I replaced the glow plugs and that solved the issue she has been firing right up for a few weeks now!
Owner reviews for glow plug
Then it was time for an oil change and new air filter, and new glow plugs. All of that stuff was easily sourced on either amazon or RockAuto.
From what I understand the afterglow on the Duraterms works because they self regulate voltage per each plug, not allowing them to burn out. It virtually eliminated rough idle on the cold start.
I have installed these in my 81 and they work very well. Start it up and let the plugs sit on for an additional 30-45 seconds.. pretty much does away with the rough cold starts.
As far as glow plugs, I would consider the following to be the better ones on the market: Bosch Beru Monark NGK
Two months ago I changed all the glow plugs with Bosch plugs. The glow system works great.
As for the correct plug, I got a set of bosch plugs for it - the part number was the same as the ones I took out, so I am assuming this is the correct plug.
Long before I read all that bad stuff online about the Ford crowd having trouble with autolite gp's I installed them in my 86 Golf and have been on the same gp's now for at least five years. I'm sure they need to be checked but I can't say much bad about them tbh.
Just a cautionary note for whatever you want to do with it. These will likely not be Bosch quality; could be Vespark from Taiwan or something from China.
Many many internet reports of people having terribly short glow plug lives with the Autolite version.
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