I know this has been talked about before, but I'm curious what ya'all think about my specific situation....

I've never run anything but standard diesel fuel through my truck until recently (with 82,000 miles on the meter) I ran 2 tanks of B20 through it. About half way through my 2nd tank, BAM...Massive loss of power, check engine light comes on, shaking, rattling, etc. I limp it home, hoping it's just my fuel filter is plugged. I changed the filter, it takes a little while but is up and running again, check engine light even goes away.

About another 20 miles in and BAM. Check engine light comes on again and same thing. I limp it home. Acts like filter is plugged again. I'm about to change it again.

My theory is the B20 is cleaning everything out and plugging my filters. I hope that's all it is. Thoughts???

Also, I had a little less than half tank left of B20, and I filled up with normal stuff to dilute it out. We'll see....

 

Well, bad news. Changed the filter again, and it's not helping at all. Still running terrible, especially at idle. No power. Sounds terrible. I guess it wasn't the filter that was the problem. Now I'm in a bad spot. Guessing injector maybe... not sure....sigh...

 

put a qt of dexron atf in the tank for a few tanks. it will clean out your fuel system. do it for a few tanks and if it doesnt fix your problems, then you have another issue besides a dirty fuel system. did any more codes pop up?

 

I can't run anything through it right now. No power. Can't drive faster than about 35 or 40 mph tops. And I can't get any codes to pop up, never have been able to get them. Not sure why but I've read on here that a lot of people can't get codes without a reader.

 

try changing the filter agian. drain the filter bowl and then pour some cleaner into the bowl. i am not sure what would be ok to pour into the bowl, maybe seafoam, but dont pour atf in the bowl. also check the wires around the ac compressor and the fan clutch wires. make sure they are good cuz a broken, bad, melted wire down there can cause this.

 

Thanks for the tip. I'll try all that tomorrow and see what happens.

 

Before you go all crazy, cut a filter open and let us know what it looks like inside.

Not all Biodiesel is made to ASTM specs....... you could have gotten that bad batch that slips thru.

Do you fuel at the same place every time? Perhaps any other diesel owners you know around who had the same issue? Around here when a bad load is delivered, the word spreads among us diesel owners pretty quickly.

 

yeah, cuz what i suggested is "crazy"

 

Pouring transmission fluid in the tank could be considered crazy. That trick may have worked on much older (as in 40 years and older) diesels, but is generally a bad idea for modern engines.

1. ATF (any flavor) is red in color. It also turns your fuel red. It would be hard to explain red fuel if you ever get dipped. The sample still has to go to the lab for testing for the chemical tracer that dyed fuel contains, but won't help with the intitial headache of the guys dipping your tank in the first place.

2. ATF also has friction modifiers in it meant for clutch paks in trannies, not in injection pumps, fuel rails, and injectors with tight tolerances.

3. This kinda falls under "right tool for the right job". There are much better and cheaper additives to put in the tank designed for diesel engines.

And number 4. This is a quote from another forum. The guy that posted this works in the petrochem industry.

I agree with patdaly, the biodiesel more than likely caused the problem. Either the biodiesel was of questionable quality, had water in it, or cleaned your tank. Biodiesel is good at loosening built up tank crud and bringing it to the filter.

 

Maybe not wild crazy, but plugging a filter in 20 miles even if it were cleaning the tank on a 2006 truck would make me strongly suspect something far worse than a simple cleaning. Most biodiesel episodes take more than 20 miles to plug a filter.

And yea, with the orifices size and price of the injectors on the CR's, dumping stuff in my tank would be a no-no.

 

I do agree with you about getting your tank dipped, but adding aft has worked for numerous guys including me fixing the issues like what the op is having. I know there are guys out there that won't do it, but me and lots of other guys that have been using it for tens of thousands of miles will stand by it. I also add ashless two stroke oil to help keep things lubricated.

 

Thanks for the info guys. Work is getting in the way of me getting to this right now, but I will sometime soon. I'll check that wiring, and I'll cut open the last filter, I never thought of that. From what I could see on the inside it looked really clean. I know looks can be deceiving so I didn't think a lot of it. I don't know what to expect to find when I cut it open but it sure can't hurt to see in there.

Also, I agree that 20 miles is a ridiculously short amount of time to plug a filter, even if my theory about the biodiesel is correct. I'm suspicious this is a much bigger issue. And I haven't heard anything about a bad load of fuel coming through here, and I think I would've at least heard the rumor.

 

Well, I cut open the filter, and while I'm the first to admit I'm no filter expert, and I don't really know what I'm looking at, it sure seems clean to me. It's hard for me to imagine this was causing any problems for me.

 

did you check the wires?

 

That filter is fine............. something is wrong with the LP, either fuse, wires or the intank pump has died.