Another doggone leak.

Well we all loaded into the truck today and went to get lunch; I was almost there when I noticed the smell of diesel fuel just as I was waiting for the Metrolink train to cross.

So I continue on and I am thinking why do I still smell it, so I pull over and pull open the hood and I have fuel leaking off the back of the VE pump dripping at a good rate.

I figured I couldn't do anything here so we went on and had lunch first and then we went home.
I pull up and stick a drain pan under the truck so I don't mess up my driveway and now it has stopped leaking.

It is now 3:00 P.M. So I ran down to ADP and picked up a repair kit for the Bosch pump and started asking the counter man questions that he couldn’t answer so he when and got the tech off the flow bench.

We talked for awhile as I was picking his brain (he is speaking with a heavy German accent) and I ask him why my pump is springing so many leaks and he said it is the dry fuel, the ULSD is killing all of the VE pumps as he pointed to a bench lined up with them in the process of being rebuilt.

So I guess it's true.

It is also real hard on the RoosaMasters used on the GM 6.2’s
I had first hand experience on the RoosaMaster when the throttle shaft binds and you get a sticky throttle.
I had mine stick full throttle down an onramp and took about a mile before it would release.

Anyhow I got the repair kit and headed on home.
I removed the bracket for the throttle linkage and replaced the o-ring on the fuel pin.

I measured the distance from the end of the shaft to the nut and when I replaced it I think it wound up about 1 turn in more than it was.

So now it is working fine and I am wondering where is the next place it is going to leak from.
Jim

 

The back of my injection pump has sprung a leak recently as well.

I've heard a lot of people blaming ULSD for all the leaks, but I've been running either Lucas Fuel lubricant or Power Service Diesel Kleen in every tank since ULSD came out, so I'd tend take that with a grain of salt. (Of course, it's also possible on a 350,000 mile engine that the lubricity additives are as hard on seals as the dry fuel.)

The annoying part about my leak is that I can never catch exactly where it is leaking from. I can tell there's a leak from the smell whenever I'm driving it hard, but if I stop then it drys back out.


In other news, I think any new seals you can buy for the pump are supposed to be good for SVO, so I'm up ahead anyways by the time I fix the leaks.

 

It may be stupid because the fine is steep, but I have an 275 gal fuel tank in my garage full of red fuel cut w/a little kero for my furnace that also happens to finds its way into the truck. Sometimes I even splurge and slightly cut with some diesel fuel and power service of course. I think that red fuel has plenty of sulfer in it......and I get better mileage. No injector prob's as of yet.

 

ahem...

I also "know someone" who runs the red fuel in a 92 dodge, and usually cuts it up to 50-60% with B99 when "he" can. No pump leaks in "his" truck yet...

 

I heard somewhere also that the red fuel isn't affected by the ulsf but I don't know about how much sulfer content it has

 

I don't know about where you live but here the red fuel is the same ULSD fuel as the un-dyed fuel. They dye it red in the tanks to identify it as no tax fuel.

 

I cannot believe it is the fuel. I would rather believe it is the temperature change coming about this last few months and the fact the trucks are getting old. Everything is contracting/expanding differently now. If you procrastinators out there with leaks will notice, when the truck warms up the leak slows down. Jim Lane, was your leak between the pump head and the main body?

 

No it's the fuel. In the process of refining it the fuel is altered and it causes old seals to shrink and leak. There is no additives out there yet for this and from what I have read on Standard Oil's web site and others there never will be. What it loses is not replacable by an additive. The only answer is to have our pumps resealed with new seals that have not been exposed to the old fuel. Another case of our dear goverment protecting us from ourselves at our expense I guess.
Oops did I say that?

 

Any insight on the best type of seal and o-ring material. Viton etc.

 

They say the viton is the best but just new seals will work also because they have not been exposed to the old fuel and allowed to swell. If I were going to replace them though I would use the viton but I think the new seal kits are them anyway. I could be wrong on that though. I am still in the process of researching this and learning myself. This is one of the Chevron reports on the ULSD and leaks. http://www.chevron.com/products/prod...tb_2005Aug.pdf

 

So, rlyons I was wondering if you could enlighten us as to what the "S" in UL"S"D stands for, how it "alters" the fuel's chemical composition, why this causes a problem for older diesel equipment and why as you claim, there is no additive to address this problem?

Just wondering if you could please provide a few details to back up this information you have provided above.

 

From what i understand, the process of removing the sulphur also removes various aromatic components of the fuel (probably the ones that cause the swelling/shrinkage issues), and also the lubrication qualities. There were also some issues a number of years ago when the refineries switched from "full sulphur" to the (now) "old" low sulphur fuel. While I havent had any problems (yet) I`m just waiting for the leak gnomes to invade my truck as well....that is if I can ever get the RMS repaired so I can actually DRIVE tha darned thing.

 

Thats right. The sulfur in the fuel makes the seals expand. Now that the sulfur content is WAY down, the seals are shrinking and leaking. No additive will help because they can't replace the sulfur taken out. I'm about ready to start adding some sweet crude oil to my tank. I hear theres some sulphur in that My only question is if its too abrasive for the inside of my pump.

 

Yes that is right it is not the sulpher that makes the difference, it is the refining process that causes it and that is why no additives will help. If you click on the link it tells some basic reasons and facts but there is a lot of info on the net on the subject.

 

That's what i herd from my buddy at the refinery.
just picked up new throttle bushing and o-ring today.
my first ulsd LEAK.