Getting The Most Out Of Your Alternatively Fueled Diesel Vehicle Proper Maintenance and Optimization

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Getting The Most Out Of Your Alternatively Fueled
Diesel Vehicle - Proper Maintenance and
Optimization for Performance, Emissions, and
Efficiency

• Tom Judd
• Colorado Biodiesel
• http//www.coloradobiodiesel.com

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Biodiesel Related Mechanical Issues

• This discussion is in no way to be considered
  complete, or comprehensive. If you have questions
  PLEASE ASK!
• If you have information that isn't shared in this
  class and feel is pertinent, please SHARE IT!

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General Diesel Maintenance

• Filters
• Fuel lines
• Diesel purge/Diesel Kleen
• Valve adjustment
• Injector service (test/balance)?

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General Diesel Maintenance

• Valve adjustment is a common procedure
• Anyone can learn to do this on their own car
• Be prepared to get greasy!

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General Diesel Maintenance

• Use protective equipment doing any work
• Patience, no matter what

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General Diesel Maintenance

• Compression testing for baseline (cheap testers
  can be had at HFT - OK)?

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General Diesel Maintenance

• Checking and adjusting injector pump timing
  (timing chain elongation over time changes timing
  relative to cam timing.)?

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Diesel Emissions

• Smoking
• Turbo (fuel/air ratio imbalance)?
• ALDA (fuel ratio adjustment)?
• Bad fuel
• Water?
• Algae?
• Glycerol?
• Soaps?

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Diesel Emissions

• Smoking (cont'd)?
• Improper warm-up (ambient relative to engine
  temps)?
• Bad glow plug(s)?
• Testing

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Diesel Emissions

• Air filtration
• Blocked flow
• Plugged filter
• Off-brand filter
• Air intake restrictions (bird/mouse)?

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Biodiesel Related Maintenance

• Fuel Filters
• Flexible fuel lines (NR, Buna, etc.)?
• Filler cap gaskets
• Filler neck seals
• Pump fittings with seals

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General Diesel Maintenance

• Don't forget the chassis and other related
  components!
• Wheel bearings
• Differential
• Transmission
• Synth lubes
• Filters
• Adjustments

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Common Biodiesel Related Repairs

• Filter plugging for the first few tanks will be a
  common problem due to the aggressive cleaning
  action of Biodiesel

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Common Biodiesel Related Repairs

• Older fuel hoses swell or decompose (replacement
  with most new factory hose and any Viton hose
  will solve this issue)?

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Common Biodiesel Related Repairs

• What we all know
• NR, Buna-N, Nitrile seals rot/decompose in
  presence of Biodiesel.

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Biodiesel Related Maintenance

• Injector cleaning
• http//dieselgiant.com/injectorcleaning.htm

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Biodiesel and Rubber

• Natural Rubber no longer used
• Buna-N, Nitrile, etc. do swell over time
• Most vehicles mfg AFTER 1992 are OK for
  Biodiesel use as-is!

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Biodiesel and Fuel Lines

• Gates 4219G is certified for use with Biodiesel

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Biodiesel and fuel lines
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Common Biodiesel Issues
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Common Biodiesel Issues
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Common Biodiesel Issues

• Up to 10 less power
• Higher gel temp
• Decomposition of NR, Buna and Nitrile
• Injector Coking/Nozzle plugging
• NOX can be increased
• Availability

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Coking Symptoms

• Smoking
• Hard starting
• Lack of power
• Rough engine

Ford F250 Powerstroke, 30K miles on B100. Mild
coking issues noted
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Biodiesel Related Mods

• Injector pop testing and balancing (experimenting
  with nozzles and pop pressures)?

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Biodiesel Performance Pros

• Cetane 5-10 points higher than petro diesel
• Smoother/quiet running
• Cleaner fuel system
• Cleaner combustion chamber

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Biodiesel Performance Pros

• Less Soot/emissions (contd)
• In the 1996 study performed by the Southwest
  Research Institute, the effect of oxygen content
  (by percent oxygen) on the production of
  particulates, smoke and soot was studied using
  the same Cummins diesel test engine cited above.
  The study established, for example, that a B-20
  blend (approximately 2 oxygen for RME-20)
  reduces particulate soot by approximately 30
  (from 0.06 for diesel no. 2 to 0.04 G/HP-Hr for
  rapeseed methyl ester at 20.) Technical
  Handbook for Marine Biodiesel In Recreational
  Boats - Randall von Wedel, Ph.D

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Biodiesel Performance Pros

• Less Soot/emissions (contd)
• B100 has shown about a 50 reduction in
  particulate matter (PM or soot) emissions.
  Biodiesel FAQ, Union of Concerned Scientists
• Oil life extended with reductions in suspended
  soot

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Biodiesel Performance Pros

• Substantial increase in fuel lubricity means
  longer pump life
• Even low blends of biodiesel are highly
  effective at enhancing the lubricity of diesel
  fuel. The typical blend used for lubricity
  enhancement is 2 biodiesel mixed with 98 diesel
  (B2). NBB - Low Blends of Biodiesel A Guide
  to Different Blend Levels

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Biodiesel Performance Pros
This is a photo of the Quantity Adjuster housing
on the BioPod after 42,000 miles - 3.5 years on
B100. Bob Armantrout
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Biodiesel Performance Pros
Here's a photo of my friend Shaun's 2000 Golf
with over 62,000 B100 miles - it is immaculate!
Bob Armantrout
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Somebody Likes Us!
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Conclusion

• Dont worry, if you screw up a mechanical thing,
  it CAN be fixed!
• We are all at the front of a many-generations
  quest for the health of our living environment.
• Fuel costs will only go up.

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Colorado BiodieselPO box 21292Boulder, CO
80308www.coloradobiodiesel.com303-440-1050