hey guys.. i normally run LSD in my truck with the gray power service additive.. and when i got to Indiana last night.. all i could find was ULSD and they only had the gray power service and not the white.. while driving to Indy.. my fuel pressure dropped to a very uncomfortable point.. however im not to concerned about the vp.. it was -9.. and prob. -20 with windchill.. what can i do to get my fuel de-gelled by Sunday morning?? my girlfriend thought about getting AAA to tow it to a garage where they could keep it inside to warm it up and maybe put some diesel 911 or something to that effect in the tank. any help ASAP would be awesome.

 

Dump some Diesel 911 in the tank, and swap the fuel filter. This was mine yesterday.

 

thanks todd.. any other words of wisdom would be awesome.

 

how long does it take that stuff to get your truck running normal

 

As long as it takes to run though the system which is very fast if you fill the fuel filter with it.

 

i called my a friend of mine that drives truck and he said to use 911.. and about 2 gallons or kerosene.. he said it will work perfectly fine and thaw my tank out really quick.. as well as keep it from gelling anymore.

 

Is the 24 valve different than a 12 valve in that unused fuel is returned to the tank? Once a 12 valve has been driven a few miles the fuel won't jell because the warmed. returned fuel has warmed up the fuel in the tank. Just wondering.

I'm of the opinion that winterized ULSD will not gel any faster than winterized LSD. I haven't been to the great white north yet this winter, but last winter I had no problems what so ever with pumped fuel (i.e. no additives) while traveling in the northern U.S. and Canada. I did have to remove my aux tank filter, gravity feed wouldn't push the fuel thru.

BTW, wind chill temp doesn't apply to inanimate objects. If it was -9 then to the truck it was -9.

 

GAmes is on the right track. Any fuel not used by the engine is used to cool the VP and returned to the fuel tank. It's usually pretty warm, and prevents the fuel tank from gelling while driving. Your culprit sounds more like water freezing in the fuel filter housing. Either way, the Diesel 911 should clear it out.

 

The P pump does the same.
I took the infrared temp gun to the bottom of my tank one -5°F outside day, temp gun said -5°.
I drove 45 miles, stopped and shot the temp again, it was 92°.
That's where having a functioning fuel heater saves your butt, it gives you a little leeway keeping the filter from plugging until the tank fuel warms up. Probably the same reason the injector return line feeds back to the filter inlet.

 

About a month ago, we had a freakishly cold snap come through and it got down to -6°F overnight. I got caught with my pants down and didn't have any additive in the fuel, so needless to say, it gelled up and wouldn't start. I got some Diesel 911 and poured some into the filter canister and the rest into the tank (also, ended up pulling the end cap off the fuel filter element as I unscrewed the lid since the element was stuck in there pretty good). After 30 minutes or so, it was still gelled up solid and wouldn't start.

I ended up setting my 80k BTU/hr forced air propane heater in front of the truck and let it blow under the engine compartment and along the left frame rail. About 10 minutes of that and she thawed right out and started up.

Here's a tip on the 24V's to keep from pulling the filter element apart like I did... if you suspect you're gelled up, turn the key on and just leave it there for a while. The fuel heater in the filter canister will warm the fuel and thaw it enough to remove the element without damaging it.

 

somewhat off topic- how hot will the fuel heater get with motor running?

 

On a 12 valve the heater comes on at 50F and turns off at 70F.

 

From the FSM on my '01:

 

you guys are gonna laugh.. the cold weather killed my FP gauge.. it would drop by itself with no throttle and sit there.. then drop again.. and sit there.. truck ran fine.. 19 mpg on ULSD from Indy to Pittsburgh.. no dead pedal.. and no missing.. guess i was all worried b.c i was in a big city with no tools to work on my big blue.