Biodiesel - MYTH or FACT?

retmil46 · **Posted:** Mon Mar 10, 2008 12:49 pm

kcfoxie wrote:

I do love that at 240mi it was sitting at a half-tank. I can't believe it goes 400 miles on a tank.

I'd say you ended up with a good one, if you've got the fuel system problems you listed and still managed to get decent fuel mileage.

I couldn't believe it last year when I hit 400 miles by 1/2 tank, and 550 miles by 1/4 tank on one trip.

Sounds like yours has the potential to do the same once it's straightened out.

Cowpie1 · **Posted:** Tue Mar 11, 2008 2:00 pm

Thanks for the info.... you all are probably right. bigger is better.....

wait a minute... isn't that what she said?

kcfoxie · **Joined:** Thu Mar 06, 2008 1:27 am **Posts:** 113

retmil46 wrote:

I'd say you ended up with a good one, if you've got the fuel system problems you listed and still managed to get decent fuel mileage.

I couldn't believe it last year when I hit 400 miles by 1/2 tank, and 550 miles by 1/4 tank on one trip.

Sounds like yours has the potential to do the same once it's straightened out.

Mitchell,

This makes me feel a lot better. CarMax has it right now, they say the new oil pan (bolt was stripped) and the new fuel filter housing should be in tomorrow. They're also checking out the airbag light (specifically, the Passenger Airbag OFF light doens't stay lit when the seat is unoccupied) and the parking brake's adjustment .... hope we get it back tomorrow, the Mitsubishi Galant they gave us for a loaner is not the best vehicle in my book. The fact that it smokes worse than the TDI or CRD on WOT with D2 550PPM Sulfur in the tank concerns me.

crd liberty · **Posted:** Tue Mar 11, 2008 5:09 pm

kcfoxie wrote:

retmil46 wrote:

I'd say you ended up with a good one, if you've got the fuel system problems you listed and still managed to get decent fuel mileage.

I couldn't believe it last year when I hit 400 miles by 1/2 tank, and 550 miles by 1/4 tank on one trip.

Sounds like yours has the potential to do the same once it's straightened out.

Mitchell,

This makes me feel a lot better. CarMax has it right now, they say the new oil pan (bolt was stripped) and the new fuel filter housing should be in tomorrow. They're also checking out the airbag light (specifically, the Passenger Airbag OFF light doens't stay lit when the seat is unoccupied) and the parking brake's adjustment .... hope we get it back tomorrow, the Mitsubishi Galant they gave us for a loaner is not the best vehicle in my book. The fact that it smokes worse than the TDI or CRD on WOT with D2 550PPM Sulfur in the tank concerns me.

For the oil new oil pan, get yurself a Fumoto drain valve. No reason to turn it out and in again to strip it. Passenger airbag lite should
be off unless you put some lite weight stuff on it. It should not remain lite when seat is unoccupied.. That is a self protect for the system
in case you put a small child in the seat. Better to have the child self eject, rather than plummted by the air bag.
Just the way I see it.
Steve

nursecosmo · **Posted:** Tue Mar 11, 2008 8:51 pm

Well I have finally moved up to Wisconsin. when I left Tennessee I took 155 gallons of fuel with me for my Dodge and the Penske moving van. I also brought 35 gallons of BioD that I had forgotten was in my buddy's shed. He and I had just made the acquaintance of a very interesting man who cleaned out fuel delivery trucks. This man was able to supply us with 320 gallons of D2 at $2 a gallon, so I saved about $300 on fuel for my move. Anyway to make my short story long, when I compared the two fuels Monday morning the D2 was jellyfied in the barrel but the Bio had some sediment on the bottom but was still liquid at -4 Fahrenheit. Strangely I had no trouble starting the Cummins.

kcfoxie · **Joined:** Thu Mar 06, 2008 1:27 am **Posts:** 113

crd liberty wrote:

