What additive you put in with your diesel.

   / What additive you put in with your diesel. #1  

super55

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Jan 27, 2012
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Great North of Michigan
Tractor
Oliver Super55, John Deere 4310, John Deere 4400, Kubota L2500 (had),
Was cruising some of the diesel truck forums and occassionally hear about how crummy the new ultra low sulfur diesel and the problems guys are having. Don't quote me but apparently the new diesel with it's refining process to get the sulfur out also removes a lot of the characteristics of the lubing properties of the diesel itself.

I know a lot of us are running older equipment where the engines were designed decades before lo-sulf diesel or might not have access to ag/off road high sulfur diesel. Are most of us just running the gauntlet hoping for the best or adding something to help bring back some lube properties.

I have a friend who has a diesel pickup who swears by putting a quart of ATF when he fills up his 50 gal pickup. He's got 200k on the pickup and had zero issues. I know thats not a lot miles but so far it hasn't caused any issues either. A lot of guys are running marvel oil too.
 
   / What additive you put in with your diesel. #2  
You can do a search on this forum and read all about it.
 
   / What additive you put in with your diesel. #3  
Power Service white bottle - 10 doses per quart (into 5 gal diesel each) summer and winter.
 
   / What additive you put in with your diesel. #4  
Power Serve white bottle, 4 glugs per 5 gal.
 
   / What additive you put in with your diesel. #6  
Nothing so far. Doesn't sit long enough to worry about algae or stabilizers. Never had any issues running it.
 
   / What additive you put in with your diesel.
  • Thread Starter
#7  
I'll have to look into this powerservice stuff. I researched a ton of old posts on this and couldn't come to a conclusion if it was beneficial or not. I currently run just a few ounces of marvel mystery oil in my kubota and seems fine. The original reason I brought this up was because back when I was in Iraq in '04 our humvees (which were overloaded with armor and in extreme heat) were getting a lot of engine knock from running JP8 in them. JP8 is about the equivalent of super refined diesel or kerosine. We started added a 1/2 quart GM Mil spec ATF to the fuel and the knocking subsided. I was kinda curious if all this refining is changing the properties of diesel more towards JP8 which while burns much much cleaner also has a lower pressure to flashpoint hence creating possible engine knock.
 
   / What additive you put in with your diesel. #8  
In machining (& plumbing) we use 'black oil' as a cutting fluid, esp for cutting threads. The sulfur in it has lubricating properties but does lower the PH. 'Low sulfur' diesel may not adequately protect injector pumps of old which relied on it in their time.

I use a Lucas additive in diesel, but have added MMO to oil and gas when topping up all air cooled mower, chipper, and other small engines since the '70s. Diesel fuels get a dab with the Lucas stuff, as it seems to benefit everything except 'wet' clutches or brakes that can lose grip due to its unique properties.

IIRC, API describes two basic characteristics of oils for the masses. 'Lubricity' (film strength) and 'viscosity' are not necessarily in proportion, as many would assume. MMO has a high film strength and low viscosity. ATF is much the opposite. High viscosity helps torque converters work their magic over broad temp ranges while low film strength allow clutches to grab, a place where MMO's high lubricity can cause that slipping. Other than anecdotal evidence here & elsewhere I'm a bit skeptical that ATF will do as we expect it to for injector pumps. (Mebbe a little is enuf..)

btw: the #2 diesel vs #2 fuel oil debate may overlook different regional/seasonal 'pour point' and 'flash point' criteria. While for the most part interchangeable the two are different, and just how different is in those details. Diesel may burn cleaner, while fuel oil may flow better at low temps. Those of us who are served both from the same tank could consider additives as cheap insurance. I won't pour without them. ;)
 
   / What additive you put in with your diesel. #10  
I run Redline and with a burn test it proves better than the rest. I've run most since 1984 and Redline is the only one that I can honestly say I can tell the difference.
 
 
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