Fuel additives... this is what my dealer had to say!!!

[roperteacher]

I know you guys have discussed additives many times, I did the searches and found lots of ideas for fuel additives. First let me say that I tow a horse trailer frequently, and want to prolong the life of this engine and make this truck last. I want to do everything in my power from the very beginning to keep it running at an optimal level!!! I was interested in fuel additives. . here is what my dealer said,



" Fuel additives are one of the biggest causes of problems in the cummins diesel engine. If residue is ever found in your engine from the use of a fuel additives, your warranty will be immediatly terminated. The cummins engine needs no additives, just let it run".



I am concerned that if I use an additive my warranty will be voided. What is your take on this... . Oo.

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

UMMMmmm - would that by any chance be the same dealer who said they've never seen a lift pump or VP-44 fail? Or that "all trucks do that", or that strange vibrations are "normal", and nothing unusual?



I'll start putting faith in what a grade school dropout wearing a DC tech uniform tells me about the same time THEY start making payments on my truck...

 

[Bob4x4]

Hey Roper,

Don't worry about your dealer messing with your warranty over using additives,Gary will cover you.



Bob

 

[roperteacher]

Are additives such a " Diesel Kleen" good to use from the very beginning? Same dealer said that it can cause emission issues and cause the computer to throw codes. When they diagnose a code, they ck for additive use... you know the rest of the story.

 

[24V-DSL]

The more your dealer speaks, the more ignorance he shows. Ask him to give you ALL of the specific problems they have diagnosed as being caused SPECIFICALLY from the use of additives.



As I'm sure your searches have shown, those TDR members, like me, who are advocates for additives use them for the INJECTION PUMP, not the "engine".

 

[Dkevdog]

WARNING! Speaking to your dealer might void your warranty.

 

[RustyJC]

I've discovered a solution to this problem. My truck has never been back to the dealer since I took delivery.



Rusty

 

[bzingre]

Voided Warranty

I love the "voided warranty" phrase. A manufacturer can't void a warranty, it's a legal contract. The manufacture has to prove that failure was due to any sort of additive you put in your fuel in order to charge you with the repair because it was "non-warrantable failure".

 

[roperteacher]

I would like to not have to take it back to the dealer either... however, I am simply a school teacher and cannot afford to throw my warranty out the door! If something breaks, I cannot afford to spend thousands in repairs when I have a perfectly good warranty. I have located a good dealer however! THat is the key! THat is WHY I went w/ dodge CTD for the 3rd time! Long track history of little to no problems, motors than run hundreds of 1000's of miles!!!! My 98 and 2001. 5 were AWESOME... never a problem... . the 4. 5 has a new rear end at 2200 miles, but that is expected for NEW generations of vehicles. I'm not worried.

 

[rbattelle]

Re: Voided Warranty

Originally posted by bzingre

I love the "voided warranty" phrase. A manufacturer can't void a warranty, it's a legal contract. The manufacture has to prove that failure was due to any sort of additive you put in your fuel in order to charge you with the repair because it was "non-warrantable failure".

True. But how many of us have the money and legal resources necessary to take DC to court over the issue?



If you want to put in an additive, you could try this stuff. . It comes in a bottle with the Cummins "C" right on it, and the statement that it's endorsed and recommended by Cummins. They'd have a HARD time proving your CUMMINS engine was ruined by an additive RECOMMENDED by cummins!

 

[Steve M]

I put over 300,000 miles on an '84 Isuzu diesel with no additives. 256,000 on a VW Rabbit diesel with no additives. 54,000 on a '95 Dodge Cummins, 89,000 on a '98 Dodge Cummins, 28,000 on an '01. 5 Dodge Cummins, and I now have 29,000 on my '03 Dodge Cummins with no additives. The complete morons who design, engineer and build our engines also say no additives are necessary. Why do we think we're so much smarter than they are?

