Thread: Diesel Fuel

Hi Steve - welcome. Yes, all D3-D4 are sensitive to rubbish fuel. Water or contamination cause the bearings in the high pressure fuel pump to die (due to a lack of lubrication) - then that often takes out the injectors.

I have been to pretty remote places with my D3 and now my D4. On my trip to Broome a few years ago, I took some 2 stroke oil with me and put about 400mL in each time I filled up at the remote bowsers - like Drysdale River Station.

Also make sure your comprehensive insurance covers fuel contamination - so if the worst happens, you are covered.

Cheers,
Rob

Thanks Jonesy63,
Can you fit one of those 30 micron prefilters?? And do the 2.7s have the DPF??

To offer some more detailed explanation but trying to keep it simple. The injector ports in all common rail diesels are smaller than a human hair and the pressure in the rail is higher than that which they use water to cut diamonds. So to over come this Australia moved to very low sulphur diesel over a period of around 5 years in mid 2000's. Albeit we are still not at the level the Europeans are heading to.

So that hopefully explains the why. Now for the what. Whilst Australian fuel has improved significantly the storage of it has not, particularly in the outback but also in the burbs. This means you always have a chance of a dirty lot of fuel. TO reinforce this I filled a 2xJC as backup fuel for the Easter Landcover event at Melrose. When we had a look at the fuel it was contaminated with long strings of suspended solids.

OK now how do we deal with this. First step is prevention so we use a Mr Funnel filter funnel every time we drop fuel into the tank. Google it you will find them in a myriad of sizes and capacities. They work very well and you can get one that copes with the fill rate of a high capacity diesel pump if you want to go that far. Previously with our Prado's we were using 2 micron filters as well and past the OE fuel filter in the engine bay. That way is has no impact on fuel pressures which can upset computers, refer comments above.

So with the TDV6 we are only using the Mr Funnel at the moment. I am considering a 2 micron filter but will talk to our Disco expert before taking that step as the engine bay is quite full so space is at a premium

Rob

Originally Posted by jonesy63

I took some 2 stroke oil with me and put about 400mL in each time I filled up at the remote bowsers

How does this help Rob? Perhaps lubrication of the HPFP? I don't understand how it would help with contaminants.

Regards,
Scott

Originally Posted by LRD414

How does this help Rob? Perhaps lubrication of the HPFP? I don't understand how it would help with contaminants.

Regards,
Scott

Scott it would not help at all actually the reverse as the viscosity of that oil is higher than diesel. As well you do not need lubricants as diesel, jut like petrol has already been cocktail with the right type and quantity of chemicals to do the job. The contaminants we deal with and which I described are suspended solids or particulants that come from; water, dirt, fungus that grows in diesel tanks and rust particles. Hence I always recommend and personally always use a Mr Funnel or similar but I have found none in Australia. That way you can be reasonably sure that the bulk of the crap is caught. But nothing is foolproof and water naturally builds up in all diesel tanks and systems. Not new and filters have been manufactured to capture and deal with it all pretty much. Albeit after any outback trip we always replace the filter(s). I remember getting a dodgy batch of fuel in the Western Macs or along the Stuart Hwy a few years back which was the result of me being slack. The Prado went well there and back but on a run to Beachport and about Kingston the warning lights went on. SO what had happened is that the muck had been building up in the filter to the point where it got clogged and went to limp mode. Nothing wrong with that just proves the system works.

So a short response to your question is no and we avoid additives completely

Rob

Thanks guys for your responses and ill be reading any more should they come along.
I currently own a 2010 Holden Colorado (Isuzu engine) and love the torque but with 2 little boys on the way up we are running out of room.
I do every service myself on the Colorado apart from the valve adjustments and have a 30 micron prefilter as i am very careful where i fill up.
I also own a 2005 Peugeot 407 2.0lt diesel and everyday it surprises me with its refinement but also on the other hand it has some quirky traits.
I am looking forward to owning a D4 and its quirks and simply there is no better off-road 4x4 straight out of the box ( and i used to own a modded GU patrol) but now getting older i was the luxuries.

Hence I always recommend and personally always use a Mr Funnel or similar but I have found none in Australia.

I have a largest flow Mr Funnel.

I have only used it once and I can tell you that through a plastic elbow adapter into a D2 fuel tank it is nothing like fast enough to keep up with a low flow pump let alone a high flow. Maybe OK into a jerry with no extra nozzle.

I was very surprised at this and it was lucky I was at a seldom used fuel station. The woman proprietor asked why I was so slow and was a bit insulted , saying they had never had a bad fuel incident. So I have resolved to only use the Mr Funnel at low volume stations.

The point was however that if I had been at Overland Roadhouse with 5 rigs lined up at the pump, I reckon that there would have been a riot! LOL.

Funny thing was I went around the back at Overland , and there was the diesel truck unloading into the tank, a definite No No with CRD but I guess ignorance is bliss.
BTW, Mr Funnels are now advertised now in 4WD mags. I got mine from the USA for about half from a motorcycle dealer AFAIR.
Regards Philip A

I appreciate that a filter such as a Mr Funnel may be quite effective. These are something I will have to research 'cause this is the first time I have heard about them.


After filling, what does the filter look like? Has anyone examined a filter to see if it has been trapping contaminants?