Any diesel guys here?

SVreX wrote: Not hard to find diesel. DO NOT put gas in it (ask me how I know). And be careful in BP stations. The green pump handle is always diesel. Not at BP. At BP, green is their trademark color, so all the gas pumps have green handles. The diesel is the black one (ask me how I know).

Or Kerosene. I fixed an 03 5.9 dually one time after the owner did that, almost 30 gals worth. It turned into 10 or 12k in damage, including my labor time. New in tank fuel pump, CP3 pump, 6 injectors, fuel rail, and various sensors later.... Drove it out and never saw it again.

Some people are convinced any diesel will run on just about anything. I knew a guy with a Sprinter who would pour all sorts of things into the tank. I guess it was diluted with enough diesel that it didn't hurt it too bad, but man... that's an expensive risk, IMO.

bigdaddylee82 wrote: What you will find annoying, is when you come to a filling station that has 8 different gas pumps but only one of them is diesel/gas combo pump, every single pump will be unoccupied but that one diesel/gas pump will have some shiny happy person putting gas in their car. They will then have the audacity to give you the stink eye while you wait for them to finish filling their tank. - Lee

That's why I only go to dual pumps if all single pumps are occupied. It's only polite.

Ian F wrote: Some people are convinced any diesel will run on just about anything. I knew a guy with a Sprinter who would pour all sorts of things into the tank. I guess it was diluted with enough diesel that it didn't hurt it too bad, but man... that's an expensive risk, IMO.

To be fair, it's a Sprinter.

I never had a problem finding diesel. Download Gas Buddy app on your phone.

I think the confusion comes from the fact that there are about 20 times as many gas stations that are needed for any given area. The fact that only 50% of them have diesel makes people wonder if its a problem, but it really means there is still 10x the availability you could ever need.

Suffice it to say that it should absolutely NOT be part of your decision.

I know a guy who runs up to 80% used ATF in his 99 Powerstroke. He has a battery powered pump with a filter. He just stops by the local tranny shop, fills up, and goes about his day. Diesel Power magazine did an article about it.

There are tons of fuel options with diesel, but with any of the newer options, stick with ULSD from the pump. An old Mercedes will burn liquid parafin, heated vegetable oil, bacon fat, kerosene, jet fuel, lamp oil, or probably bear urine (depending on what the bear drank). Newer diesel vehicles are so heavily engineered and controlled that they tend to hiccup if the fuel isn't flawless.

SVreX wrote: Not hard to find diesel. And be careful in BP stations. The green pump handle is always diesel. Not at BP. At BP, green is their trademark color, so all the gas pumps have green handles. The diesel is the black one (ask me how I know).

Been there...done that

bigdaddylee82 wrote: What you will find annoying, is when you come to a filling station that has 8 different gas pumps but only one of them is diesel/gas combo pump, every single pump will be unoccupied but that one diesel/gas pump will have some shiny happy person putting gas in their car. They will then have the audacity to give you the stink eye while you wait for them to finish filling their tank. - Lee

And then probably walk inside and leave their car at the pump while they use the restroom, decide which hotdog they want off the roller grill, argue with the kids about which flavor of chips to buy, scratch three lottery tickets off at the counter, etc...before coming back and freeing up the pump.

In reply to ClemSparks:

You stop at the same filling station I do?

Last night was a first for me, SWMBO and I went to the Gulf by the house to fill up so she wouldn't have to stop on the way to work this morning, and of course Sonic was on the way, 1/2 price shakes after 8 PM.

There I am minding my own business filling the Jetta at the only diesel pump, not a single other car/customer at the station, I hear from the distance, "Hey dude, hey dude, DUDE!" I look up to see the teenage clerk half way out the door trying to get my attention. I make eye contact, and he says with a smirk of disbelief on his face and in a condescending tone, "You know that's diesel right?" I returned the smirk & tone with, "I'm quite well aware, thanks." Dumbfounded he gave me the confused puppy dog look, and went back inside. SWMBO & I had a pretty good chuckle on the way to get our shakes. I believe his mind was blown, I put diesel in a car!?!?!?

• Lee

2001 F250 and it does not take the truck nozzle.

I only worry about running out when I am pulling a trailer because that is my luck. I have never ran out but I also fill up when i hit 1/4 tank.

I used this adapter thing for the first time tonight.

I've got an uncle in one hospital, and my great granny is in another about 60 miles apart. I had to fill up in route from one hospital to the other, in slightly unfamiliar territory, amazing how much stuff changes in 13 years. Stopped at a station I knew had diesel, sign by the road confirmed they had diesel, but unfortunately they only had truck pumps, around back where all the 18 wheelers fill up. I was kind of in a hurry, so instead of finding another station I decided to use the adapter.

It worked, I filled the tank, and put about $0.75 worth of diesel down the side of the car and onto the ground since the auto shut off didn't work. I guess that's my only real complaint with it, had I been using my brain I would have known not to rely on the auto shut off, since the nozzle isn't actually in the tank.

Next time I'll find a station with a smaller nozzle diesel pump, and save the adapter for a last resort, running on fumes, absolutely no other option situation.

