Engine/Transmission (1994 - 1998) Fuel contamination

[Kalaehina]

I posted a thread in "911" on this also but figured there may be more audience here. I changed my fuel filter today and when I drained the old one some kind of sludge came out. Is this dirt or oil? I did top off my fuel on Friday. Bad tank of fuel?

 

[SRehberg]

How does the sludge look? Shiney black and thick? It most likely then is contamination from bacterial growth in the fuel. If this is the case, the main tank will need treating as well. Use a good biocide like Biobor or similar to kill the growth, but if the tank is involved, you may need to drop it and flush it. There are services that will "polish" your fuel for you, by sucking it out and returning it to the tank clean. Unfortunetly, there are fuel stations that have less than clean fuel, and if you picked up aload of bad fuel, you have a problem to deal with. If you don't kill the stuff, it will get worse, plug filters etc. then you stop.



If it is just brown and silty, it could just be dirt introduced somehow and the filter is doing its job. How long ago was the filter serviced? I've seen some bacterial growth be isolated at the filter due to the water it caught there, but the tank should still be treated. Good luck.

 

[GIT-R-DONE]

Now this is a subject worth investigating. I am sorry I cannot give you any advice about your fuel problem, but what is it that is used to treat your fuel so the sludge doesn't form? If its in your tank and you don't know it, will it continue to grow? I have heard about this before but never heard of the cure other than flushing the tank. Is there some type of treatment that you can put in your tank that will dissolve the trouble?

 

[Kalaehina]

My post in "911" has a picture, it's under "sludge in fuel".

 

[Joe G.]

You need a fuel treatment that contains a biocide.



I had the problem on a fish boat with four tanks holding 1000 gallons of fuel. The sludge looked a lot like snot. After it was killed it looked like brown snot. No way to clean the tanks since they were installed when the boat was built. We went thru filters by the case until it was finally cleaned up. It even plugged up the diesel stove.

 

[Kalaehina]

Yup, that's what it looks like, brown snotting looking, algae.

 

[SRehberg]

Joe's right, it will cause you to go through a kajillion filters if the tank isn't cleaned. Even if you kill the stuff, it still has all the little dead remains still there that plugs things up. The best insurance is treating EVERY load of fuel that comes on, but I have to admit, I have become lazy, so I'll probably get bit somewhere down the road. Use high volume diesel stations, that reduces your chances of getting older, water laden-microbe growing diesel.



"Polishing" the fuel is a process where they remove the fuel, suck the gunk out of the tank, then return the fuel after running it through filters etc. It makes dark, ugly fuel look brand new.



Hope you get it out, and it has just started with this last fill up. Treat it right away, and possibly you could get lucky.

 

[Kalaehina]

Thanks for the info guys. Will track down some biocide tomorrow.