Diesel additives

[Lmtv772]

I did a search and found people who have added stuff to their Diesel Fuel , but no responses. So what is the word on using additives?
Been using Howes Lubrication Diesel treat on my trucks and put some in my MEP 803a gen set Tank.
What are you using and do you recommend it?

 

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There are lots of threads on this topic. I learned a lot by searching and reading old discussions.

I use the Stanadyne Lubricity formula in my M1010, 1 oz per 10gal. It eliminates a rattle I assume was the IP. The engine just hums now. I also tried their Performance Formula. That worked well too, but you have to use much more per gallon, and the notion of performance on an M1010, well... A bottle of lubricity goes much further, reducing the hassle of keeping some in stock.

 

[mcmullag]

I always used Diesel Kleen in my military trucks, just made me feel better. I think the stuff you are using is good stuff too.
I use MotorKote in the crankcase of my gas engine daily driver 4Runner with 330,000 miles on it.

 

[Chrispyny]

How do you guys feel about silver Power Service? That's i think what was suggested for me to use as a lubricant additive to todays low sulfur diesels for my Mep-002a when i had that up until last year.
I now have a Mep-802a and simply add enough silver bottle Power Service to my 30 gallon gas caddy and that way i never have to remember to add it to the tank when fueling up..

Thanks

 

[cuad4u]

Many of us with MEP 002A and MEP 003A generators with engines designed in the 1970's when the norm was high sulfur diesel fuel, add an ounce or two of automatic transmission fluid or Marvel Mystery Oil per gallon to compensate for the lower sulfur. Whether it helps or not is anybody's guess, but it sure won't hurt anything.

 

[tim292stro]

I use Pri-D.

 

[dmetalmiki]

I put aqtf in all my trucks. they run good. Quietens them down, and definitely adds More power. as well as keeping all And everything clean. My (best) mix (ever) is con tam..diesel petrol with waste aqtf filtered down to 1 micron. Perfect.

 

[tim292stro]

In the USA, most ATF comes with a dye that precludes use in "on-road" vehicles. If a tank gets dipped and it comes up red, you can assume the position for the tax man, even if it was an aftermarket additive to taxed fuel. For a generator it's not an issue - those can run on untaxed (that is "road taxed") fuel with no problems, and you can have 5-gallon cans of red dyed fuel so long as it doesn't end up in your street driven vehicles.

For a long term stored generator running on diesel, the best advice is to run it monthly (at least) to get the engine up to temperature so that the oil will create a clean film on all the contact surfaces and will evaporate any accumulated moisture out the crank-case vent. Use some form of fuel stabilizer, as the newer lighter crude diesels that have been produced in the last 15+ years are not as stable as the older fuels. Other than that, keep your fuel tank full to reduce the amount of air in the tank - air in the tank will bring with it moisture, and tank walls that cool down will cause condensation on the walls which will settle to the bottom of the tank. Algae will begin to eat diesel fuel at the fuel water boundary, and then will die once satisfied and settle at the bottom of your tank as sludge. This sludge will gum up filters and depending on the quality/condition of your filter could get further into your fuel system.

To keep my 40' Transit Bus stored for the last 13 years (prepped for deep storage), I've been running Pri-D and Pi-Ocide (man, you have to get a 5-gallon pail for this stuff though). Pri-Ocide is an anti-microbial/inhibitor (algae). Once a year I polish the fuel by running it through an external marine fuel filter and a 12V transfer pump for three hours. The filter is a water separating type (Racor), and is rated at 5 microns. Three years ago I ran the engine for a ten-year test, and it fired right up with no unusual smoke or sounds (I say unusual because it's a Detroit 6V92-TA, they smoke at idle or loaded - they also have a saying, if i'ts not leaking it's out of oil...).

 

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I've found the best on-line additive prices at blue ridge diesel. Excellent service and they don't kill you with shipping. I wasn't thrilled with the security of their on-line ordering system, so I phoned in my order. I'm not connected with them except as a happy customer. They're offering a special price on Stanadyne additives at the moment. I got a gallon of the lubricity formula for $51.77 delivered. That's enough to treat 1240 gallons of diesel.

