Diesel fuel additives, please inform.

[pwr2tow]

A little background so we can cut the chase. I've lived 50 years where temperatures get down to -40*F and know all about gelling and additives for diesel fuel. I have also ran diesels in one form or another for most of that period.

My question is for the new 6. 7 Dodge Cummins DPF engines. Since Dodge says no to diesel additives.
1. Can we use an anti-gel or product with anti-gel in it?
2. Which one gets the O. K. ?

Thanks,
Ron

 

[Jim W]

I live in IL and during the winter months, I use Howe's diesel treatment to prevent the fuel from gelling with no issue so far. I have not notice any difference with the regen period, nor have I had any problems with the dpf from using Howe's.

I worked as an engineer for a large heavy equipment company for 40 years until retirement. I can speculate as to why Dodge states that no additives are required. If they stated that a certain additive is required or any for that matter and additive is required and some one choose not to use additives. Than had issues with the fuel system or the engine than Dodge could be sued for requiring this additional product. So they take the easy way and state no fuel additives are required. The buyer can make up his own mind as to what to use or not to use. Just my $0. 02.

 

[bheiting]

The last time I was at my local Dodge dealer, they sold a Mopar labeled fuel additive.
It's Cummins that says no additives are recommended. They are no doubt afraid
Billy Bob will start dumping used motor oil in the tank. Call Cummins tech. line and
see if their attitude has changed.

 

[DieselLady]

They don't want you to use additives because they don't want more ash to build up in the DPF. They removed the sulfur from the unltra low sulfur to save the life of the DPF. IT also removes lubricity and makes the fuel very dry. Also the new CJ 4 rated oil removes a lot of potassium etc that lubricates the engine and consequently sacrifices lubricity also. There is a great study done on the dieselplace.com. See link . Lubricity Additive Study Discussion - Diesel Place

Personally, I would rather use additives and save the life of my engine than saving the life of my DPF. :-{} We are starting to see strange failures like rocker arm assemblies seizing up etc. I attribute these failures to lack of proper lubricity. Just my 2 cents. :{

 

[AABEN]

You might go to this wed site www.mopar1973man.com I thank this will help you out.

 

[pwr2tow]

I live in IL and during the winter months, I use Howe's diesel treatment to prevent the fuel from gelling with no issue so far. I have not notice any difference with the regen period, nor have I had any problems with the dpf from using Howe's.
.

Thanks for the info, real life experience is what I'm looking for.

 

[pwr2tow]

The last time I was at my local Dodge dealer, they sold a Mopar labeled fuel additive.
It's Cummins that says no additives are recommended. They are no doubt afraid
Billy Bob will start dumping used motor oil in the tank. Call Cummins tech. line and
see if their attitude has changed.

Thanks for the info and I agree with the billy bob.

 

[pwr2tow]

They don't want you to use additives because they don't want more ash to build up in the DPF. They removed the sulfur from the unltra low sulfur to save the life of the DPF. IT also removes lubricity and makes the fuel very dry. Also the new CJ 4 rated oil removes a lot of potassium etc that lubricates the engine and consequently sacrifices lubricity also. There is a great study done on the dieselplace.com. See link . Lubricity Additive Study Discussion - Diesel Place
Personally, I would rather use additives and save the life of my engine than saving the life of my DPF. :-{} We are starting to see strange failures like rocker arm assemblies seizing up etc. I attribute these failures to lack of proper lubricity. Just my 2 cents. :{

That study should only be for VP44 and earlier pumped diesels.

My opinion is CJ4 oil is just fine as long as you stick to the OEM maintenance schedule.

 

[jelag]

You can see below that we have a group of these trucks... including an 08 5500... We have been using an additive for 10 years since we had one gel up on the freeway and had to have it towed and thawed. . we've not had any problems and since the chemical is a cleaner as well, we use it the year around... .

 

[DieselLady]

That study should only be for VP44 and earlier pumped diesels.

My opinion is CJ4 oil is just fine as long as you stick to the OEM maintenance schedule.

That study was about fuel additives and was double blind. It was confirmed with a ware scare test that ultra low sulfer diesel is much dryer and won't lubricate as well as Low sulfer. This fact doesn't care if the truck is VP pumped or common rail.
As far as CJ-4 rated oil. Same thing applies. It has been confirmed over and over that the oil does not lubricate as well as CI-4 rated oil. I doubt the oil cares which truck it is run in.

 

[pwr2tow]

You can see below that we have a group of these trucks... including an 08 5500... We have been using an additive for 10 years since we had one gel up on the freeway and had to have it towed and thawed. . we've not had any problems and since the chemical is a cleaner as well, we use it the year around... .

Real life experience is the kind of information I'm looking for, Thanks you sir.

Could you tell me the name of the product you use?

Thanks,

 

[pwr2tow]

That study was about fuel additives and was double blind. It was confirmed with a ware scare test that ultra low sulfer diesel is much dryer and won't lubricate as well as Low sulfer. This fact doesn't care if the truck is VP pumped or common rail.
As far as CJ-4 rated oil. Same thing applies. It has been confirmed over and over that the oil does not lubricate as well as CI-4 rated oil. I doubt the oil cares which truck it is run in.

I'm not going to go into all the details about that study but, it was performed on refinery ULSD, NOT PUMP ULSD. It was also performed back when ULSD was introduced into the market when there were no mandateded standards. A lot has happened with ULSD Federal standards since 2005. When ULSD was first introduced it cleaned out the refinery pipes, transport pipes, holding tanks, etc. etc. basically every thing from the refinery to the end user.

If you want your injection system to live longer it's been proven that better filtering of the fuel is the key.

There is also a good article right here on TDR about diesel additives.

As for the CJ4 debate I've seen plenty of UOA that show it works just fine when used in regular OEM maintenance schedules. I wouldn't recommend it's use in extended schedules although I have seen reports with over 10,000 miles of use and still holding up. Go here for more info. Welcome

 

[pwr2tow]

You would be better off doing more research. There's a really good article in the new TDR magazine, you can also read it on these forums in the TDR magazine archive.

 

[jelag]

pwr2tow.....

I'm sitting here at home and the product we use is at the shop... I'll try and grab the info tomorrow and supply it... . BTW it's approved for ULSD... .

 

[pwr2tow]

pwr2tow.....

I'm sitting here at home and the product we use is at the shop... I'll try and grab the info tomorrow and supply it... . BTW it's approved for ULSD... .

Thank you sir, no need to hurry I'm just researching ULSD additives for winter which I hope is still 4-5 months away.

 

[GaryOwen]

Found where jelag has posted additive info in the past. Here's the link.



https://www.turbodieselregister.com...207805-diesel-fuel-treatment-what-we-use.html

 

[jelag]

Geez Gary... . your good a looking stuff up... thanks for the help...

 

[pwr2tow]

Good to know stuff, thanks guys.