GM with the 2.8 diesel

[buickanddeere]

For those wanting to burn reclaimed oil etc . Best to use a centrifuge to clean the oil. Then burn the oil in an old Lister or Petter diesel with a simple and easy to service fuel injection system.

 

[Btown]

Got to love those 90 hp 1.9L ALH engines with a 5 speed manual. They give great fuel economy and pack a little punch when the turbo spools up.

 

[DieselBound]

Got to love those 90 hp 1.9L ALH engines with a 5 speed manual. They give great fuel economy and pack a little punch when the turbo spools up.

They're flat out awesome. One can readily crank up the power pretty cheaply. I'm running about 120hp and 250 ft-lbs. Getting right now 52mpg.

 

[DieselBound]

For those wanting to burn reclaimed oil etc . Best to use a centrifuge to clean the oil. Then burn the oil in an old Lister or Petter diesel with a simple and easy to service fuel injection system.

I was checking into this very thing (I think I saw a centrifuge for about $2,500). Was going to buy an older Mercedes and add this to my fleet of old diesels: my Ford IDI would burn anything. So, yes, WMO (Waste Motor Oil) is what I was aiming for: better than veggie oil; but, as you note, it's all in the filtering.

 

[Renze]

Veggie oil in general is a bad idea as it tends to gum up injectors. I'm running mechanical IPs in my ALH VWs and there's no way I'd run veggie oil in them: all the top injector people will back this up. Early on when you could get veggie oil for free it might have been worth it (offset the costs associated with increased maintenance).

I have a friend who had an old BMW 324d which was tax exempt due to its age, and ran on veggie oil because it was cheap. However changeing fuel filters every 3 weeks during winter due to flaking, made it cheaper to run ordinary diesel.

 

[lostcause]

My first gripe with the truck - minor, but still kind of annoying...

The truck came with two free services. They mentioned that they top off the DEF with the service too. I guess I kind of assumed that they filled the tank when I bought it, but now I'm thinking they didn't. But anyways, on to the issue....

Since I drove off the lot the gauge for the DEF level on the dash just said "OK". I've been tabbing through and checking it off & on to see if and when it would change. I've got a little over 1700 miles on now, and somewhere in the last 50~ish miles the level dropped from "OK" to "29%". I put 3.5 gallons in and now it reads "OK" again. I figure I have somewhere over 5 gallons in it (holds 5.5) and all I get is "OK"?? It seems that it anything over 2 gallons, all the way up to 5.5 gallons is "OK" and it only gives a level of accuracy when under 2 gallons.

Would it really have been that difficult to put a gauge in that worked full range? I mean, everything else has a more precise gauge - oil life, fuel filter, fuel level, miles till empty, and so on. In the digital age I got a binary gauge on the DEF - yes you have it, or no you don't have it. Yes, I understand that the remaining DEF would have likely been enough for a few K more miles, but I just think that if you have a gauge it would be nice to have it read more precisely, so I would know whether to add a 1 gallon jug, or a 2.5 gallon jug if I wanted to top it off.

 

[RollingsFarms]

I saw a review of the new Titan diesel and the reviewer claimed it was using a lot of def, he said you'd probably have to top it off at 2000-3000 miles instead of every oil change. I thought that was crazy. Does your truck use an unusual amount of def?

 

[3930dave]

My first gripe with the truck - minor, but still kind of annoying...

The truck came with two free services. They mentioned that they top off the DEF with the service too. I guess I kind of assumed that they filled the tank when I bought it, but now I'm thinking they didn't. But anyways, on to the issue....

Since I drove off the lot the gauge for the DEF level on the dash just said "OK". I've been tabbing through and checking it off & on to see if and when it would change. I've got a little over 1700 miles on now, and somewhere in the last 50~ish miles the level dropped from "OK" to "29%". I put 3.5 gallons in and now it reads "OK" again. I figure I have somewhere over 5 gallons in it (holds 5.5) and all I get is "OK"?? It seems that it anything over 2 gallons, all the way up to 5.5 gallons is "OK" and it only gives a level of accuracy when under 2 gallons.

Would it really have been that difficult to put a gauge in that worked full range? I mean, everything else has a more precise gauge - oil life, fuel filter, fuel level, miles till empty, and so on. In the digital age I got a binary gauge on the DEF - yes you have it, or no you don't have it. Yes, I understand that the remaining DEF would have likely been enough for a few K more miles, but I just think that if you have a gauge it would be nice to have it read more precisely, so I would know whether to add a 1 gallon jug, or a 2.5 gallon jug if I wanted to top it off.

Considering that is a fluid designed to be consumed, and the truck will shut down if it runs out (in many cases, that will then require being towed to a dealer to be resurrected), you raise a heck of a point.

Can't remember if DEF can freeze.... In a pickup, I'd be tempted to carry a spare jug in back.

Thanks for the update.

Rgds, D.

 

[toddbailey]

Have you read the owners Manual regarding DEF fluid? On my 2014 Duramax the OM states put in 2.5 gallons when the warning appears on dash. I was quizzing the dealership manager before I purchased the truck asking about problems with the DEF system he said only issues they had have folks who don't read the manual and the programmed hot rods who race and abuse the vehicles. This is a high volume rural dealership which sells lots of trucks!

 

[om21braz]

I saw a review of the new Titan diesel and the reviewer claimed it was using a lot of def, he said you'd probably have to top it off at 2000-3000 miles instead of every oil change. I thought that was crazy. Does your truck use an unusual amount of def?

I'd estimate my 3500hd Duramax uses about a gallon per 1000-1200 miles.
On original subject - keep us updated on the 2.8 Duramax, sounds like a good balance of power/fuel mileage.