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Car Forum / Mercedes-Benz Cars / May 2006Running on biodiesel-- some things to check!
I just wanted to mention a few things that are important if you run your car on biodiesel. These are maintenance issues that come up, are easy to fix, but not everyone knows about. 1. Biodiesel degrades your hoses and any original rubber that it comes in contact with. So.. a) when you change your fuel filter (which you will have to do within the first few months of switching to biodiesel as biodiesel clears all the gunk out of your engine) -CHANGE the fuel line hoses with rubber hoses that will not degrade. Cheap and easy, a one-time change you need to make and youre set for life. b) if any biodiesel spills out when you change the filter, which it will, be aware that you must clean it off of any rubber hoses it comes in contact with! Some biodiesel leaked on my power stearing hose and over the course of a few months, it almost burst! i had to clip the hose down to a point where the hose was still good. **c) keep an eye on your HAND PRIMER PUMP. the rubber seal on this will degrade and fuel will leak! And unless you look out for this, you could go a long time without knowing. Its a cheap part to replace (20$). I just had to switch mine out, and unfortunately put in another pump with a rubber seal.. which will go again. i hear there are newer, all metal pumps? look into getting that if you can.** Other than these simple things, there havent been any other issues that i have had to deal with due to the switch over. Biodiesel has been amazing! I mean, come on, I'm running my car on vegetable oil! OK, just wanted to pass this on. I wish someone had told me-- Best, kate > I just wanted to mention a few things that are important if you run > your car on biodiesel. These are maintenance issues that come up, are [quoted text clipped - 30 lines] > Best, > kate When you find yourself in a city and have to go back to dino-diesel for a tank, expect the engine to make much more noise. No, your valves haven't gone suddenly out of adjuistment. Also, you will need to preglow longer with dino-diesel and it will take longer to even out. I've been running B-99 on the old rubber hoses for almost a year and they do not leak. Yep, the hand pump went, but it's no biggie. I know the hoses will eventually go, then I'll swap out the hoses. A small price to pay for how much better they run on Bio ('81 300TD and '80 300SD). Add to that the price for the B-99 is the same or less here than for #2 and it's pretty much non-polluting, it's hard to use the real diesel. So you got biodiesel fuel pump station in Oregon? There's a nice biofuel pump few blocks from my work (Corvallis, OR). B-99. $3.30 a gallon. It's a commercial fueling station, but they seem to have a soft spot for us bio-Benz-ers. Around town i get about the same bio/dino-diesel. on the road i seem to get a little more mpgs with the bio (up to 30mpg if i keep it at the limit). This is in an '81 300TD. I'd pay more for bio, and have, just to enjoy the quieter engine, easier starting, better smell, and using less petroleum than those butt-ugly hybrids. I'm not a traditional tree hugger, but I like NOT being a big a contributor to the enviornemntal damage done by my love of cars and motorcycles. And yes, I do ride a bike. a lot. But, you ever try to haul 600 pounds on a bicycle? So only about 35 cents more per gallon compared to diesel... I'd pay that too... Right now, I am planning for WVO... it will take a while before I do so though... Dino diesel is running about $3.15 to $3.31 here, so it's really easy to go with the bio. The station that sells it is going thru more and more of it as more people try it and like it. Never forget: if the temp drops below about 25 degrees (f), it turns to soy jelly. It doesn't hurt anything, but when it got to 19 degrees a few months ago, i forgot to go 50/50 dino/bio (I think WVO solidifies at even warmer temps). It took about 24 hours with a 100 watt bulb in my engine compartment (next to the injector) with the temp at freezing before she would fire. She was fine after that, but I'm too old to be riding a motorcycle in below freezing weather. Yes, my wife took my work van. Whatever happen to your engine block heater? thanx for the info, im thinking about going to bio if i can find a cheap place to get it. the one place i found has it for about 3 cents less than regular diesel. not worth it to me to change, the mileage is allegedly not as good with bio. >I just wanted to mention a few things that are important if you run > your car on biodiesel. These are maintenance issues that come up, are [quoted text clipped - 30 lines] > Best, > kate Don't forget there are two rubber hoses at the bottom of fuel tank. However, I am not sure how to find replacements that are not OE. One end (to the tank) of the hose is buried inside the metal thread, like those high-pressure hydraulic hose. Replacing these hoses needs to drain the entire tank. > I just wanted to mention a few things that are important if you run > your car on biodiesel. These are maintenance issues that come up, are [quoted text clipped - 30 lines] > Best, > kate |
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