Best diesel fuel additive?

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I just bought a used Bobcat and thought I would dump some fuel additive into the tank to clean up whatever might be there? I saw some CRC Fuel Therapy that is basically an injector cleaner. Good to use or not needed?
 
Years ago I heard of people using transmission fluid but those were old school diesel engines.
 
I mainly use the Lucas stuff and Diesel Kleen. But I will dump in some tranny fluid, Motor oil or 2 stroke oil on occasion.
 
Wait for it, waite for it... ??? nobodys said MMO yet ?? *****.. I have no idea myself what good in your diesel.. I just got done reading yet another MMO thread so its on my brain.. funny stuff
 
Originally Posted By: Donald
I just bought a used Bobcat and thought I would dump some fuel additive into the tank to clean up whatever might be there? I saw some CRC Fuel Therapy that is basically an injector cleaner. Good to use or not needed?


There is no one "best" additive. Just like there is no one "best" oil.

I would stick with the major diesel additives: Power Service, Stanadyne, Howes. They will clean, lube, take care of small amounts of water and the first two increase cetane. The third one says they increase combustion quality w/o the need to increase cetane (not sure how that works)

As far as universal additives: you could use Seafoam (clean, lube, take care of water), MMO (clean and lube), Lucas (clean and lube).
 
Originally Posted By: FL_Rob
WWHHATT?
dont be jokin' on that MMO.LLOOKOUT(JamesBrown)HA, here it comes ,oh ya,here we go ,come on ,come on, come on.


Is this a good thing or a bad thing?
 
Originally Posted By: Donald
What about CRC products? They make a few for diesel fuel. Maybe just go with Diesel Kleen?


CRC's diesel additive isn't as popular, hard to know how "good" it is.
 
I just started using Fuel Performance Catalyst (FPC). It's working really well for me so far. I haven't heard a whole lot about it, but I did find a thread on this forum about it that started back in 2005. You might be interested in that.

The link to the thread on the forum is
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=286212#Post286212

Hope there is some helpful information there, and good luck finding the right additive or catalyst.
 
First define the problem, then pick an additive that works on that problem. If fuel system cleanliness is the concern, then pick an additive that has the majority (or all) of ingredients to do that job. Kano Kreen is one, Schaeffer Neutra #131 is another, and there others. Don't get a cetane improver or lubricity improver or other product if cleaning is your main goal at this time.
 
I agree with Ken2.

Biodiesel is an excellent cleaner by itself and it provides good lubricity. Check your manual, as some mfg. don't recommend going over B5 (5%). At my workplace, the switch to biodiesel actually caused problems with clogged fuel filters from the excellent cleaning of old systems.

Oil guru Terry Dyson used to blame "many aftermarket diesel additives" with increased bearing wear as mentioned in this old thread: http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=302158

"Many of the popularly accepted diesel fuel adds HARM the bearings in your engines or do nothing to DROP NOx or reduce SOOT. I see it in oil analysis all the time." Terry mentioned Power Service in his rants. If you dig deep enough, maybe you can find them. To me, it seemed that the overuse (too high dose) was especially bad.

Another debated topic is that some additives treat the water so that it passes through the pump,injectors, engine. Others treat the water so that it "falls out" in the filter (not passing through the engine). Stanadyne is like the second example, and they claim this is a safer system.

I am not an expert on this topic, but the above ideas piqued my curiousity enough to stick with the Stanadyne product as a feel good move.
 
2cycle oil for lubricity in ULSD.

There is a study on lubricity properties of diesel additive in DieselPlace.com under Maintenance/Fluid.
 
I would have to agree that there is no one perfect diesel fuel additive. I have been using biodiesel blends of 5-10% for several years. That sure takes care of cetane and lubricity better than most additives, and there is no added cost.

The Cummins ISX in my semi, is notorious for "cooking" diesel fuel that gets returned to the tanks. That sometimes causes a situation called "asphaltine" that can give the same black appearance on fuel filters as an algae problem. I have used various products but have found that Amsoil's diesel additive does a particularly good job for me. And the cold weather version is pretty good as well. I buy in bulk at preferred pricing, so it competes well in pricing.
 
If looking for lubricity, a bit of TCW-3 2 cycle oil cant be beat. It is clean and easy to dose, and so long as you dont buy the garbage walmart stuff, it generally doesnt smell bad either.

The best results I found was with Rotella DFA.

If you have a cleanliness issue, or wish to baseline, I'd run lubro moly diesel purge, set up the right way.

Otherwise, remember that with all adds, less is more. It is important to consider load profile, use characteristics, etc. in selecting what and how much youll apply.
 
For the best lubricity, biodiesel cannot be beaten. Even 2% does astounding things for lubricity and it does not improve much past that point. Ashless two-stroke oil is also pretty good.

For multi-purpose additives, I like Howes Diesel Treat & Power Service (sliver = summer, white = winter) to deal with free water, increasing cetane number, injector cleanliness (although nothing beats mainlining a can of Lubro Moly Diesel Purge for that) & lubricity.
 
May be late to this thread but BioDiesel will definitely increase lubricity more than most additives. However, it only increases cetane by about 1 point for every 10% you put in so nothing significant. While an additive package can increase cetane by 5-6 points (depending on brand). It also contains stabilizers, corrosion protection, and detergents to clean injectors for better combustion (more power, better mpg).
 
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