Just to keep all of you DEF users focused.........

[mwilson]

Just a friendly reminder from the shop floor to never, never, ever let DEF get in the fuel tank.



One Freightliner Cascadia with a DD15 engine being finished up right now that had DEF dumped in the fuel tanks... .



Almost $10,000. 00 to repair. New high pressure pump and fuel module, 6 new inectors, complete cleaning of lines, fuel tanks, etc.



NOT A WARRANTIABLE FAILURE!!! No OEM that I am aware of will cover DEF contamination. Period.



The DEF settles to the bottom of the fuel tank. When you start the engine the fuel pickup tube snarfs up straight DEF and trashes the fuel system.



Tend your own fill-ups.



Mike.

 

[DAN V]

That is why I am glad I have a fuel card. I don't trust the monkeys running the pumps at the gas stations.

 

[BIGNASTY]

Thanks for the reminder of why I fuel/add DEF to our Peeee burner equipment, now I don't feel so mad when I have to do it, instead of letting an accident prone gal do it.

 

[SSteilow]

Good tip, and reminder. Thanks for the report and warning.

Scott

 

[Wingate]

come on guys. . its a little funny!.
Unless its your truck!

 

[JR]

the driver probably thought he was using some fancy new fuel treatment :-laf

 

[E7mack96]

We've had a few drivers do that down here. An expensive lesson. Today i finished installing a complete new 1 box setup after oil contamination and breakage when a turbo went boom. Does turbo Failure that is warranted also cover the cost of the 1 box setup and dpfs. . all parts in, it was close to 17,000 dollars.

 

[firefighter_2000]

We had a chevy ambulance with the same problem!

 

[mwilson]

We've had a few drivers do that down here. An expensive lesson. Today i finished installing a complete new 1 box setup after oil contamination and breakage when a turbo went boom. Does turbo Failure that is warranted also cover the cost of the 1 box setup and dpfs. . all parts in, it was close to 17,000 dollars.

Depends on the following... .



The brand of the engine and was the previous work done at an authorized facility. There are exceptions depending on which brand of engine it is.



Mike.

 

[DClark]

So, does that make anyone with a new truck nervous with the DEF and the fuel ports in the same place and the fuel port does not have a cap? That sure sounds like the makings for just such an accidental contamination.
DClark

 

[BIGNASTY]

On our DEF equipped equipment the Diesel fill and DEF fill are WAY DIFFERENT IN SIZE, they are close together I would imagined to facilitate fueling easier. Truly one would have to go out of their way to screw it up, but obviously some have taken the trip out of their way!!!

We have installed a Espar heater on the tractor and have installed a small Diesel tank just so no mistake could be made with that part of the equation. After Mike wrote this im glad that we did the cost of the equipment was enough don't need to fix a mistake!!!

 

[E7mack96]

Mike it was a dd13. No previous work other than normal maintenance . We are an authorized repair facility.

 

[JMetzger]

Boy I love my 02 that much more.

 

[sag2]

You can't believe how many times it has happened already. And it goes both ways, diesel in DEF, and DEF in diesel. But the good news is we are talking about considerable quantity of cross contamination, not just a little spilled in the opening of one of the filler necks.

 

[TimothyLong]

I'm sure that this happens way more than we know. That's pretty sad too. I can't speak for the commercial trucks as to where the manufacturers place the DEF fill, but on the Rams it's a different story. Being that both the fuel and the DEF fills are right next to each other does present the opportunity for a huge mistake. As Bignasty pointed out they are way different in size. Not to mention that the DEF fill has a blue cap for Blue DEF and the capless fuel fill has a green plastic ring ring on it for green diesel. Even if you are blue/green color blind, they are both clearly marked. Not to mention, I think one would be hard pressed to get that plastic fill spout they supply with DEF (I use the 2. 5 gal. jugs) though the stiff springs on the fuel flappers and if you did manage that I would think that one or both flappers would crush that flimsy plastic spout. Unfortunately, Darwin was right (a man way ahead of his time) and where there is a will there is a way.



This reminds me of an incident that happened several years back, when diesel was just as cheap if not cheaper than gasoline, a person who used to work for the same company I do accidentally contaminated the fuel system in their car by putting diesel in the tank instead of gasoline. Mostly I've heard this story the other way around so this was a first for me. After the car quit running, this person called someone else that still works for the company that I do and is mechanically inclined, helped this other person get their car to a garage that was a friend. Fortunately, the diesel didn't cause a whole lot of damage. Just needed to drain the tank and flush the fuel system. Got away with only paying about $300 - $400, if I recall. But when asked how/why they put diesel in the tank, the answer was because it was the cheapest and they didn't know there was a difference.