 

[JRM]

Todays ULSD is very "dry" almost like a solvent and even evaporates off my concrete floor- a far cry from 500 PPM low sulfur diesel and not even remotely the same fuel as High sulfur of Pre 1990
I have a huge family and friend diesel mechanic friend base ranging from screaming jimmy mechanics of the 1970's to present day clean diesel mechanics battling 25,000 PSI High pressure fuel pumps exploding due to the fuel not lubricating them correctly. Don't over think fuel additives, but don't ignore algae growth either.
1. If your state uses bio diesel of any % don't add anything except this> http://powerservice.com/psp_product/bio-kleen-diesel-fuel-biocide/
2. Non Bio diesel only needs to be mixed at 100:1 with the cheapest wal-mart 2 cycle oil one can find.
3. Modern diesels with a DPF and a HPFP must use a clean lubricant that wont fowl your $$$ DPF> http://stanadyneadditives.com/lubricity-formula/

Lots of us VW diesel and duramax owners carry a gallon of B100 with use when traveling, so we can lubricate our pumps when driving threw states selling dry diesel.

 

[pmramsey]

Fuel additive is one thing but in my opinion, the engine oils available for our diesel engines are far more important. My Mack ENDT-673 engine has flat-tappet lifters. One must add zinc and phosphorus to every oil change if one wishes to keep their engines healthy and especially under heavy loads. Zinc and phosphorus have been coming out of motor oils since 1990. Since 2007, they have all but disappeared. Diesels manufactured before 2007 and most gassers manufactured before 1989 require these two elements badly. Look up the engine oil specs on your data plates, review the required oils and the amount and zinc and phosphorus they contain and then look at the specs for those elements in your currently manufactured trusty old Shell 15-40. Modern engines do not have them. In fact, they really screw up catalytic converters but how many of us own military trucks with catalytic converters? I add a couple of oz. to every gallon of oil in my M818, M35A3, M54A1, and even the Chevy 6.2s. When the military owned these trucks, the oil the military used had all the zinc and phosphorus these engines required and while we are using many of the same brand names and viscosities the military used, they are no longer the same oils and we are running them into the ground with every start up, parade, and trip through the drive through at Taco Bell.

 

[Lmtv772]

Fuel additive is one thing but in my opinion, the engine oils available for our diesel engines are far more important. My Mack ENDT-673 engine has flat-tappet lifters. One must add zinc and phosphorus to every oil change if one wishes to keep their engines healthy and especially under heavy loads. Zinc and phosphorus have been coming out of motor oils since 1990. Since 2007, they have all but disappeared. Diesels manufactured before 2007 and most gassers manufactured before 1989 require these two elements badly. Look up the engine oil specs on your data plates, review the required oils and the amount and zinc and phosphorus they contain and then look at the specs for those elements in your currently manufactured trusty old Shell 15-40. Modern engines do not have them. In fact, they really screw up catalytic converters but how many of us own military trucks with catalytic converters? I add a couple of oz. to every gallon of oil in my M818, M35A3, M54A1, and even the Chevy 6.2s. When the military owned these trucks, the oil the military used had all the zinc and phosphorus these engines required and while we are using many of the same brand names and viscosities the military used, they are no longer the same oils and we are running them into the ground with every start up, parade, and trip through the drive through at Taco Bell.

so what do you add to the oil?

 

[pmramsey]

Zinc and phosphorus. There are number of specific brands of additives on the market for this purpose. Lucas makes an oil with the additives included but it is for old high performance gassers. However, I use the Shell Rotella 15-40 and add the zinc and phosphorus with the oil change. Eastwood makes a good ZDDP additive as does ZDDPPlus and ZDDP MAX. Keep in mind, these engines where designed for frequent and regular oil changes. Just because one uses a synthetic or semi-synthetic oil does not alter the need for zinc/phosphorus additives or extend the time or miles between oil changes. The old engines are dirty and the engine oil collects fuel, sulfur, and whatever and need to be changed often if one wants to keep them around.