For the oil new oil pan, get yurself a Fumoto drain valve. No reason to turn it out and in again to strip it. Passenger airbag lite should
be off unless you put some lite weight stuff on it. It should not remain lite when seat is unoccupied.. That is a self protect for the system
in case you put a small child in the seat. Better to have the child self eject, rather than plummted by the air bag.
Just the way I see it.
Steve

Fumoto is on the list, along with a Kennedy in line lift pump. Ah ha, so it's what I said it was about that stupid light: It's not broken, it only comes on if the seat detects weight that is below the 120-or-so pound limit that is "safe" for an airbag. Well, glad to know that's a non-issue. I hope CarMax does not hold the vehicle up over that. I have more junk to take to the dump.

Reflex · **Joined:** Mon Jan 29, 2007 8:48 pm **Posts:** 567

kcfoxie wrote:

crd liberty wrote:

For the oil new oil pan, get yurself a Fumoto drain valve. No reason to turn it out and in again to strip it. Passenger airbag lite should
be off unless you put some lite weight stuff on it. It should not remain lite when seat is unoccupied.. That is a self protect for the system
in case you put a small child in the seat. Better to have the child self eject, rather than plummted by the air bag.
Just the way I see it.
Steve

Fumoto is on the list, along with a Kennedy in line lift pump. Ah ha, so it's what I said it was about that stupid light: It's not broken, it only comes on if the seat detects weight that is below the 120-or-so pound limit that is "safe" for an airbag. Well, glad to know that's a non-issue. I hope CarMax does not hold the vehicle up over that. I have more junk to take to the dump.

Thats odd, mine is lit at all times when the seat is unoccupied, and I was told this was normal. Could have swore the manual says this is expected as well....

crd liberty · **Posted:** Wed Mar 12, 2008 12:49 pm

Owners manual, pages 56 to 60 will describe which faults will light
the airbag off light.
Should be off if an adult is in the seat. Should be off if the seat is empty.
Sometimes, my briefcase will light the light, therefore turning the passenger
side airbag off. The light stays lite till I remove the briefcase and restart.
Steve

Reflex · **Joined:** Mon Jan 29, 2007 8:48 pm **Posts:** 567

crd liberty wrote:

Owners manual, pages 56 to 60 will describe which faults will light
the airbag off light.
Should be off if an adult is in the seat. Should be off if the seat is empty.
Sometimes, my briefcase will light the light, therefore turning the passenger
side airbag off. The light stays lite till I remove the briefcase and restart.
Steve

Will have to pay attention then and make certain its behaving as I thought it was, end of warranty is coming up soon, may as well get it right.

crd liberty · **Posted:** Wed Mar 12, 2008 2:24 pm

Please do.
In a certain situation where you may be thrown forward and toward the passenger
side at the same time. Passenger airbag light is on, airbag is off. That airbag would not
inflate and you could be hurt because of it.

Another thing to consider is:
Idiot light are designed to illuminate when there is a problem, not to go out with a problem.
Besides that, if the bulb burns all the time? how much longer will it be till it burns out?

Steve

Reflex · **Joined:** Mon Jan 29, 2007 8:48 pm **Posts:** 567

I may be wrong, but it woudl suprise me if they were using a bulb rather than an LED...

kcfoxie · **Joined:** Thu Mar 06, 2008 1:27 am **Posts:** 113

Hm, well... we supposedly get Libby back tomorrow. Here's hoping. I'll be sure to post what the end result with the light is.

crd liberty · **Posted:** Mon Mar 17, 2008 4:05 pm

kcfoxie wrote:

Hm, well... we supposedly get Libby back tomorrow. Here's hoping. I'll be sure to post what the end result with the light is.

Hi
Just curious about the light. It supposed to be lite or not? Another member here needs to
know what you found out?
Surprises me that you didn't post the answer that some here are looking for.
I already know, so don't bother me.

