Diesel fuel conundrum

[BirvidikBob]

We have a Webasto 3500 blown air diesel heater fitted to Birvidik. Three winters ago the fuel pump seized. This was hardly surprising as we’d picked up a thousand litres of seriously contaminated fuel at Gouvia in Corfu. We should have taken note of that because we only managed 10 hours running the engine the next season before the fuel buggered up all four new injectors.

I replaced the pump two winters ago. Now, a couple of months into this winter it seems to have failed again. It’s not a fuel problem this time as I cleaned out the tanks after the previous fuel fiasco and have kept a scrupulous check on fuel ever since. There’s been no water, no bug & no muck. It’s as clear as a bell.

There’s a nagging worry at the back of my mind, and that’s to do with the new ultra low sulphur diesel and the possible addition of biodiesel. In Greece and Turkey it’s been impossible to ascertain whether the fuel I’ve been buying falls into these categories. I’ve heard tales of these fuels being less ‘slippery’ than normal diesel. If that’s the case, could this be a possible cause of the heater pump failure? More worryingly, could they be causing problems for the engine. It’s a Mermaid melody naturally aspirated 90 HP. This is a basic old ‘clunker’ of a Ford New Holland tractor engine. It has a reputation for being bombproof, but it was designed and built before ULS fuels and biodiesel were a twinkle in a bureaucrat’s eye.

So – the questions are:

1. Is there any way of determining whether a fuel is ULS or Biodiesel added?
2. Could the above fuels be a cause of the heater pump failure?
3. Could they pose a threat to my engine?
4. If so, is there anything I can do to mitigate the effects, given that I have to take what fuel I can get?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[ianj99]

We have a Webasto 3500 blown air diesel heater fitted to Birvidik. Three winters ago the fuel pump seized. This was hardly surprising as we’d picked up a thousand litres of seriously contaminated fuel at Gouvia in Corfu. We should have taken note of that because we only managed 10 hours running the engine the next season before the fuel buggered up all four new injectors.

I replaced the pump two winters ago. Now, a couple of months into this winter it seems to have failed again. It’s not a fuel problem this time as I cleaned out the tanks after the previous fuel fiasco and have kept a scrupulous check on fuel ever since. There’s been no water, no bug & no muck. It’s as clear as a bell.

There’s a nagging worry at the back of my mind, and that’s to do with the new ultra low sulphur diesel and the possible addition of biodiesel. In Greece and Turkey it’s been impossible to ascertain whether the fuel I’ve been buying falls into these categories. I’ve heard tales of these fuels being less ‘slippery’ than normal diesel. If that’s the case, could this be a possible cause of the heater pump failure? More worryingly, could they be causing problems for the engine. It’s a Mermaid melody naturally aspirated 90 HP. This is a basic old ‘clunker’ of a Ford New Holland tractor engine. It has a reputation for being bombproof, but it was designed and built before ULS fuels and biodiesel were a twinkle in a bureaucrat’s eye.

So – the questions are:

1. Is there any way of determining whether a fuel is ULS or Biodiesel added?
2. Could the above fuels be a cause of the heater pump failure?
3. Could they pose a threat to my engine?
4. If so, is there anything I can do to mitigate the effects, given that I have to take what fuel I can get?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

There's nothing to stop you adding some 2 stroke engine oil (this is designed to be burned unlike non 2 stroke stuff) to help with lubrication, but if the seals are swelling due to the biodiesel content, then not much you can do I think.