 

[SKargo]

Originally posted by Dkevdog

WARNING! Speaking to your dealer might void your warranty.

:-laf :-laf As a dealership employee, I tend to agree.

 

[C Schomer]

I talked to an old friend and Cummins mech of 21 yrs. in 97 and he said they'd seen more pump wear since the low sulphur fuel. It wasn't exactly a crisis but recommended additive to get the lube back up. Sounded like good sense to me! I use about half the dosage each tank just to suppliment the lube. I don't believe all the pump/injector cleaning advertising the additive mfgrs. do is necessary. I just want to ensure lubrication. Craig

 

[KKlepfer]

In '84, '95, & '98 the sulfur levels in diesel fuel was higher. Those levels are going to be even lower in 2006. The process to remove sulfur from diesel fuel also removes the lubricity of the fuel. This is why it will be more critical to add lubricity to diesel fuel. Biodiesel would be a great solution to the lubricity issue, but is still considerably more expensive than straight diesel.

 

[rbattelle]

Originally posted by Steve M

Why do we think we're so much smarter than they are?

Amen.



I don't use any additives. BUT, I probably will in 2007 when we go to ultra-low-sulphur diesel... just a lubricity additive.

 

[CoastyAV8R]

I thought that with the new low sulphur fuels, the companies were putting in a replacement lubricant to take the place of the sulphur lubricating properties. Seniality prevents me from saying what they are putting in the fuel or even who told me. Anyone else heard this? I personally think California diesel is already different from the other states as when I lived there, I would go to Nevada or Oregon and fill up and swear I would get almost 2 mpg better mileage.

 

[mattymac]

for those in CA we have an extra low sulfer high water content to our diesel. On my 91 I tried it once and will never do it agin, our diesel aquires an alge in the tanks from the water in the fuel after a long period of time. When I poured the conditioner in it shocked and killed the alge sending it to the bottom of the tank and sucking it through all my lines, inj pump, and injectors. Nothing else could break this stuff up, alcohal, brake clean, muradic acid, NOTHING! This whole incodent cost me a sending unit, steam cleaned the tank, injectors, inj. pump, and about 10 fuel filters. Im not blaming the aditive only the fuel. It was a hard lesson learned for me (and expencive) that I will never do agin, I believe if you start running the aditive in a new truck and have good luck dont stop using it. If you dont run it then dont start (especially with the overpriced junk California calls diesel).

 

[rbattelle]

Originally posted by mattymac

for those in CA we have an extra low sulfer high water content to our diesel. On my 91 I tried it once and will never do it agin, our diesel aquires an alge in the tanks from the water in the fuel after a long period of time. When I poured the conditioner in it shocked and killed the alge sending it to the bottom of the tank and sucking it through all my lines, inj pump, and injectors. Nothing else could break this stuff up, alcohal, brake clean, muradic acid, NOTHING! This whole incodent cost me a sending unit, steam cleaned the tank, injectors, inj. pump, and about 10 fuel filters. Im not blaming the aditive only the fuel. It was a hard lesson learned for me (and expencive) that I will never do agin, I believe if you start running the aditive in a new truck and have good luck dont stop using it. If you dont run it then dont start (especially with the overpriced junk California calls diesel).

Now THAT is very interesting! Hypothetically, if you had never added that conditioner, would the algae eventually grow to plug up the fuel system?

 

[mattymac]

The alge was very concentrated in the tank but it didnt grow very large, It was brown in color and VERY VERY nasty and hard to get rid of. Here in CA alot of older trucks that do what I did with the conditioner have this same experience. I also hear that the people who know about this can see it in their tanks and never have a problem unless they use mainly any diesel conditioner for the first time after many miles.

 

[GFritsch]

Like Steve M I have over 200k on a Dodge, and 150k on our Jetta Diesel with no additives. Both run stronger then the day we brought them home. I would worry more about how well the fuel is filtered to avoid injector clogging. JMO could be that the new ones are more sensitive.