fuel additive

[ddud]

While trying to locate a fleetguard oil filter for my 03... with no luck locally, I ended up talking to a Cummins warranty service guy in the area (Dayton). He stated that just today they had a conference with STAR (no idea who these people are) and they were putting out guidance to the service centers to begin adding a diesel fuel additive for all diesel. He stated that he currently has an 03 in the shop with 63,000 (yes that's correct) miles and they are putting in the second set of fuel injectors into this truck.



The recommendation is primarily for the 03 he said. He also says that he sales the recommended additive. Anyone out there heard of this or was I given a sales pitch?



The additive he sales will take care of 700 gallons of fuel at a cost of about $60. 00. I did not get the name of this additive.



I just ordered the filters from Geno's but would like to purchase locally... anyone having any luck finding the fleetguard filters "off the shelf"?



Duke



03 3500

 

[Rosco]

I just recently started using Power Service Diesel Kleen when I fill up. I wonder if this is the kind of additive they are talking about.



For the guys here who use PS do you add the whole bottle or half the bottle since I have been dumping the whole bottle in with the reason being I tried to stop at half a bottle but it ended up more like 3/4's so I said "screw it" and poured the rest in.



Is their such a thing as "too much" Diesel Kleen?

 

[DBVZ]

Where are you? The Cummins dealer in southern California had the Stratopore filters in stock, even though the HO is not sold in California. They checked the engine number to be sure they had the right one. They did not have the air filter or fuel filters for it yet. Perhaps they should just order some for you and get some extra for stock.

 

[24V-DSL]

Rosco....

IMO you're waisting additive. I hope you're talking about a smaller jug than the 94/96? oz. I buy. Anyway, I put 8oz. in every fill-up which is normally 20-24 gallons since I don't let my tank get much below half. I've used an additive since day one, and have settled on Diesel Kleene since it supposedly has cetane... . I don't need anti-gelling properties in my climate... . , and it's $10 for the above size jug... . read cheap. I once used Redline and they told me when I ordered, you can't really hurt anything using heavier doses..... it's just overkill. I only use this stuff for injection pump lubrication, and I do believe it does that..... no other benefits I can determine.

 

[Task125]

I was going to use stanadyne, I e mail cummins they said they do not recomend additives and it would void my warr. anyone else here this?

 

[AndyMan]

I used the Power Service stuff for the first time last night. It seems like I had read in the manual that an additive was not required for the engine. I don't remember reading that it should not be used. Nor did I read anything about voiding the warranty.



If it's true that we should start using, then it's a good thing that I've started now at 2100 miles I guess. You know, as cheap as the stuff is, if it lubricates my inj's and cleans them, it's cheap insurance... right? I'm using the grey bottle, not the white one. Is that the right one?



I let my gauge run down to 1/8 tank, then put in the PS, then added about 28 gallons of diesel. I've only driven about 30 miles since then. 15 interstate at 70mph, and 15 stop and go. Computer reports 18. 1mpg. Up from my recent trip all interstate @ 70mph where I got a reported 17. 3. If that keeps up, the stuff will more than pay for itself.



my . 02

/abg

 

[Summit]

task 125, at a dodge rodeo event i met "the" head guy from cummins that writes the software and does much of the testing and he told me to NEVER EVER put additive in these common rail trucks, the fuel system is way too sensitive he said. unless its way below zero and your worried about blended fuel gelling.

change your fuel filter 10k-15k.

 

[Task125]

Thats what I thought they said.

 

[AndyMan]

Regarding wether or not to use an additive, I've attached a quote from Cummins website:



"Are fuel or oil additives recommended for use with the Cummins 24-Valve Turbo Diesel?





Fuel or oil additives are not necessary on the 24-valve engine, provided factory recommended oil and fuel specifications are followed. Consult your owner's manual for proper guidelines. "







It says that they are "not neccessary", to me that doesn't say that they will destroy the engine. . I'm perplexed about what to do. of course 24-valve Turbo Diesel doesn't exactly mean the new motor with the fuel rails... . I guess I will discontinue use for now, and maybe contact Cummins directly.

 

[Dean Upson]

I've used additives in the past and have discontinued using them because I've been told they are not necessary. I have encountered no problems in not using them. I watch where I buy my fuel and change my fuel filter regularly. If I lived in a very cold climate, I would do more research.



Dean

 

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

After seeing how clean injectors are that come out of 24v VP44 trucks running a fuel additive and how crudded up they are without, I've been using Amalgamated additive regularly. How clean they are is also greatly affected by fuel quality, but I believe the benefit is worth the cost. I've used it on all but two tanks on my new truck and will continue to do so unless convinced otherwise.



Amalgamated is good stuff and as smooth as this engine is, I can sure tell when I'm not using it (quite a bit more vibration).











Vaughn

 

[Hammerhead]

Hey Vaughn,

What type of additive from Amalgamated do you use? Is it one of those custom blended jobs, or one of the off the shelf varieties?

Thanks

Eddie

 

[ttreibel]

From what I have seen and learned if you want your pump for the long haul you are way better off using fuel additives. I use the Amsoil one now. it cost about 75 bucks a year for all the driving I do. The others mentioned are probably all fine. I would avoid the ones you can get a Walmart and the corner autoparts store they are more for cold weather, not lubrication and injector cleaning. This voiding the warranty BS is getting out of hand I beginning to think that 7/70 means 7 days 70 miles maybe I missed that in the fine print. I don't blame DC for the void the warranty BS it is industry wide and not acceptable, you either stand behind your product and learn or get out of the business altogether.

