Low sulfur question for Bruce

[Capt. Mike Holmes]

15 ppm sulfur diesel is supposed to be at the pumps any day now, and the stickers on the pumps already say you can't use 500 ppm diesel in 2007 and newer engines. My understanding is 500 ppm sulfur fuel will still be available for "off road" use, like marine. Is my 2005 Dodge Cummins going to run on the low sulfur stuff without damage, or do we have to rely heavily on additives? I have this question in to Cummins, also, waiting on an answer.

[Rawleigh]

Mike: Use an additive (Stanadyne or Power Service) or use a biodiesel blend to restore the lubricity.

[Bruce]

Rawleigh already got the answer.

People ought to be using additives now anyway.

[Capt. Mike Holmes]

I've been using a Cummins approved additive for some time - in both the boat and the truck - just wondered if the significant drop in sulfur ws goign to cause problems, anyway. Got an answer from Cummins this morning, very briefly said it won't cause any problems.

[Bruce]

Won't cause a problem if you are using an additive.
It also won't cause a problem within two days, but any time you reduce the lubricity of a fluid, you will cause more wear.

I talk to the guy who does my injectors and pumps all the time.
The wear he sees on over the road engines is getting worse, not better.

He showed me a two injector pumps a while back.
One was from a guy who uses an additive and had 280,000 miles and was the second time in for repair. It looked like new inside, the rubber boost diaphram failed.
The other was from someone who did not and had 65,000 miles.
I saw metal filings in all the plunger cylinders with badly pitted walls.

[JohnD]

I've got a neighbor with a new Dodge cummins, how often should the additive be used? every tank or can you skip?

Thanks,
JohnD

[Charlie]

Hello John,
I started using Power Service this spring for my 3208's. Says one quart is good for 100 gallons. B10 is also suppose to do the same thing.

[Rawleigh]

Every tank!

[Buju]

I just purchased a really clean '85 benz 300cd turbo diesel ( 617 5cyl ) with 150k miles, intention is to convert it to run on WVO. Right now we're researching which conversion to go with... until we convert it, should I also be using an additive? It should only be a month or so before the conversion....

[Rawleigh]

If they are selling ultra low sulfur there, then yes. You can add as little as 2% biodiesel to replace the lubricity if you can find it near you.

[Capt. Mike Holmes]

Bruce, since I'm out of the "oil bidness" now, I don't know crap. I'm not even sure what they've done to allow the new engines to operate with such a low sulfur level fuel. Why is it gonna be bad to run 500 ppm diesel in the newer engines designed to run on 15 pmm? Is there a catalyst bed somewhere that will clog, or is this a combination marketing /PR ploy and yet another way to keep untaxed off road diesel out of on road vehicles?

[Rawleigh]

Yes, there are catalytic converters and soot traps on them.

[Bruce]

Rawleigh got it again.
While they won't clog right away, you may have problems in those states with emission inspections and you will shorten the life which will also create excess back pressure on the engine.

[Capt. Mike Holmes]

Environmental regulations are taking the fun out of life. The glowball warming activists need to start worrying about the balance of the planet on its axis after all the illegal immigrants finally leave Mexico for the states. Some of them aren't very big, but there's a lot of them!

A thought I had today over how to make them all legal residents and possibly profit off of it (not the people that hire them, they are already reaping the rewards). Bush should invade Mexico. It's closer than Iraq, not muslim, and once we take control, all their citizens are our citizens, and thus subject to our taxes and crappy politicians.

[Capt. Mike Holmes]

The reply I just got from Cummins says in their testing they have seen some high mileage (hours) 5.9 mechanical engines develope leaks at the lift pump after running low sulfur fuel. They do not recommend using an additive, and said the changes made to accomodate the low sulfur fuel consisted mostly of using different gasket materials. This came from a PR guy, but doesn't sound entirely right to me. I guess if they are going to warrant the engines, they are "partnering" with us on the 15 ppm stuff, but I'm still gonna use an additve..