9 Worst Things You Can Do to a Diesel Engine

[stucknutz]

Aside from how to operate things, correct break-in and early first oil changes can really help with longevity.

I tend to overkill, bringing new vehicles home on a trailer, then putting them on the lift to check fluid levels (which are rarely correct) and install magnetic level plugs wherever possible.

Next is the diff gear break-in, following gear manufacturers' guidelines. With those first painful 100 miles done, and the brakes properly bedded in, I switch to the vehicle manufacturer's recommended break-in.

Before that's over they get a first oil change at 500 or so miles, and new diff fluid. The latter has saved a couple of diffs from an early demise.

Well, you get the idea, I treat them all as forever-vehicles, which they never end up being. Heck, I've sold several with under 1,000 miles on them.

Let me know when you sell your next vehicle. Your the type of owner i wanna buy from!!

 

[OldPaint]

I run my truck to the fuel light every tank for the most part. I figure if you always suck all the fuel out then there won't be time for lots of sediment to build up.

I will also say that when I ran a big excavator too low I was changing muddy fuel filters at a very inopportune time....

Yeah, I’m kinda thinking that gravity feed systems where the tank has the fuel line in the lowest possible spot are going to remain fairly sludge free, unless you buy diesel that was nasty to begin with. Ag diesel may be a lot cheaper, but it also has a much lower quality control because it’s rarely inspected. Know and trust your supplier, or get a different supplier.

 

[workinonit]

Why do all of you think there is some magical difference in the dyed vs clear fuel. All of the fuel is EXACTLY the same. The dye is injected when the truck is loaded where I buy from. It's all the same stuff.

Ag diesel may be a lot cheaper, but it also has a much lower quality control because it’s rarely inspected. Know and trust your supplier, or get a different supplier.

 

[dodge man]

Around here the diesel pumps all say something like “may contain bio diesel between 5% and 20%”. No choice, they all say that. I’ve heard it’s usually B5.

 

[NYlumberman]

I run my truck to the fuel light every tank for the most part. I figure if you always suck all the fuel out then there won't be time for lots of sediment to build up.

I will also say that when I ran a big excavator too low I was changing muddy fuel filters at a very inopportune time....

Maybe I have it wrong, but isn’t the fuel pick up in the tank stationary? Most issues I ever had with crap in a tank were exposed right after filling the tank, when everything was “stirred up”. And it turned out that those issues were purchased at the pump.

 

[sunandsand]

Workinonit said:
Why do all of you think there is some magical difference in the dyed vs clear fuel. All of the fuel is EXACTLY the same. The dye is injected when the truck is loaded where I buy from. It's all the same stuff.

Had a business in Miami (years ago), a customer always smelled like gasoline. Asked him what he did for a living - "I'm a dye mixer".

He sat on a trestle at Port Everglades and looked at the tanker trucks which drove up and parked underneath him. Different brands of gasoline got different colors, Gulf tankers got a cupful of orange dye, somebody else got green dye, someone else got blue, etc.

It all came from the same tank at the port.

In addition to smelling of gasoline, he was always stoned from breathing gas fumes all day. Obviously, this was pre-OSHA, he couldn't even have an electric fan because of the explosion risk of the fumes.

Best Regards,
Mike/Florida

 

[DarkBlack]

These lists are always so pathetic.

How is fuel selection a "worst thing you can do to an engine" Efficiency and emmissions doesn't harm the engine in any way.

Sure, gasoline would be wrong, but that is NOT in consideration with selection. That extreme condition is akin to failing to refill the engine sump with oil after draining.

Like I said, these lists are pathetic!

Lists like that one, look to be written by a computer program

 

[Shenandoah MF1760]

This doesn't apply to vehicles that get run often, and thus get brought up to temperature frequently and get the fuel replaced regularly.

But, my understanding is that vehicles that sit for long periods it's best to keep the fuel tank full as possible and use additives, as condensation can cause water to collect - something diesels can't stand.

The same can be true of the engine oil.

My '08 F-450 only has 104K miles on it and I try to keep a close watch on it as it has the 6.4L engine, known for being problematic.

With that kind of mileage it's easy to see it sits a fair bit of the time.

As far as the list goes - to me it reads like most training manuals. Written by technical writers with no knowledge of the subject and adhering in their determination to keep the "technical stuff" written to an 8th grade level.

 

[HFK Farms]

I have always ran a fuel additive in all my diesels. I have 2000 Ford F250 with a 7.3 and a 2017 F250 with a 6.7 deleted. Several Tractors from a Zetor 3321 to a Zetor 10741 Forterra. This low sulfur diesel is hard on diesel fuel systems. I am told Europe still allows high Sulfur diesel to be used. In the winter, my equipment's block heaters are set on timers. I use Archoil in all my equipment. As far as diesel, I use off road diesel for the tractors and road diesel for the trucks. I will never confirm or deny, but on a rare occasion, I have had to use off road diesel to get home.

 

[mjonesnh]

No bio diesel in my area that I have seen. Pumps just have a sticker with "DIESEL" or "#2 DIESEL". Most have a sticker that says Minimum 40 cetane. Never seen a pump with 5 different flavors of diesel like photo above.

 

[Too many Kubotas]

Short trips where the engine doesn't really get a chance to warm up.
Putting gasoline in it.

