Westerbeke Glow Plug (Informational)

[VJameslanza]

We have a Westerbeke 5.0 BCDB GenSet in our Taiwan Trawler (Albin). I've come upon a problem twice in the last week regarding parts. Apparently many (all?) of the Taiwan builders utilized 'European' motors, which have many different parts than the American-built motors.

I had to replace a circuit breaker, built by Carling Switch. The part number was clearly printed on the part, but none of the distributors for Westerbeke were able to find the part, telling me it didn't exist. I located the correct part from Hansen Marine in Mass. Their parts guy (Steve) realized when I told him that it was a 20 Amp breaker that it was a European part, and was able to provide the exact replacement part. Kudos, to Steve at Hansen.

Well, turns out that the glow plugs (Champion CH-152) all had to be replaced, and yes, they're 'European' as well (Westerbeke part 36961 $ 59.00 each). Champion informed me that the parts were not available in North America (except through Westerbeke apparently for the aforementioned outrageous price of $59.00!). Preferring to buy from an American distributor, I found JEGS, a performance auto parts company. They are able to provide the glow plugs for the paltry( I know, not really) sum of only $ 21.99 each, a grand total of $75.00 with shipping). I know that Westerbeke historically charge exorbitant prices, but that shouldn't keep us from locating the same part at a better price. If you have any 'Hints' on obtaining parts, let us know.

Jim
M/V Encore
Albin 40 Sundeck

 

[Jeff F]

I bought a set last year from these guys in England, they were very inexpensive, less than US$10 each including shipping.

http://www.gsparkplug.com

 

[Jeff F]

I got NGK Y145T. That's what was on my 1991 5.0 BCD. Had a hard time finding any cross reference on these.

 

[Lepke]

Any glow plug that fits and is the correct voltage will generally work. I've installed glow plugs on several engines that didn't come with them. They can be bigger as long as they don't interfere with the air flow and have adequate wiring.
If you take an old plug to a good parts store or tractor supply they can match them. I usually pay $4-5 each.

 

[Jeff F]

Any glow plug that fits and is the correct voltage will generally work. I've installed glow plugs on several engines that didn't come with them. They can be bigger as long as they don't interfere with the air flow and have adequate wiring.
If you take an old plug to a good parts store or tractor supply they can match them. I usually pay $4-5 each.

Completely agree. I thought about this today and would bet big money that any 10-11 v plug with the right thread (M10 1.25mm) and the right length element - mine is 24.5 - would do fine service. I can't see that anything else matters. I dunno whether the element length is critical for us, but I'd be cautious going longer.

Save yourself some effort and try it out!