| Author |
Message |
Johnny (63.159.177.20)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, March 19, 2002 - 10:56 pm: | |
I was looking thru the archives & saw the lo-sulfur diesel thread.
My uncle used to be chief mechanic for a truck fleet, with mostly older (1960's & 70's--newest a 1982 Mack, oldest diesel a 1959 Autocar) rigs. His tip for lo-sulfur fuel in old diesels is so simple it's almost unbelieveable: add 1 pint of Dextron ATF per 10 gallons of diesel fuel. I do so to my diesel (Ford F-350), & he's done it to the rigs & his Cummins Ram for years--after he started doing this, he noticed he wasn't replaceing NEARLY as many injector pumps. |
MC - Iv (24.83.235.106)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, March 19, 2002 - 11:22 pm: | |
Johnny,
I also heard the same tip from a friend who has been a diesel mechanic for over 40yrs. He said however to add a quart to every fill of around 100 gal. He said it also keeps the injectors clean.
Iv. |
Don Peter (172.167.145.102)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, March 20, 2002 - 12:19 am: | |
And when you get pulled over by DOT for running "off road" diesel, just explain how the red dye is from the ATF. They've probably never heard that one before. |
jmaxwell (66.42.93.106)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, March 20, 2002 - 12:49 am: | |
Don: very true. About 5 yrs. ago the feds made Burns Brothers change the color of their diesel additive from Red to Blue because they were tired of hearing that story from the truckers. |
Johnny (63.159.177.20)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, March 20, 2002 - 12:59 am: | |
Keep the reciepts.
Also, isn't most road diesel dyed green anyway?
This didn't post earlier for some reason--let's try again. |
Bubba (162.39.206.92)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, March 20, 2002 - 5:59 am: | |
Point 1: How many motorhomes have ever been pulled over and had their fuel checked.
Point 2: ATF will color the fuel lighter than what "off road" diesel is. Take 2 quart containers and put a tablespoon of "off road" diesel in one and a tablespoon of ATF in another and see the results.
Point 3: When they check the fuel, they are checking for dye, not ATF.
Bubba |
Pete (205.188.193.163)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, March 20, 2002 - 6:42 am: | |
In Pa its the color cause most cops realy dont know what they are looking for unless its a DOT check point looking for rig and dump truck violations |
jim (209.240.222.32)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, March 20, 2002 - 8:05 am: | |
there was a lot of study/effort to discredit the use of low-sulphur fuel.... on the dyno, we can tell no difference...... the lubricity properties are the same......the cetane number is the same....its just a waste of good atf to add it to diesel...... my $0.02 worth...jim |
Scott Whitney (24.205.239.4)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, March 20, 2002 - 2:26 pm: | |
And if a cop for some odd reason did pull over an RV bus, and if he suspected illegal fuel usage, just how would he go about examining it? Unless you had a clear fuel filter (Racor or Fuel Pro etc.) it seems it would be rather difficult. Or do they carry little hand pump kits??
Scott |
Don KS/TX (205.187.92.124)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, March 20, 2002 - 4:10 pm: | |
When it first started, the method was to drop a filter and take a sample. Tank samples were not considered "legal" because you could not prove the person was actually using that fuel. RESIDUE of dye was all that was needed for conviction, no matter how it looked or how red it seemed. It was therefore possible to catch the guys who occasionally burned it. |
Lin (65.184.0.189)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, March 20, 2002 - 4:29 pm: | |
My father used to add transmission fluid to his caddy diesel. He claimed it kept the injectors clean. He was not interested in the lub angle. It is apparently an old truckers thing from long before the fuel standard changes. I don't know if is works, but it is somewhat detergent. He only used a cup of it to a full tank (20+ gallons) every second fillup. Would that really be enough to change the color? |
jim (209.240.222.32)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, March 20, 2002 - 6:15 pm: | |
my dad was one of the old-time-drive-across-the-world truckers... ive heard all the war stories about how to make a truck run... his favorite was to take the return fule line apart at a fitting close to the head and put a nickle inside the fitting..... the nickle would just fit inside a #12 jic fitting... it would affectively seal off the fuel trying to return to the tank... the old cummins engines pumped alot of fuel... to cool injectors.... this would build the rail pressure to whatever the fuel transfer pump would do... the fuel had to go somewhere... so it was burned.... and lots'o'power.....another was to add clorox to a diesel tank of a truck that needed a rebuild.... seems the clorox would help destroy the injectors.....all these are, are old war stories.... i would recommend not adding anything to the diesel.... buy good , clean diesel... keep it clean....keep the tank filled to cut down on condensation......and you wont have any fuel peoblems......my $0.02 worth......jim |
DaveD (216.18.113.69)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, March 21, 2002 - 11:02 am: | |
My bus mechanic told me if you are going to add anything, add Howes fuel system conditioner; he's never seen any adverse effects on injectors from this conditioner. The impression I got was that fuel additives are not really necessary, although I have added Howes fuel system conditioner anyway.
DaveD |
Mike Kennedy (64.12.105.49)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, March 23, 2002 - 12:25 am: | |
Their are few reasons if any to add anything that has little proven effect over time like ATF. It is little more than a light weight mineral oil with a lubricity package meant to keep transmission seals supple and clutch faceings from distroying themselves. If you want something that will truely help there are several companies that make an algaecide and enjector/pump cleaner. Try a web search under, diesel fuel conditioners.
Mike (taffyman) |