You forgot to warn about putting DEF in the fuel tank...or at least think that you did.

 

[deserteagle71]

Ag diesel may be a lot cheaper, but it also has a much lower quality control because it’s rarely inspected.

Nope. At least, not here in Nevada. I used to have the job of adding red dye to the diesel. If the load of diesel was going into the regular tank then no dye was added. If the truck was dumping into the off-highway tank then I added 250 cc of red dye to each 8000 gallons of diesel. But the diesel itself was the same and came out of the same tank at the bulk plant.

 

[workinonit]

Workinonit said:
Why do all of you think there is some magical difference in the dyed vs clear fuel. All of the fuel is EXACTLY the same. The dye is injected when the truck is loaded where I buy from. It's all the same stuff.

Had a business in Miami (years ago), a customer always smelled like gasoline. Asked him what he did for a living - "I'm a dye mixer".

He sat on a trestle at Port Everglades and looked at the tanker trucks which drove up and parked underneath him. Different brands of gasoline got different colors, Gulf tankers got a cupful of orange dye, somebody else got green dye, someone else got blue, etc.

It all came from the same tank at the port.

In addition to smelling of gasoline, he was always stoned from breathing gas fumes all day. Obviously, this was pre-OSHA, he couldn't even have an electric fan because of the explosion risk of the fumes.

Best Regards,
Mike/Florida

Good grief. This has absolutely nothing to do with diesel fuel. Around here since our winters are mild there is only one low sulphur diesel. It gets dye if it's going in an off road tank. I buy mine 1000 gallons at a time and it's dyed when the truck is loaded at the distributor. Surely y'all don't think they haul that diesel fuel all over the country in separate tanker compartments when all it needs is a little dye? I wouldn't be surprised at all to find out that all gasoline is the same only dyed differently.

 

[Too many Kubotas]

Let me know when you sell your next vehicle. Your the type of owner i wanna buy from!!

Thanks for the confidence, and many of my vehicles have ended up being sold to friends for the same reason, but what's up for grabs may or may not be what you want or need.

Two I haven't got around to go through and find out just how good, bad, or indifferent they are - just aware that I'll likely never get to doing it. One is a very rare Unimog FLU 419 HME trencher/dozer, the other a '52 TD with MGB drivetrain. Those are much like any used vehicle at this point.

Once the order banks open (which is supposed to be soon) and the new '26 pickup is built and delivered, my girlfriend's '21 Ram 1500 will be for sale. It's been pampered, but has a lot of miles on it...around 25,000 as I recall. Well, compared my '21 with 5,000 miles that's a lot.

Other than those three we're most likely hanging on to what we got for the foreseeable future.

 

[Shenandoah MF1760]

Jack stands are not expensive.

My ROPS is apparently 98", which is about the height of that 4066 cab. It fits great inside my hi-cube.
Personally I'd drop a hi-cube on that site for now or possibly permanently; between a locked gate a mile back and a good lock on the container your tools should be pretty safe. Maybe some caltrops on the road, too, just remember to pick them up next time you come through...

If I was going to drive a cab into mine, I'd make sure the approach is mostly at-grade though; mine has a brief gravel ramp going up to the door which may make a cab's clearance a bit dicey because of the tilting.

FWIW, I got a one-trip 40' hi-cube with doors at both ends. Makes access to the far end trivial and easy to see without extra light during the day, plus plenty of ventillation. Mine is a light tan color which keeps cool even in 50% summer sun; I've been in dark green and dark brown containers and even in morning sun they're saunas.

I wouldn't be surprised at all to find out that all gasoline is the same only dyed differently.

Maybe not dyed, but occasionally everything will end up being premium. I was working at the Chevon Refinery in Richmond, CA and was informed that all Chevon in the area was premium at the moment because that was all they were running in the refinery at the time and it was too costly to transfer over due to maintenance issues.

 

[DarkBlack]

I am told Europe still allows high Sulfur diesel to be used.

You were told wrong. It’s actually lower than our 15ppm limit.
A couple of Eastern European countries still allow higher, but not Western Europe

 

[OrangeRidge]

I was taught that only applies to diesels with glow plugs or pre-heat systems doesn't it??
used sparingly has been a staple for century hasn't it?
its still sold today for use on diesels by many manufacturers like Lucas etc..... approved for use on diesels.

happy to be proven wrong though.
Cheers

I've used it for chainsaws in cold weather . Just can't get the speed to start sometimes .

 

[Rockbadchild]

my Cenex pumps lists its choices.
My Shell station only list premium and regular diesel.
I guess its up to the station??
and what fuel you choose to use can make a big difference.

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I have never seen these choices on a pump ether.... I know for myself I have asked a gas station owner he his my cousin uncle and also had a forestry business and he said the bled change on its own from the summer to the winter as the fall approached so it doesn't freeze. He told me to stay away from red diesel during the fall as it take longer to go through the tank and get the new blend and to not used summer purchase diesel in the winter.

 

[youcars7]

What about biodiesel?

 

[joea99]

That sounds like something AI would come up with.

How would a diesel engine know or care if the fuel is red or not??
But I wouldn't mind seeing idling on the list.

The differences between on road and off road are - red dye and fuel Taxes. But, depending on the area one or the other may have sat longer.