Bad diesel fuel

[Loneoak]

We spend our winters in an RV park in Florida. One of the people in our park (a Montana owner) got a tank of bad diesel fuel. There was dirt in it and it ruined the motor on his truck. He was delayed going home until he could get things fixed up. The last I heard was that he was dealing with his insurance company on it.

One good thing about the whole mess is that he had purchased diesel fuel at the same station all winter, and had the receipts to prove it. So they knew who as at fault. I guess his insurance company will be going after the fuel station.

Unless you are on the road and have to buy fuel wherever you are, this story makes a good case for fueling up at the same place and keeping your receipts.

[mlh]

What did bad fuel do to his engine?
I could understand ruining his high pressure fuel pump but not the engine. These pumps are very fragile and will tolerate no abuse from water or dirt.
Lynwood

[richfaa]

What mlh said. We have never had bad diesel fuel in 13 years and over 135K of travel. We fuel at high volume stations like truck stops. We also drove a diesel bus 4 years waiting for Wife to retire and also never had bad fuel. We pay with our RV plus card or Credit card and always have receipts.

[1retired06]

Interesting. Have heard of contaminated fuel because of water, but never dirt. Like rich fans, I have been running diesel trucks a long time , 2000, and never an issue,.

[AZ Traveler]

Second hand reports are not always totally accurate. No hit on Loneoak but the story can easily change as it is passed down the line.

[Loneoak]

I talked to the truck owner, it was not second hand. We also like to go to high volume fuel stations. I will email him and ask him the results.

[mlh]

I have no doubt the OP is telling us exactly what he was told but something just doesn’t add up. How could you ruin the engine because of bad fuel. You can ruin the high pressure fuel pump, and will with bad fuel but not the engine. The bill to replace it will be at least $6000 and probably more.
Lynwood

[Ram Montana High Country]

What brand of truck was it? I was looking at lift pumps, but like so many others - 1000's of miles without issue that water additive didn't fix. Take that back - had tow injectors 300 miles apart lock up on a 318 Detroit due to water … on a Detroit, it lock the accelerator where ever it is at the time of failure - but total on that was only $1100 - so much for the good old days

[twindman]

wouldn't dirt do the same thing I read about with turbos blowing up? And those cost $12-18,000 because it takes out the injectors and supply lines, etc.

[Ram Montana High Country]

I'm NO expert … depending on the brand / year - some are more prone to acting up with factory filtering. After market filtering is many times better than factory - but sorting thru all that is … when I was looking a Service Manager said year XX or newer and still strongly recommended aftermarket filtering. INMHO - turbos are most effected by OIL (temperature, volume, type) as they don't see fuel unless it gets in the oil. As mentioned, fuels pumps can be sensitive to adverse conditions, some more than others - again hearsay.

Was looking at a website for Fuel Lift Pumps - claims of cleaning fuel better and also removing oxygen … not always sure of claims by mfg companies

Allot of times, it's the labor that burns the hardest - ain't nothing made these days to work on easily - many times it's easier to pull the whole cab that to work over a fender ...

Food for thought

[mlh]

Originally Posted by twindman

wouldn't dirt do the same thing I read about with turbos blowing up? And those cost $12-18,000 because it takes out the injectors and supply lines, etc.

It’s not the turbos. It’s it’s the the high pressure pressure fuel pump. They work at up to 35,000 PSI and are very fragile. Any contamination from water or dirt and go bad very fast. When the pump goes bad it sends contaminates through the system taking out the injectors. The fuel lines are one time use so you haft to replace them too. You should read big bucks.
On my truck I have a readout than tells fuel pressure, just riding down the road at 60 it will be holding 20,000 PSI. I also have a aftermarket 2 micron fuel filter to make sure no dirt gets to that pump.
The lift pump only supplies fuel to the high pressure fuel pump but if it goes bad the high pressure fuel pump won’t last long running dry.
The moral of the story take care of that fuel filter. It should be changed regularly.
Lynwood

[AZ Traveler]

Originally Posted by Loneoak

I talked to the truck owner, it was not second hand. We also like to go to high volume fuel stations. I will email him and ask him the results.

When you report what someone else tells you that is the definition of second hand. Always enables dubious or partial information.

[twindman]

So is fuel pump and injector pump the same?

[Ram Montana High Country]

not always - fuel pump might be in the tank and pushes it to injector pump

[Theunz]

No, as Lynwood described there is a lift pump that feeds the fuel from your tank up to the fuel injector pump. In order for the injector pump to operate at such high pressures it is built with extreamly tight tolerances. The injector pump and the injectors themselves are operated by high pressure oil. Contamination from either bad fuel or dirty oil will cause the pump and injectors to fail. There is a concurrent thread running pertaining to synthetic oil use. Many are claiming that for many years they have had no problems with regular oil and/or extended oil changes. While this is probably true for gas engines since they use electronic fuel injectors, modern diesels are a whole different animal. Almost all the problems you hear about on these modern diesels are either emissions or fuel injection related. Clean fresh fuel and oil are paramount to long diesel life. Scrimping on either is a recipe for a low bank balance!

[McIver]

My diesel mechanic has me adding a cetane booster to my fuel.. Opinions?

[richfaa]

I was advised by Ford when we purchased our 2008 F350 Diesel to add Cetane as most diesel except Shell premium is rated at 40 Cetane and my truck required 45 for optimum performance . We have been using diesel klean for years and it does make a difference.

[mlh]

Originally Posted by McIver

My diesel mechanic has me adding a cetane booster to my fuel.. Opinions?

Most diesel fuel cetane is about 40. As far as I know these new Diesel engines were designed to run on 45 cetane just like Rich said. I know our 2008 were. Extra cetane can’t hurt. I run it in my truck.
Lynwood

[mlh]

The 7.3 and 6L fords the injectors did run on oil. They were a Cat design. They were like the old diesel pumps found on the Cummings engine in that you couldn’t hurt them. The problem with both of them they were good for one squirt of fuel per cycle. The Cat injectors could do 2 squirts per cycle. You probably noticed how noisy they were and this is the reason. The new Bosh system is good for several squirts per cycle. What they do is inject a small amount of fuel to get the combustion started to prevent the diesel rattling then inject enough fuel to make the power called for. They run off electricity moving a small nozzle that can be opened very fast.
Lynwood

[Carl n Susan]

Cetane ratings may vary from state to state.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the government’s air-quality police, set a minimum CN of 40 across the country, with the final CN left up to individual states’ EPA regulations. For example, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) currently mandates a minimum 53 CN, while Texas (TxLED) set its highway diesel CN lower, at a minimum of 48.
Source: Clicky

I thought the Ford Diesel Supplement recommended a minimum Cetane level of 40. But I haven't found that documentation, yet. In the mean time, ask what is your state's minimum Cetane requirement? Perhaps that Cetane additive is unneeded?