 

[RCrowley]

I had a big problem with dodge and using additives in my 99 a few years ago. It was in the middle of winter and the truck was belching out white or blue smoke once in a while and missing. I added some of the PS additive thinking maybe I had some gelled fuel. When I finally had to have the truck towed in to the dealer because it would not start, they told me that my fuel pump was shot and it would not be covered under warranty! They took the empty bottle of fuel additive in the back seat as evidence or something and told me to come by and pay them 1500 for a new pump. I made tons of calls to dodge and to the maker of the additive and nobody was going to pay for the new pump. I then had the truck towed to another dealer 200 miles away where I had some friends working in service. They told dodge that they flushed the whole fuel system and found the pump to be working properly. It turned out all I needed was a new fuel filter. I guess the moral of the story is don't give them a reason to yank the 5yr/100,000 mile engine warranty. I will never use any type of fuel additive again.

 

[mr plow]

performance formula

i have been using stanadyne performance formula for years. i can feel a difference when i use it, and i comes highly recommended by the local cummins shop, as well as any reputable diesel shop around here in Toronto.



best of luck...



Oren.

 

[HEYBOSS]

Originally posted by Vaughn MacKenzie

After seeing how clean injectors are that come out of 24v VP44 trucks running a fuel additive and how crudded up they are without, I've been using Amalgamated additive regularly. How clean they are is also greatly affected by fuel quality, but I believe the benefit is worth the cost. I've used it on all but two tanks on my new truck and will continue to do so unless convinced otherwise.



Amalgamated is good stuff and as smooth as this engine is, I can sure tell when I'm not using it (quite a bit more vibration).











Vaughn

Right about this one, I've replaced stock injectors at 22k with 275's and couldn't believe how crudded up they were. At the same time helped a TDR member doing injector swap on his CTD and his were super clean, he's been using additives. When I swapped out the 275's after 13k of use they looked good, a little crudded because I didn't use the additive in regular basis. Now I try to get in the habit of using it every time.



Fred.

 

[Diesel Gunner]

Well, I use the PS stuff in the grey bottle. I normally fuel the truck up at about 1/4 tank. That usually requires 26 gallons and it put in about 4-6 oz of the additive. The use of huge doses will not give you any added performance. I use it primarily for the added lubrication properties. I can tell when I have not used it after a couple of fill ups as the engine seems to be a bit noisier and the idle is not as smooth.



BTW I have no doubt that a dyno run would show about a 200hp gain with the additive! Actually, I would not tell anyone that there is any power to be had just by using additive. Maybe, just a smoother, quieter running motor which "may" have a lower possibility of developing pump or injector problems. BTW, I don't leave the PS bottle in the truck just in case.

 

[Pit Bull]

Originally posted by RCrowley



I guess the moral of the story is don't give them a reason to yank the 5yr/100,000 mile engine warranty. I will never use any type of fuel additive again.

Hey guys were not dealing with "CSI" :-laf Use the additive if you want to. The oil companys add additives to the diesel some more than others. Unless you tell them you are using an additive or you leave the bottle in the truck they will never know. What do you think these guys are going to send a sample of your diesel fuel off for a chemical analysis Even if they did they could never tell anything based on what could of been added by the oil company. Example what if you bought premium diesel at a truck stop? It has many of the same additives that you add yourself if you use PS or Rotella DFA, etc.

 

[JHardwick]

Originally posted by RCrowley

I had a big problem with dodge and using additives in my 99 a few years ago. It was in the middle of winter and the truck was belching out white or blue smoke once in a while and missing. I added some of the PS additive thinking maybe I had some gelled fuel. When I finally had to have the truck towed in to the dealer because it would not start, they told me that my fuel pump was shot and it would not be covered under warranty! They took the empty bottle of fuel additive in the back seat as evidence or something and told me to come by and pay them 1500 for a new pump. I made tons of calls to dodge and to the maker of the additive and nobody was going to pay for the new pump. I then had the truck towed to another dealer 200 miles away where I had some friends working in service. They told dodge that they flushed the whole fuel system and found the pump to be working properly. It turned out all I needed was a new fuel filter. I guess the moral of the story is don't give them a reason to yank the 5yr/100,000 mile engine warranty. I will never use any type of fuel additive again.

My '99 started blowing white smoke last fall when I leaned on it and I added some additive thinking I got bad fuel. Went on with my errand and it just died halfway back to the barn ... ... . with a three horse goose attatched complete with a horse!



AAA towed the entire rig to the barn and I changed the fuel filter even though there was no evidence of water or a bad filter.



Bled the low pressure side out and started to bleed the high side out and got nothing!



I called the local dealer and told them I had a bad pump, they asked how many miles I had on it and I told them 96K ... ... they said to bring it on in!



It took 2 weeks after I had already determined the problem, but they fixed it under warranty. They said they had to go through a special checklist since it is such a high dollar item and they don't stock the pumps.



Not sure about that story, but it didn't cost me anything but time and additives was never mentioned.



-Jeff

 

[MMeier]

Hey Jeff, at least you had backup transportation in the trailer!