Ricky5 wrote:
Well I fall under the "drive like grandpa" category, so I'm kinda turning anal now. I rarely feed the speed to my ride. I don't fully understand the problem with the EGR, so I think that makes it even worse.
One thing I'm wondering is if this problem is one of those not if you are going to have it but when types of things? I'm trying to figure out if the Provent filter is the way to go. Cause if it's one of those problems that is going to happen no matter what I would like to prevent it before it becomes a problem.
I've done a lot of reading on this forum about the issue, but it doesn't seem to put the worries to rest. I woke up this morning and didn't even want to drive my liberty, so I fired up the Cherokee and drove to work. In my opinion this is a bs problem to have and it pisses me off to no extent that Jeep did something this stupid.
The following was taken from a town hall discussion on the edmunds.com website for the discussion of the Liberty CRD:
Quote:
While investigating some of the questions in post # 2537, I came across several articles concerning domestic (U.S.) diesel fuel quality and several of the issues frequently repeated here in this forum.
1. Stuttering or missing, sagging performance are all related to the cetane number of the fuel. With the majority of refiners selling 40 cetane fuel, there lies some of the performance issues including lower than expected fuel economy. The more I read and learn, the more I realize that the engine in the CRD is designed to run on 50+ cetane fuel, and not the crap they sell here. Yes, you can get away with 40 cetane, but at the loss of performance and fuel economy and increased emissions.
2. EGR problems are related to the sulfur content of domestic and Canadian diesel fuels. The burning of sulfur yields sulfur dioxide and a little sulfur trioxide. When mixed with water, they produce sulfurous acid and sulfuric acid, both very corrosive substances as we all know. These acids also attack the exhaust system , the cylinder walls , rings, etc. The sulfur burn by products also poison the catalytic converter and increase particulate emissions. These particulates can eventually clog the converter, leading to other issues.
So what do we do?
1. Find a higher cetane fuel. Locally in Montgomery County MD, Shell sells a 45 cetane fuel. Add some cetane improver to that so hopefully you end up with a cetane of 50+. If you cannot find Shell, just add the cetane improver or buy a fuel where you know the cetane is greater than or equal to 50. I would even suggest posting places where the cetane of the fuel is known to be 45 or better.
2. The sulfur issue will not go away until sometime in 2006, so we are stuck. For those of you who live in CA, you should have access to their low sulfur ARCO "EC" diesel fuel. As for the acid problem, change your oil more frequently than recommended in the owners manual, especially if you are using the 0W-40 oil. I recommend a 5W-40 oil like the Mobil 1 Truck and SUV, or Shell Rotella, Valvoline Blue Extreme, Amsoil 5W-40. All have the CI-4 detergency rating and a very high TBN. Once the ULS diesel is being sold nationwide, then the 0W-40 oil should be fine and the EGR issues that some of you are facing should go away.
If you are not following this discussion forum on the edmunds site, you should. Here is the message that followed the one above:
Quote:
Thanks for your prompt and obviously thorough investigation of the answers to the questions I posted!! I went to the link you thoughtfully provided, thank you very much.
Your findings give great credence to the DC product development & sales district manager I spoke with here in South Carolina. He is from Australia and his comment that the only place they have had issues with EGR and performance issues is here in North America. His belief was that it was due to the low quality of fuel available here. We do have crap for fuel! I will be using a cetane booster to try and eliminate/minimize the symptoms I have been having.
Thanks, once again for your investigation and your response.
And more info:
Quote:
1. The minimum cetane requirement in Canada and the U.S. for on-road diesel is 40. In California, it is 47 or 48 depending on refiner size. Smaller refiner gets to make 47 cetane.
2. In the European Union, a minimum cetane of 51 is required.
And even more from the forum:
Quote:
As you've already seen from other replies, the engine is from a reputable builder of diesels. Also comforting to note, is the fact that this engine has been in use in Liberty's in Europe for the past 3 or 4 years (according to Daimler Chrysler product and sales district manager here on east coast). Interesting to note, also, is the fact that the USA/Canada is the only place where Daimler-Chrysler has had EGR problems!!
The whole thing about the fuel being poor quality is ringing truer every day. Especially when you think about the fact that in Europe, diesel passenger cars are common and here they are not. The demand for quality fuel for diesel passanger cars is much greater there. Hopefully things will come around here in north america.
My advise is this:
DRIVE IT LIKE YOU STOLE IT!!! 
We all may or may not get a free EGR replacement from DC before ULSD is available. Not a big deal as most problems should disappear in late 2006. The majority of VW TDI owners have not had intake clogging problems even with crappy fuel - but we only hear about the ones who have. And lastly, if you can find a low blend of biodiesel - get ya some!
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