 

[Lmtv772]

Zinc and phosphorus. There are number of specific brands of additives on the market for this purpose.

I can't remember having seen any specific brands for that purpose, that's why I am asking

 

[TNriverjet]

I've been using Optilube XPD in my VW diesels (DPF equipped) for 5 plus years. It is a lubricity additive with some cetane improvement and decent anti-gel properties. I've put 150K miles on one and 50K on another with no problems. It's also about $51/gallon. I dose 4 oz for 14 gallon fillup.

I've also added some XPD in the first tank I'm running through my MEP 802A

 

[tim292stro]

I can't remember having seen any specific brands for that purpose, that's why I am asking

Google search ZDDP Additive

 

[JRM]

Excellent info everyone, seems like this entire site is on top and one step ahead. Yes they removed zinc out of oil a decade ago, one can flick a quart of oil on the shelf and if you here a metallic ring its good, no ring its zinc free and zinc is what protects on cold startups and also at redline in race engines. Flat tappet engines suffer the most- VW PD and 1.6 diesels and cummins in all years of the RAM are effected too. I started adding this euro moly additive and haven't had any increase in shim clearance.
http://www.liqui-moly.us/liquimoly/produktdb.nsf/id/us_2009.html?OpenDocument&land=US

 

[JRM]

next up: COOLANT and not to use modern OAT or HOAT acid coolant in our iron blocks Green old school is good, any other color is a type of Hybrid Organic Acid that will attack seals and hoses- I know all to well as I thought I was a smart guy swapping my old Toyota over to this amazing new coolant, until it ate the solder joints in my heater core, oil cooler and radiator mixing coolant into my oil and overall a huge expensive mess

 

[Two Stroke Madness]

Zinc and phosphorus. There are number of specific brands of additives on the market for this purpose. Lucas makes an oil with the additives included but it is for old high performance gassers. However, I use the Shell Rotella 15-40 and add the zinc and phosphorus with the oil change. Eastwood makes a good ZDDP additive as does ZDDPPlus and ZDDP MAX. Keep in mind, these engines where designed for frequent and regular oil changes. Just because one uses a synthetic or semi-synthetic oil does not alter the need for zinc/phosphorus additives or extend the time or miles between oil changes. The old engines are dirty and the engine oil collects fuel, sulfur, and whatever and need to be changed often if one wants to keep them around.

While I agree with the zinc-phosphorus issue I have to warn everyone that the zinc-phosphorus additives are not just zinc and phosphorus. Those are metals that are mixed with who knows what else. I have personally seen oil analysis and bearing wear tests that show how the introduction of these kinds of additives can actually reduce the oils ability to protect the engine. Oil manufacturers spend alot of money making sure that their brand is never associated with a bunch of blown up motors. Pick a good brand name and leave it alone. Unless you're one of big oils over-paid chemists. Now the diesel fuel additive issue I do fully agree with. Diesel fuel today sucks. I personally use Howes, K-100, and Diesel Power Service Diesel Kleen. I've noticed that the Diesel Kleen (silver bottle) makes my diesel engines smoke a little bit more. For lubricity purposes any light single viscosity motor oil, transmission fluid, or two stroke oil will work well.

 

[rustystud]

I have found the best additives to be "Opti-Lube" for lubricity issues and "Pri-D" for long storage. You will also need a anti-algae additive. The one "tim292stro" uses "Pri-Ocide" is about the very best but expensive. I use "BioBor" myself.

As far as adding a ZDDP additive goes. You would be a fool NOT to add some in our old military engines. Our engines where designed to use those additives and they have been removed in all of todays oils to meet emissions. I know this gets a lot of people excited and they go and search all the "oil companies" websites proving their oils need nothing added to them. Well after working in this industry for over 35 years I can tell you that is a lie ! From the oil companies viewpoint they are telling the truth when they say there oil meets all vehicles needs since most vehicles on the roads today are not over 10 years old. But for those of us who run old engines like all our military vehicles use this is not true, but we are a very small minority and no oil company is going to make a "special" oil just for us.