Steve

Reflex · **Joined:** Mon Jan 29, 2007 8:48 pm **Posts:** 567

Its not supposed to be lit when no one occupies the seat. Confirmed on mine the other night when I remembered to look, it wasn't lit with the seat empty. Guess I was imagining things.

crd liberty · **Posted:** Mon Mar 17, 2008 5:27 pm

Reflex wrote:

Its not supposed to be lit when no one occupies the seat. Confirmed on mine the other night when I remembered to look, it wasn't lit with the seat empty. Guess I was imagining things.

Guess I am not really crazy than. Thats all i was trying to tell you guys. Sorry for finding out
that I was right for a change.

Thanks

Steve

kcfoxie · **Joined:** Thu Mar 06, 2008 1:27 am **Posts:** 113

It only comes on if someone or something occupies the seat but the weight is insufficient for an airbag.

IE when my partner puts his bag of coins (he and mom works at a family owned gas station) into the seat to take to the bank OR when mom sits in the seat (she's all of 95 pounds).

Otherwise, it comes on during the system check on initial start up, then goes out.

Carmax said this was normal, and so far as I can tell it is normal!

dieselenthusiast · **Posted:** Tue Sep 02, 2008 12:09 am

Through my training, I learned a few interesting facts about biodiesel. For the best performance, a blend of 20% biodiesel and 80% dino is considered the optimum mixture. Biodiesel will cause the turbo to run higher and lower EGT’s because the fuel burns cooler, and prolongs the life of the engine. The engine can be pushed harder when running biodiesel. Although biodiesel has a better burn, it still achieves a little lower mpg gains as compared to straight dino. The biodiesel viscosity is what causes the fuel to decrease. Dino is a higher BTU (10 - 12% increase) over biodiesel, however, biodiesel has higher levels of cetane than dino. Biodiesel has a higher flash point and burns slower. I learned that canola oil is the best oil to use for winter applications and is the choice oil by many who have used it due to it’s viscosity. B20 is the recommendation for any temperature below 50 degrees. Biodiesel causes the engine to run quieter and has high solvent properties.

UFO · **Posted:** Tue Sep 02, 2008 1:08 am

dieselenthusiast wrote:

Through my training, I learned a few interesting facts about biodiesel. For the best performance, a blend of 20% biodiesel and 80% dino is considered the optimum mixture. Biodiesel will cause the turbo to run higher and lower EGT’s because the fuel burns cooler, and prolongs the life of the engine. The engine can be pushed harder when running biodiesel. Although biodiesel has a better burn, it still achieves a little lower mpg gains as compared to straight dino. The biodiesel viscosity is what causes the fuel to decrease. Dino is a higher BTU (10 - 12% increase) over biodiesel, however, biodiesel has higher levels of cetane than dino. Biodiesel has a higher flash point and burns slower. I learned that canola oil is the best oil to use for winter applications and is the choice oil by many who have used it due to it’s viscosity. B20 is the recommendation for any temperature below 50 degrees. Biodiesel causes the engine to run quieter and has high solvent properties.

Viscosity has nothing to do with the mileage decrease. That is soley due to the fact biodiesel has 10% less BTU content than petroleum diesel. And below 50 degrees I run B50 -- all winter, even down to 0F. I've run B40 down to -20F with diesel antigels added.

dieselenthusiast · **Posted:** Tue Sep 02, 2008 1:42 am

UFO wrote:

Viscosity has nothing to do with the mileage decrease. That is soley due to the fact biodiesel has 10% less BTU content than petroleum diesel. And below 50 degrees I run B50 -- all winter, even down to 0F. I've run B40 down to -20F with diesel antigels added.

I'm not saying your wrong, however, according to Graydon at Utah Biodiesel Supply, fuel economy will decrease due to a lesser BTU and due to the thicker viscosity of biodiesel. According to field testing, by adding an aftermarket fuel pump, you might be able to increase biodiesel fuel economy. There are also studies that show that high fuel-rail pressure is extremely hard on the biofuel due to it's thicker viscosity. Thinner biofuels (such as canola oil) will achieve better results. Again, this is what I have learned, not saying it’s the only ideology excepted.

Biodiesel - MYTH or FACT?

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