tranny fluid in fuel?

[mikehaugen]

I am relatively new to tractors and own a jd 1070. My neighbor who's been dairy farming for probably 30 years told me that I should mix a few ounces of tranny fluid in with each tank of fuel because the fuel around here has no lubricating characteristics. Is this correct? I live in Lee County(northern) IL. I have been doing it since I coudn't see any harm, but is it necessary? Thanks

 

[DieselPower]

Tranny fluid along with used oil does little if nothing for lubricity and will most likely cause deposit's inside the injector tip's. If your concerned about lubricity use a diesel fuel additive designed to do just that. Depending on the manufacturer of the additive the ratio's can be as great as 1 to 1,000 to even 1 to 3000 so it is very cheap to use the correct product.

 

[irvingj]

Current ULSD (Ultra-Low Sulfur Diesel) lacks much of the lubricity of the "old" diesel, so yes, an additive is a good idea. There are numerous threads on this topic if you do a search. (VW recommends the use of an additive with their TDI engines.) As far as lubricity, 2-5% biodiesel will get the job done, but that does nothing for anti-gel in the winter, or water control, or cetane boost....

 

[LBrown59]

I am relatively new to tractors and own a jd 1070. My neighbor who's been dairy farming for probably 30 years told me that I should mix a few ounces of tranny fluid in with each tank of fuel because the fuel around here has no lubricating characteristics.*Is this correct? I live in Lee County(northern) IL. I have been doing it since I coudn't see any harm, but is it necessary? Thanks

NO...

 

[WH401]

It's very true that the 15ppm ULSD doesn't have the lubricity of the old 500ppm LSD, but mixing trans fluid in with your fuel isn't going to solve the lubrication problem. Like DieselPower said it will just cause deposit in the same way used engine oil will, not to mention that trans fluid typically contains friction modifiers that will only increase the wear on the fuel system. Invest in a good fuel additive such as Power Service, it contains lubrication additives, stabilizers, and will raise the cetane number of the fuel. Most people use either of 2 of the many variants they sell. The gray bottle is a summer blend which will increase the cetane number of the fuel by a higher amount. The white bottle is a winter blend that increase the cetane number by a lower amount than the gray bottle, but it contains anti-gel additives to prevent the gelling of ULSD down to -40. In my vehicles I will alternate between which bottle I run during the summer and winter months because I can feel a difference between the cetane numbers in each bottle. Typically I only use 16 oz. in each vehicle per tank because anymore than that and your just wasting it. In the tractor I just run the white all year long, there's no need to switch back and forth. I usually just dump what I think is good into the 5 gal. can before I fill it and away I go.

 

[mikehaugen]

Thanks a lot guys for the feedback. I have only run through 2 tanks of fuel since he told me that and I am glad I asked if I was doing something stupid before it caused problems. I think I will start using an additive instead now.

 

[thatguy]

You may also research mixing in some 2 Cycle oil Outboard motor oil with the fuel.. On the Dodge/Cummins boards that is what is recommended for adding lubricity..

I cant find the link right now, but somewhere online i found a lubricity study of different products and as mentioned the Biodiesel was one of the better ones.. It appears that some of them may not add as much lubricity as they say they do..

Brian

 

[nmu98]

Lubricity Additive Study Results - Diesel Place

 

[thatguy]

Lubricity Additive Study Results - Diesel Place

That was the study I was I remembered.. Dont know why i didnt have it bookmarked though

thanks

b

 

[The Dougster]

The simple answer is, No, it won't hurt your diesel engine but it won't help either... Personally, I like a product called Sea Foam and use it in my tractor (diesel) and lawn mowers/weed eater, etc (gasoline) ...