My shoes still kind of smell like diesel.

• Lee

ClemSparks wrote:

SVreX wrote: Not hard to find diesel. And be careful in BP stations. The green pump handle is always diesel. Not at BP. At BP, green is their trademark color, so all the gas pumps have green handles. The diesel is the black one (ask me how I know).

Been there...done that

Been there, done that in an awkward little station with a 28' trailer on the back. Wow, did that piss me off.

I love the truck nozzles. Of course, I drive a truck. The Dodge will easily take fuel as fast as the pump can dish it out.

It can be annoying on a long trip to have to use the commercial pumps, simply due to the time suck of going in, handing over a credit card to get the pump fired up, pumping, going back in to pay - and of course, it's always a half-mile walk from the pump to the register. The further east you go, the harder it is to find diesel stations. But there are always some out near the interstate.

When I'm going on long trips and don't know for sure what the diesel situation is going to be, I'll toss a 5 gallon jerry can in the back of the truck. Haven't had to use it yet, but when you're hauling a big trailer the tank drops pretty fast at the end. I was thinking about it in Newfoundland once or twice...

The next time I tow anything a long distance with my Duramax I'm bringing a 5 gallon jug of diesel along in the trailer for emergencies. I got awfully close to running out on the way to the San Diego tour earlier this year (got something like 26.5 gallons into a nominally 26 gallon tank).

bigdaddylee82 wrote: My shoes still kind of smell like diesel. - Lee

I did that once. Do yourself a favour and throw them away. You will NEVER get that smell out!

To the OP, the only times I have had trouble finding diesel is in large urban areas. Gas stations in the city are less likely to have it.

I have a really old ford diesel (84, I think the first passenger truck diesels were GM in 82). While I lived in Madison, there are actually a pitiful few diesel gas stations in the urban/suburban areas. Luckily Madison is small enough that 15 mins gets you out to a farm, so it wasn't really a huge problem but for the first few weeks I lived there filling up always took way longer than it should've as I drove around in slightly larger circles around my house thinking "there's got to be one closer than that other one I went to."

I did once almost run out (according to the 84 gas gauge, so who knows) and the corner that I was heading to I knew had like 3 stations. When I got there, of course none had diesel, but there was an oreileys. I grabbed a gallon of trans fluid and limped to another station. Truck seems fine still (that was about 2 years ago).

Can anybody explain why its so bad to run a diesel out of fuel? I currently have leaky fuel lines on the truck - need to fix those, but its freezing out - and basically the fuel lines fill up with air that leaks in if I don't drive the truck for a few weeks. This causes a hard start, but the truck still starts after 30-60 seconds of cranking. I don't really understand how running out would be any different.

I can understand if you run the float bowls dry on a gas car with only a mechanical pump, but still, just some extra cranking should solve your problem.

NGTD wrote:

bigdaddylee82 wrote: My shoes still kind of smell like diesel. - Lee

I did that once. Do yourself a favour and throw them away. You will NEVER get that smell out! To the OP, the only times I have had trouble finding diesel is in large urban areas. Gas stations in the city are less likely to have it.

Actually, best solution I have found for diesel-smelly clothes is to lay them outside in the hottest sun you can find for a few days. Still not perfect, but I can wear my coveralls again. Don't try the vinegar or coke or whatever in the washing machine. Not super-helpful this time of year for many people.

NGTD wrote:

bigdaddylee82 wrote: My shoes still kind of smell like diesel. - Lee

I did that once. Do yourself a favour and throw them away. You will NEVER get that smell out! To the OP, the only times I have had trouble finding diesel is in large urban areas. Gas stations in the city are less likely to have it.

Meh, I'm wearing them today, my nose is far enough away from them, and they're mostly under my desk so I don't notice it as much, or I've gotten used to it. Vibram soles & good leather, if anything I may put new laces in them. I'm a farm boy, I'm used to my clothes always smelling like "something." My office mates haven't complained yet.

rcutclif said: Can anybody explain why its so bad to run a diesel out of fuel? I currently have leaky fuel lines on the truck - need to fix those, but its freezing out - and basically the fuel lines fill up with air that leaks in if I don't drive the truck for a few weeks. This causes a hard start, but the truck still starts after 30-60 seconds of cranking. I don't really understand how running out would be any different.

Dad's got a 3500 Chevy 6.5L TD, I ran it out of diesel once, and took a solid 15 minutes of cranking to get it started again. There's probably a way to prime it, but teenage Lee didn't know how, and wasn't even considering a phone call to dad, to tell him I ran his truck out of fuel. Thank baby jeebus for twin deep cycle batteries on that old truck.

First time I did the fuel filter on our TDI Jetta, I followed the prime procedures, just a few key cycles to get the lift pump to fill the filter reservoir, and even then I had an uncomfortably long crank to get it to fire back to life.

So I've always thought it's just because it's so much more difficult to get them started once there's air in the lines. No diesel to lube the injector pump, etc. could be an issue too.

