thanks for the reply,

the main bearing and front bearing were recently changed... just before i put it away for about a year.

the engine was oiled before i put it away.

the pipe i use is an old RB 2020 and manifold is medium length.

i'll go check on the shim thickness.

thanks again, can you think of any other reasons the glow plugs might be dying? they sometimes melt into a lump, sometimes just break inside. ( more melting into a lump though)

i use an adjustable glow plug heater like the one from Q-world. it connects to the 12 v battery, i've adjusted the voltage to barely glow the plug when starting cos one of mi mates said i might be pumping too much power through the plug. but the plugs are still dying..

i have a 1/10th onroad car as well with an os TZ engine. it runs perfectly well, no plug problems at all.

-alexander