metro.

i think i can safely say from personal experience that autolite and champion glow plugs are not worth the money you throw away for them, and i will only use motorcraft/beru glow plugs in fords.

 

That's fine Tom, you're making that decision on your experience. My experience was different with the problem being the aftermarket controller, not the GP brand.

 

I suspect the Beru/Motorcraft GPs may handle overheating a bit better; probably, with a *properly working* system, you can run most anything. But I'd be surprised if most of these systems work correctly all the time -- We've got crummy controllers, poor grounds, etc.

Personally, I believe in old-style(spade connector) GPs, Beru or Wellman, with the resistor coil/solenoid from the later model and hooked up to a manual push button. Takes more like 20S to warm up, but less worry of overheating.

 

that may be the issue.
when it comes to the glow plug or cooling systems, i do not use anything aftermarket. ford or international only.

 

I agree with TJC, I currently have 2 autolite plugs in my left head that burned out and swelled the very first time power was applied to them. upon finding this I tested the other 2 still in box and they swelled as soon as 12v was aplied, instant swelling and the glow died.

Ken Hall

 

Ok, so I said autolites are crap, here is the experience ,I have removed roughly a dozen or so sets out of shuttle vans because the "manager" kept putting them in cause they were bought cheaply. Over half were swelled. 2 engines were lost because our so called mechanics just didnt get the remove them slow advice. I have never seen a beru swell, yes they do fail but no swell yet, bosch has been ok so far. Buddys truck with uhaul engine has wellmans in it, we shal see. I have no experience with champions.
Been wrenching professionally for over 35 years, I dont make random statements.
I am not a technician

 

Okay, I made a too general statement up there, I was not speaking of guys like you or Tom that have plenty of experience. I apologize if you were offended by my analysis up there.

The subject has been beat to death more than a million times, I'm willing to avoid the postmortem.

 

no offense taken here, just trying to share my hard earned experience.
since we can not see through the computer, i do not know if i am talking to a 15 year old or a 75 year old person.
sometimes ( ok, most of the time) i can come off as an "i know more than you" ***.
that is really not the meaning i am trying to get across though, i am just trying to impart some of my wisdom so you all do not make the same mistakes i made (sometimes more than a few times) and learned my lesson from.

 

Can't you guys just accept that I know more than all of you because I have a keyboard and I said so?