I have a friend whose truck is identical to mine besides color we both usually get diesel at the same shell station.... However we have both been noticing a slight injector rattle both of which are identical..... My friends family owns a farm and has large tanks with farm diesel which are still LSD and as far as I know will always be??? .... Well the other day we were in his truck out of fuel so we put farm diesel in it... Guess what no more injector rattle........ Anyone else experience this????

 

I noticed some more noise at idle, once the engine is warm. It sounds like what you are describing. I've been putting a couple of gallons of B100 in at each fill-up and the engine is now quieter than new. I have 10K miles.

 

I've noticed the same thing. I put in 16 oz of power service (silver bottle) and that seems to keep it from rattling so much. I've also found a station that has "premium" LSD (at least that what the pump states). Tried some and the engine has very little rattle, if any at all. I don't know what makes a diesel fuel "premium". Anyone know?

 

+1 ~> I'm sure there is multiple threads on the lubricity (lack thereof) issues with ULSD

 

My rattle is at around 2200 RPMS in 3rd when acclelerating........... Does anyone know if farm diesel is going to be converted to ulsd??????

 

I think I read somewhere that by 2010 there will be no LSD, only ULSD.

 

Who determines how much lubricant is added to the fuel before you buy it???

 

The lubricant is added by the distributers, not the refineries. I recall reading somewhere that once the fuel is refined it can be used for several different uses, such a heating fuel, which does not require lubricants. That is why it is left up to the distributers.

 

MoparNut speaks the truth. I am a retired tanker-truck driver (41 yrs) and the lubricity additives are injected into the fuel as it is loaded into the tanker at the terminal. Heating fuel is generally clear of additives. In cold-weather climates it is injected with anti-gel agents or cut with #1 diesel. The amount of additives injected are computer controlled and the loading process will stop if there is a failure. The truck cannot leave the terminal until the proper quantity of additive is in the load.

 

You mean if the computer is working correctly or the valve it is to open does open like is should. My cousin job is a fuel tanker yanker and I have heard all kinds of stories how thing can and do go wrong at the tank farm and the problems don't always get caught right away! I liked the one where a bit more gas then normal got mixed in the diesel or even jet fuel getting mixed in it and they sell it anyway just like it is. This is one more reason I use additives in my fuel becasue of the mistakes that can and do happen.
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The system is not "fool-proof", you are right about that. There are times that require the tanker driver to recognize the problem while loading and call for the TO (terminal operator). If that driver is in a hurry or is not on the ball, he will ignore what is happening. Those are the times when the PROFESSIONAL driver steps up and the dummies just shrug their shoulders. I can say that I think I trained the former.

And, yes, product mixes at the terminals can happen. Remember that different products come through the same pipeline. There is a percentage of mix tolerence that they go by and it is very tightly controlled. It is not the terminal operators intention to distribute bad products. Many times contaminated products are sent back to the refinery to be cleaned up. Fortunately this does not happen too often.

Always try to fuel your rig at a truck stop. The volume of product they pump each day will ensure you are getting fresh fuel.

 

roadgeneral
Is there really such a thing as premium diesel? If so, how is it different than regular diesel?

 

Yes............Some distributors use additives in the diesel (generic) that is loaded at the terminal. Typically, these additives are winterizers (anti-gel) or performance improvers (cetane boosters). The fact is that the diesel fuel that is in the large storage tanks is a base or generic product. Everyone is drawing off this product; whether it is Chevron, Shell, Exxon etc. This new Ultra-Low Sulphur Diesel (ULSD) has to have a lubricity agent added as it is being loaded onto the tanker. Sulphur in diesel is like lead in gasoline. It helps cushion the valves and acts as an anti-wear agent in the fuel pump. Frankly, IMO, school is still out on how this ULSD will effect the life of any diesel motor. It is illegal to do so, but those who have access to the old High Sulphur Off-Road Diesel and have put it in their tanks will tell you that the motor runs much better. This product is very scarce these days and will soon be gone. There will be only ULSD, clear for on-road and dyed for off-road. Having said all that, you are at the mercy of the retailer if he says he is selling Premium Diesel. He is probably getting at least $.05 per gallon more for this product, but is the additive really in there? I use Stanadyne Performance Formula. It has all the good stuff for anti-gel and cetane improvement. And the best part is..............I know that it's in there!!

 

At my work place we have been using the ULSD since Sept 04. When it was first introduced to us the color of the ULSD was clear in color, looked just like water. Our one ton work truck has a 145 gal diesel tank mounted on it for filling our equipment in the field and I've noticed just here recently the water separator site glass shows the fuel is the blueish-green color again. I have not spoken to our fuel manager, but I'm sure it is still the ULSD and they just dyed it to what we would call the normal color of diesel to be. At first introduction of the ULSD at our work place we had several of our older diesel pick-ups (97-99 year models mainly) develop internal lift pump leaks in which the only cure was to replace with a new lift pump. To my knowledge no injector pumps were ever damaged and needed replaced. Finally to cure the over all problem at the time the fuel manager introduced a fuel additive to our storage tanks and soon after the problem with internal leaks went away and have so far to date.

Tony

 

Tony..............Clear ULSD can vary slightly in color, from water clear to the greenish-blue color you are seeing. It depends on the batch at the refinery. Your supplier is "on the ball", taking care of your problems with the fuel.