man do i need help.....I have an ' 04 1/2 2500 4x4....i topped of my tank at a shell station in houston with their 20% blend...it had been warm for a couple of weeks and a cold front blew in the fuel jelled and formed a waxy substance and clogged my injectors...i found an additive from power services called biodiesel anti-gel to prevent it from happing again but it doesn't do me any good now...if i plug my block heater in will it get the injectors hot enough to melt the wax? or should i just take it in to the shop...it showes 3 injector codes 2 thru 5 and a p 2146...can anyone tell me what that is...any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.........thanks

 

Plugging it in will get the whole engine warm but how cold did it get. Your in Texas right...Cold enough to gel fuel. I kinda doubt that the fuel in your injectors is gelled. I would think that the fuel in your fuel filter is gelled and your not getting fuel to the injectors. I would plug it in and put a new Fuel filter in and fill the bowl with some Power service. If you can get it in your shop that would be the best thing.
Good luck,
Topper

 

There is this stuff called emergency heat or fuel 911 etc. that will break up wax. I think if it was me, I would just plug it in like you said and let it warm up and add the bio anti-gel. Your engine should get over 100deg. with the block heater and will break up the wax. Are you sure that b20 gelled up? Usually b20 needs pretty low temp like the 20's to gel. You could also try a few gallons of kerosene to cut the bio, thats what we use up north to cut b100 down to keep it from gelling.

 

PS has a red bottle called 911 , it is spouse to work its way through the fuel system , it may work with the bio , but it will not harm .
The next is you have the common rail system , they recomend using an added filtering system for over 5% with a max of 20% , next is possible bad bio , you did not mention the temp , just cold , 20% should not gel till about 10-20*F , if not even colder .
If it were me I would park in heated garage for at least 8 hrs , plug it in , add the 911 , if there is any room put in more #2 , swap out the fuel filter . Once it starts , it may take some running to clean the injectors .
A lot of dealers have told owner to put in a new fuel system , this is bunk , generally , the only thing you should need would be filter , additive , heated garage & more #2 .

 

You didn't plug your injectors.

Andy

 

I have changed my fuel filter six times, drained my tank,changed fuel filter again, added anti gel, let it run....at first the codes were 3 thru 6 on the injectors, p2146 and p2149....after running for a while 4 and 5 on injectors and p2146...i drained sone in a cup to inspect it and a little got on my driveway the next morning it had formed a waxy substance on the driveway...that is why i figured the injectors were clogged, along with it running a little better, the codes clearing, next morning running bad and codes reappearing.....

 

Which Shell station in Houston did you buy the B20?

MikeyB

 

south beltway 8 and cullen

 

If you can, save your receipt, and fuel sample. I live in SA and it's not cold enough to gel BD. I have gallon containers of WVO sitting outside and they aren't even close to being gelled. There may have been an excess amount of water in the bio and when run through the injectors caused them to fail. The common rail ctds have had tons of problems w/the factory filtering (inadequacy) thus letting all types of junk run thru and ruin the injectors. I would recommend installing a 10micron and then a 2mic set up. If you need any other info, I'll be glad to help out.

 

When you say you drain the tank, how much did you drain and did you refill it with straight diesel? Did you put in the PS additive you mentioned earlier?

 

After thinking more
Another thought, biodiesel is acts as a cleaner to your fuel tank and entire system. If you have not run it before don't run a full tank because when run, it will clean and then clog up everything. But I think as you stated you mixed about 20%, or was this the rating on the pump. Either way a correct 20% mix shouldn't do this. Again, find the receipt and save a fuel sample. Warranty in effect still? Just ideas but make sure you document everything.

 

I flipped the lever on the fuel filter housing, caught the fuel in a barrel and let the engine run till it died....changed filter added 10 gallons of fuel along with yellow can of heat and antigel from powerservices

 

we have made our own fuel for 2 years and i understand what your saying about cleaning the system.....this wasn't the same....i topped off the tank drove 2 blocks parked my truck and didn't drive it for 2 days...when i left houston it started running rough within the first couple of minutes after takin off...the sign on the pump said 20% blended fuel...i spilled a little of the fuel on my concrete drive and the next morning it had formed a waxy substance

 

I would have to say the fuel you purchased may have been contaminated. If everything was going good up until that point of fuel purchase then I would say by process of elimination the fuel is your problem. I would of done exactly what you did by draining it, and adding the fuel additive, double check the filters and then try to restart. As an alternate idea you may have to remove the injectors and have them cleaned, tested and/or replaced. My uncle works at M&D here in SA. If you need the injectors checked that would be the place I'd take them as they just spent over $1m in Bosch certified testing equipment.

 

what does cost to remove and clean injectors? ball park, then how much to remove and replace them if they are bad?