Dr. Evil

Joshua,

Personally, I would NOT put used oil in my tank. There is too much crap left from combustion. If you are wanting extra lubrication use some good fuel conditioner and some FRESH SAE 30 wt to your tank. You're cummins will be happy.

03 ant a hemi

my only concern is the fact that the oil has suspended metals in it. But remember that they will sink to the bottom of your fuel tank like all the other crud that is in the fuel. what ever else will most likly be filtered by your filter. I like the comments from Chaikwa kinda makes people think before engaging their mouths.
my question is why would you put mods on your truck like other air filters, boxes or different exhaust systems. only to have a possibility to damage your $40000Cdn truck. The guy asked a couple of simple questions and a few people on here proceded to belittle him and talk down to him. Now if it was construtive criticizem then fine, but construtive criticizem always has a way to fix the situation.

I do beleive one of your questions were answered 40:1 for the mix. As for your fuel filter because I doubt many people have burnt oil in their trucks they really dont know. what is it to check your fuel filter every once in a while to see if it is contaminated sediment in the bottom would be an indicator. If you please keep us posted on how well it works for you. i am pondering doing this myslef. One last thing is I would look at maybe getting a filter and filtering out the oil before putting it into the vehicle. good luck

bluebull

The only problem I can see is on the 24 valved trucks they use an electric lift pump with tighter tolerances then the mechanical lift pumps on the 12 valve trucks. The lift pump is before the fuel filter so with the tighter tolerances it might eat up more lift pumps.

This is only speculation so in real life situations I really do not know.

I would love to use used motor oil for better lubrication, possible fuel mileage gain, saved running around time trying to get ride of it, and my own enviromental concerns but until some one can prove to me it will not damage anything I'll keep giving it to a guy that has a furnace that burns used motor oil.

chaikwa

Don't come down too hard on anyone, I'm as guilty as anyone when it comes to putting my mouth in gear before the common courtesy portion of my brain. If you don't think that's tru, just read my previous post in this thread. I was a tad too sarcastic for my own good. Maybe the guy I was responding to ALSO slipped the shift-lever into gear without realizing it!

To try and answer the question about filtering and suspended metals; I guess filtering wouldn't be a bad idea, but it's already been filtered so many times by the engine oil filter, I didn't think there'd be anything all that harmful in it to begin with. I've been doing this since the truck was new without any problems. The fuel filter is somewhat black when I change it, but there's never any sediment in it that I've seen. I do oil changes by the hour, (200 hr intervals), not mileage however, so maybe this has something to do with the amount of crud that gets a chance to build up in the oil. It's still pretty clean when it comes out of the crankcase.

Hope this helps this time!

chaikwa.

infidel

Unless somethin's changed they don't make the Centinal for a 5.9.

I know a couple guys who add waste oil, one gallon to a full tank after letting the oil sit for a few days so the big stuff settles.
Don't try to add synthetic oil to the tank unless you like smoke.
It's illegal to mix waste oil with fuel in Calif, NY and Mass.

wannadiesel

I'm doing this with the oil from my last oil change. Cummins says up to 5% is OK for trucks with no cat, trucks with a cat it's supposed to plug the catalyst so it's verboten. I'm doing the 1 qt pre fillup deal. At this ratio it's nothing but a little extra lube for the IP. Like Bill said, I let it sit and pour off a quart, I'm filtering it through a paper towel folded in quarters so there's no big junk in it. I'll leave the last quart in the jug and use it for starting fires.

1st gen Hobie

What color smoke does syn oil make?

jughead

i have a waste oil boiler in a separate building. i know this doesnt answer your question but i pipe hot water to my house helps with heating billl and gets rid of waste oil. but i do know from experience that no matter how good you filter used oil it is hard on the oil pump on the furnace. i usually have to replace the pump once or twice a winter.

infidel

Blueish

Geico266

Sorry, if I offended anyone that was not my intent.

I just can't believe anyone in their right mind would add used engine oil to a CTD. My Navy experience with used oil tells me that there are MANY difference undesirable chemicals in used oil, PH levels, acids, water, that can be suspended in used oil. Adding it to the fuel system just blows my mind! In my opinion you are just asking for (very expensive) trouble.

How do you mix it up? How does it stay mixed up? This hurts my head!

I looked in the owners manual and couldn't find a thing on it!

dodgedude361

i have to agree, i have no technicle(sp) experience on this subject. I just dont think i woukld gamble ten grand or more on a paper towel If you want to add oil to yer tank, go buy the bargain stuff for a dollar a quart.

Haulin_in_Dixie

I burn two quarts per tank fill, every other tank. I have never seen a difference in the filter getting dirty. It used to be common practice a few years ago to burn up to 10% used oil. Big companies always did this until EPA stepped in.

AlpineRAM

Engine oil is meant not to burn and, depending on the kind of oil considered, it can produce lots of ashes and also coke up your injectors. Since it doesn't burn too good in the diesel and for the reasons mentioned above it will also increase emissions. This is more of a concern on the newer engines and also on engines that run significantly below their max torque for most of the time. (Due to lower injector tip temps)
In a stationary engine that's running close to 100% rated output burning the used engine oil has good results and with the right oil for it no negative impact on the emissions.
The whole situation regarding taxes etc is also to be considered. Over here I'd have to pay the taxes that are on diesel for every liter of engine oil I burn to make it legal in a street driven vehicle, I can't comment on the situation in the USA or Canada.
One of the main reasons the oil has to be changed is because of the reduction in TBL, the capability of the oil to neutralize acids. (This is done by additives)- diesel does not contain these additives so any acid in the oil will form a potential souce of corrosion in the fuel system.