• Lee

Feedyurhed wrote:

bigdaddylee82 wrote: What you will find annoying, is when you come to a filling station that has 8 different gas pumps but only one of them is diesel/gas combo pump, every single pump will be unoccupied but that one diesel/gas pump will have some shiny happy person putting gas in their car. They will then have the audacity to give you the stink eye while you wait for them to finish filling their tank. - Lee

Yep I have actually seen that happen.

• a zillion. It happens every time. I pull up right in front of them and block them in so they have to back out when I'm feeling especially annoyed.

bigdaddylee82 wrote:

rcutclif said: Can anybody explain why its so bad to run a diesel out of fuel? I currently have leaky fuel lines on the truck - need to fix those, but its freezing out - and basically the fuel lines fill up with air that leaks in if I don't drive the truck for a few weeks. This causes a hard start, but the truck still starts after 30-60 seconds of cranking. I don't really understand how running out would be any different.

Dad's got a 3500 Chevy 6.5L TD, I ran it out of diesel once, and took a solid 15 minutes of cranking to get it started again. There's probably a way to prime it, but teenage Lee didn't know how, and wasn't even considering a phone call to dad, to tell him I ran his truck out of fuel. Thank baby jeebus for twin deep cycle batteries on that old truck. First time I did the fuel filter on our TDI Jetta, I followed the prime procedures, just a few key cycles to get the lift pump to fill the filter reservoir, and even then I had an uncomfortably long crank to get it to fire back to life. So I've always thought it's just because it's so much more difficult to get them started once there's air in the lines. No diesel to lube the injector pump, etc. could be an issue too. - Lee

When I change the filter in the TDI, I use a mity-vac on the outlet fitting of the filter to suck fuel through it and fill it up. Usually takes a good 5 minutes of at least 10" of vacuum before I get fuel in the hose. Then re-connect the line. Car starts instantly. That's what I've been doing for the past 10 years (and 16 fuel filter changes). I think I read about it on TDIclub once back in '03. I have no idea what the actual priming procedure is as this has always worked.

Yes, I was thankful for the two huge, brand new Bosch type 27's I put in the Dodge. That truck also had leaky fuel rails and in cold weather if I hadn't run it for a week or two it would take a lot of cranking to start.

I'm a big fan of diesels since they're mechanically about 25-35% more efficient than gas engines. You can also make some changes and run them on biodiesel or used cooking oil to help save the environment. I'm trying to get a Jetta TDI and I also want to drop a diesel engine in my E36 328i. It's difficult finding information on diesel engine swaps though.

Mr_Clutch42 wrote: You can also make some changes and run them on biodiesel or used cooking oil to help save the environment.

What do you think happens to used cooking oil? It doesn't get dumped down a hole somewhere. It's a valuable chemical feedstock (just like any other "used" oil) and using it just means that "new" oil has to be substituted somewhere else along the line.

If you want to "save the environment", use whatever fuel allows you the best fuel economy and least emissions. Also drive less. And quit using electricity.

Using cooking oil from fast food restaurants to run a diesel engine produces much less emissions than a gas powered car. It would also address the fact that fossil fuel use needs to be eliminated.

The "less emissions" is highly debatable, but it is not true that using used cooking oil (it is not waste) is eliminating fossil fuel use. It is just shifting where what is being used. The used cooking oil is not a waste product that gets thrown away like the waste products in a dumpster, it is merely at one point along the life cycle of a product.

It's rather akin to extending oil change intervals to "use less oil". What happens is there is less used oil to go around, so the people who use it just have to go and get "new" oil to cover the loss. The same amount of crude is still being used, it's just that one method results in faster engine wear which is ultimately responsible for MORE energy usage because of how expensive it is energy-wise to produce a new car.

Can a guy that has more than 100,000 miles on WVO (yes, the industry calls it waste vegetable oil, or SVO for straight vegetable oil) speak from experience?
A bio or WVO running diesel does not produce less emissions than a modern gas or diesel engine. WVO produces less emissions than the same engine running diesel though, that's more of an apples-to-apples comparison anyway.
WVO has more lubricity than diesel, so your engine will last longer as long as you ramp up your oil change interval a little bit. Since you will get blow-by fuel in the crankcase, you need to change the oil more often since WVO will polymirize in the oil, leading to nasty issues. The only proof I have of this claim is by the WVO community as a whole. We've seen the inside of our engines at some pretty high mileage and saw evidence of the reduced (nearly nonexistent) engine wear as proof. I had my MB engine open at just under 300,000 miles and still had machining marks on the cylinder liners and the cam shaft. Bumping my oil change intervals up a few percent isn't going to make that much of a difference.
I've been accused of saying I'm saving the planet by running WVO. Nah, I'm just cheap. But, I'm using less fossil fuel. The oil I'm burning would be filtered and used again sure, but the emissions from MY tail pipe are reduced and, more importantly, my fuel expense is reduced.
Mr_Clutch, if you're thinking about running Bio or WVO, shoot me a PM if you have any questions. I'd be happy to share my experiences. You can also search for my posts here. Go to google and type in Site:grassrootsmotorsports.com living with a greasecar and you'll find my threads.

In reply to bigdaddylee82:

Need to change the "Time to get fuel" habit........