Diesel Fuel Question

[DanStokes]

A new event for me - two posts in one day.

Anyhow - I should get the new Diesel Dodge back from the shop today. Turns out that the "fuel issue" was that the inlet filter was completely plugged with wax. The engine was only drawing fuel from the connection point (about 3" off the bottom of the tank) where the screen body joined the main body of the pickup. I'll try to get pics later today - the parts are at Dave's shop. Because the screen was plugged, when the fuel got below the screen body joint the engine ran out of fuel even though there was quite a bit left in the tank.

BTW - the screen is not serviced separately and you have to replace the whole shootin' match to the tune of about $360 (and Dave's giving me a break on the parts price!). I plan to bring the pickup assembly home and see if I can figure out a way to clean it so I have a back up.

Now for my question - What should I use for a fuel treatment to keep the wax out of the system? I'm guessing some of you Diesel guys have used different products and have had varying results.

Thanks
Dan

[Barry Donovan]

howes. it is really good. my dad uses it the c15 cat etc etc.

I got the wax stuff in a boxer engined car...I have no clue what to do with it.
maybe paint thinner in the gas tank (toluene)

the diesel has its miracles because of the need in big business. Noone cares for cars and a quarter century.

howes really is no bullcrap. you may smell the cat if it has a problem, but it wins it eventually.

[TC]

You sure someone wasn't using home made Bio Diesel in that thing?? I know my friends Ford truck's fuel system was all gummed up after running that stuff.........

As for additives, I don't run any in the Duramax and I have over 60,000 miles on it and haven't had any problems, though I do like to run out to this one truck stop, where they filter the diesel before it goes into your vehicle......... Also truck stops are usually a little cheaper per gallon.........

[DanStokes]

Mine has 166+K miles and, of course, I have no history on it (except that there is no evidence of it ever having a chip). So who knows WHAT they ran thru it. I was speculating on whether they might have run non-road fuel - I think it's prone to more pariffins (wax). I know the on-road fuel has tighter standards on all kinds of components, not just sulfur. I'll burn the good stuff from here on out.

I'll look for the Howe's fuel conditioner. I haven't seen it around here but someone may sell it. And the truck stop tip is a good one too - I'll watch for the lowest prices for sure.

Dan

[Beagle]

wax and gel are apparently not that uncommon in winter fuels. The wax is supposed to increase cetane for easier cold start but goes out of suspension / coagulates when it's colder? I've seen algae attack, that is ugly expensive, but it's been a long time. I'm looking into it for my own junk Dan - I bet Milner has some input for you also.

I thought you were supposed to do a new fuel filter when you did the plugs and wires? :P

[realsteelfreak]

On road and off road diesel comes from the same tank at the loading point. The difference is when we choose to load On road or dyed diesel in our tankers is that the system adds a dye to the fuel and it is printedon the BOL that it is either on road or off road and the fines listed for misuse. It is also billed in the same manner.

[DanStokes]

Unfortunately, this is the in-tank unit. The external filter seemed OK but we changed it anyhow. In fact, in an effort to get to where we knew as much about this monster as possible, we changed EVERYTHING! The plugs and wires were OK but the rotor was in bad shape - changed it along with the chigglin pins (my Mom's fave car part).

Modern on-road is WAY lower in sulfur and I'm not sure about the other components. Non-road MAY be higher in sulfur but I suppose there is no rule requiring refiners to ADD sulfur to non-road. They may be choosing to provide low sulfur to both end users just to keep costs down and/or avoid handling errors. The advantage to high sulfur fuels is that they have greater lubricity and I understand that fuel system providers (Bosch, Stanadyne, etc.) have had to re-engineer parts to live with the lower lubricity. A lot of the Non-Road stuff is older and therefore doesn't have the tougher components and therefore might have a harder time with the low sulfur fuels.

Dan

[SpiderGearsMan]

welcome to the "low dollar" Diesel world ...stay away from biofuels..we charge 500 plus parts for dropping the tank ..if you leave it sit , use fuel treatment and check for water

[realsteelfreak]

Bio diesel at the pipline is only 5% bio mix

[TC]

Bio diesel at the pipline is only 5% bio mix

Not when your making it in your backyard like my friend was.......I believe he ran a 50/50 mix...........He even refined the Bio diesel to a point where you could just poor it in the tank and drive away, no heaters needed...........

[DanStokes]

I think RSF was referring to the commercially available stuff. Like whiskey, all bets are off for the backyard stuff!

Dan

[dieselgeek]

I think RSF was referring to the commercially available stuff. Like whiskey, all bets are off for the backyard stuff!

Dan

I think TC is right, someone may have been running crap homemade fuel through the engine. I've never ever had a "gelling" or "clogged filter" problem in 355,000 miles of running my '98 ISB.

Hopefully that's the only issue you have!

Also, if you can find Howe's additive - it's my favorite. I can hear the IP running more quietly when I run howe's, versus runnign Power Service which seems to make the pump run louder. no idea why, and I have a musician's (freakshow) ear so maybe only your wife will notice.

[428FE]

Dan, if you have to pull the tank it is probably easier to round up a few buddies and take the box off especially if the tank is full. In fact a few guys say just remove the driver side box bolts and loosen up the passenger side and lift the drivers side up to get to the fuel pump.

[SuperBuickGuy]

I have a friend who has a thing or two to do with diesels, and I've followed his suggestion and had good luck.... put a quart of ATF (doesn't matter which type) fluid in with at least 20 gallons of diesel; do that every 4th or so tank. It keeps the fuel system clean and lubes the pump - whether it would remove the wax, I dunno, but I know ATF removes about everything else... I also use ATF instead of diesel to fill the filters up when changing filters - and it does an excellent job of removing the air bubbles.

of course, the dye is also red so I suppose I'll have some explaining to do if the government ever checked my fuel - but that's pretty unlikely (them checking)

[dieselgeek]

Dan, if you have to pull the tank it is probably easier to round up a few buddies and take the box off especially if the tank is full. In fact a few guys say just remove the driver side box bolts and loosen up the passenger side and lift the drivers side up to get to the fuel pump.

His fuel pump is under the hood on the ISB trucks, but to get to his clogged pickup, that is good advice.