AlpineRAM

large_marge

usually not.


jeremiah

FastZilla

I don't want to join in the flame fest buy I do have lots of experience doing this.

I have no fear nor reservation about burning used oil (any kind) in my `05. I will be doing this from the first tank on. Disposing of the used oil is a pain (taking it back to AutoZone who tank is full 8 out of 10 times) and easier to just pour in the tank 3 qts per fill and get some mileage out of it.

I even do this in my gassers but only 1qt for every 20 gal. In my `00 Mustang GT the O2 sensors desensitized around 75k miles - replaced them at 80k. Gas mileage went from 19.5ish at 65k to 18ish at 75k. After O2 sensors (all 4) were changed mileage is back to 20ish. Original cats, still passing emissions on the dyno hardly even registering any HCs at all. Got 93k on her and all is well. Every vehicle I've ever owned has consumed it's own oil (I run synthetics all around after 30k miles), trans fluid, gear lube. I won't use used Pwr Steering fluid because of the hydroscopic properties of PS fluid - it absorbs water and it won't come out easily. Not worth the hassel for 1 pt.

Disclaimers:
Common sense is the key factor!!!
I am installing a Racor water separator/filter/fuel heater/lift-pump combo prior to doing this. I also replace the fuel filter every 15-20k miles, it's $10 and easy to get at.
When pouring you oil into your truck pour through a fine strainer funnel with an old speaker magnet in it (just in case). Or pour using same method into just emptied new oil jugs that you just filled your engine with (this is what I do). Then it's measured in 1 qt jugs for easy addition into your tank. After used oil is emptied into tank - trash the jug - never worry about contaminated containers.

I have only had fuel problems once. I filled up in Monterrey, MX at a newish PeMex (the only kind there is down there) and the engine stumbled and stalled unless I had over 1/2 a tank. It clogged the unusually fine pre-pump strainer located in my tank. I replaced it and have had no more issued. It looked like rust flakes. Mexico, water in the tanks, old steel tanks....go figure.

Here is an excerpt I wrote in the "Diesel Fuel" thread. It should answer your 2 questions.

Chevy 6.2L & 6.5L NA diesels are notorius for failing mechanical injector pumps at 30K miles - it's a $1600 pump so the trucks go to the junk yard (frankly where they belong ) way before their time - the repair is more than the value of the truck. Why do they fail? Well in the early `90s when they removed HSD (hi-sulphur diesel) from the auto pumps the injector pumps were designed to run on HSD for lubrication. So they just burned up, literaly. The fix is to throw a qt of used or new motor (cheapest stuff you can find) in with every 10 gal of diesel (~40:1). Motor oil and ATF are loaded with sulphur and LUBRICANT, you are essentially making HSD in your tank (red-neck style ). You will also notice a 2+ mph gain as now a lubricated pump can generate proper pressure and atomize the fuel properly. How many trucks made from `94 on have self lubricating pumps, all of them. It's like running a 2-stroke on 72:1. It'll work for a while, just not a long while, and the perf will s*ck.

The common method for removing sulphur from diesel if hydroginating the fuel which removes the sulphur as well as the lubricants in the diesel.

Why used motor oil? Why not? You've already paid for it, you got a fuel filter. Don't be dumb and squeegie it off the shop floor into a dust pan, put it into a coffee can with grounds still in it. Pour it through the multi-purpose funnel you have laying around the garage that hasen't been cleaned since you bought it 20 years ago. Common sence goes a long way here. If it comes out of your oil pan into a clean container then it is pretty much ready to go.

Here is the circle j@rk on used motor oils. It's a hazardous material that you can't legally use for liquid edger, anymore. You have to dispose of it properly. You are charged a disposal fee by the store you buy it from for every qt you buy. They simply add it into the price and are not required to show you what it is. They are required by the EPA to accept back used motor oil equal to the quantity they sold you at no charge - they already charged you!!! They then pay an oil reclaimer to come pick it up. That guy is just a transporter, really. He takes it and sells it to oil recycler. They filter it. Group it with similiar oils they separate. Then they sell it in various grades of "fuel oil" to distributors. The EPA states that controlled combustion is an acceptable form of used oil disposal. So the distributors sell it mainly to the marine industry where they have mixers that once the engine gets to operating temp, mixes about 30% used oil and 70% HSD. There is much more BTUs in oil than diesel so the consumption rate is less and the power remains the same. But like with any fuel the burn rate is important and dictates the fuel's application. Why can't I run a diesel at 7k RPM - because the piston will out-run the expanding flame from the burning diesel. Piston speeds become very important in drag racing as RPM = HP in most cases. So they use volitile fuels like gasoline and nitro-methane. In a tanker ship with 100+ Litre engines lugging at 900 rpm all day this isn't an issue. Slow consistant burning is most important. Octane actually increases the flash poing of gasoline. Yes, 87 octaine gas is more volitile than 110 race gas - why do you thing they have to step the octane up when the compression goes up? The compression heat will pre-detonate the fuel. Diesels have cetane that reduces the flash point for older diesels that aren't running 23:1 with turbos - but you all already knew that I'm sure.

Well I'm ramblin. I just thing it's funny how you pay to dispose of oil that they wind up selling back to you. You might as well consume it yourself!

Hope this answers your questions.