Fuel Additives

[surveyman]

I have the Chev duramax and every 3 to 4 months I add diesel additive to the fuel. Could be my imagination but shortly after that it seems to have more pep! Last time I used what I had left and through the bottle out, now I can't remember the name of the additive and it's about time to add some again. What do others do?

[gmarker]

This is what I use. Diesel Kleen® +Cetane Boost® They also have one with anti-gel for use in winter if it is cold enough that you need it. It's available at a lot of the auto parts stores as well as Walmart. I use it in every time I fill up.

[snoking]

Some work better than others. Here is a link to a study.

http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/showth ... p?t=177728

Chris

[Mike Clay]

Yep good old bio diesel works the best here in portland they have to have a 2% blend in the diesel. When at the dealer the other day they told me its time to clean my injectors i said ok what does that cost thinking 20.00 no its 169.00 WTH its a joke right (once I stopped laughing) Nope. Told them I would live on the danger side of things and take my chances.

[Rob & Cathy]

When at the dealer the other day they told me its time to clean my injectors

You have less than 40K on your engine if I'm not mistaken. Why in the world would they think your injectors needed cleaning?

Rob

[Mike Clay]

Well I don't know rob. I sent the service manager an email telling him how I felt about it plus will see him this week for some other work. Its running great got 12.2 mpg towing this weekend with plenty of power.

[craig]

I started using the Diesel Kleen by Power Service and noticed a increase in mileage not much but alittle. I put some in everytime I fuel up.

[Chief409]

Mike is the bio-diesel just around Portland, or all of Oregon?

[Mike Clay]

Its all over Oregon, its mandatory for stations to blend it in Portland. Just went and found this article http://www.oregon.gov/ODA/news/090722biodiesel.shtml

[Chief409]

Interesting article, especially about the cleansing properties. Check your filters ... Thanks.
Any suggestions/recommendations about using Cetane boost with this bio-diesel.

[Mike Clay]

A typical cetane number range for #2 diesel fuel is 40-45 while #1 diesel is 48-52. Biodiesel from vegetable oils have been recorded as having a cetane number range of 46 to 52, and animal fat based biodiesels cetane numbers range from 56 to 60. So you will get a boost in cetane with bio, I know in 2004 i was running a 20% blend and you could really tell the difference when I did not use it. The engine was much quitter and my mileage went up slightly while towing. I just use the 5% now plus it helps lube the pump and such since the low sulfur does not have the lubrication like the old days.

As far as the fuel filter goes that only is a problem if you have a truck with a lot of miles and have never used bio before. I does clean things out and in that case you do need to change the fuel filter a few times then all will be fine.

[The-Bear]

I ran my truck on Standyne Performance Formula for the first couple of years -- particularly when I drove it in Colorado in the winter.

Then I decided the stuff was too expensive and I quit.

The day I picked up my present 5ver and towed it up to the mountains I blew a lot of black smoke out the exhaust. The truck had never done that before -- but it had never pulled anything this heavy either. The truck had 95,000 miles on it at that time.

When I recently took it in for a 100,000 mile service I told the service rep. about blowing smoke when I towed the 5ver and she asked when I'd had the injectors cleaned last. My answer was NEVER. She said they (GM) recommends an injector cleaning every 40k - 50k miles. So I had it done -- YIKES! That's expensive!

When I picked the truck up from the service dept. the service rep. told me to immediately fill the tank up to the top with fuel because they'd put in an additive that needs to be dilluted with a full tank of fuel and needs to run through the engine for 500 or so miles. There was also a similar note on the steering wheel so I guess they were serious.

That got me to thinking that I should start putting in an additive myself again. So I went to Camping World and learned that they no longer sell Standyne Performance Formaula. So I got some other stuff -- can't remember what -- probably the Diesel Kleen stuff.

But after reading the link to The DieselForum regarding testing the various additives -- I'm going to switch brands to one of the Opti-Lube products. I was surprised and disappointed to learn that the Standyne Performance Formula stuff I'd been using (and had learned about on that same DieselForum years ago) was rated not acceptable regarding wear. Swell. And the stuff I just got at Camping World isn't much better -- although it is rated just barely acceptable.

I'm hoping that by switching to one of the highly rated additive products, not only will I slow down wear, but also keep the injectors cleaner and require less of those expensive cleanings -- and blow less black smoke.

[Mike Clay]

Woody I dont know what year your truck is and its funny they tell you every 40 to 50k and im am being told every 30k lol. Black smoke from a diesel and high altitudes go hand and hand. The 08 and above dont do it so much because of the dpf but the soot mass sure goes up and it will regen much faster.

[Traveler II]

Minnesota is on track to increase its required biodiesel blend from two percent to five percent (B5) this year. Because of our cold conditions they did delay mandating this several years to see if this would create problems in the winter. They found that that the biodiesel blend would not create a problem. We'll see, lucky for me I live 10 miles from the Wisconsin border so if need be I can run over there.

I've not had any problems with the B2 we presently are using.

[Rob & Cathy]

If I'm not mistaken black smoke from a diesel is caused by the engine running to rich. With all the sensors on modern computer controlled engines I would think that new trucks would adjust the injection for altitude and the turbos should supply plenty of air.

Rob