Diesel Observations from a Diesel Mechanic

[AnD3rew]

Thought I would share a conversation I had with my Brother in Law who is a diesel fitter and a lifetime of experience fitting, repairing and selling diesel engines.

BIL:
Reckon I drove an X5 with the B57 engine from Melbourne/ Sydney return towing a 3t boat. A bit higher torque rating though just pulled and accelerated like there was no tomorrow…Smooth and quiet…

That engine should outlast the rest of the vehicle.

Tip: Best to stick with one good quality brand of fuel and give it some high load exercises every 10k.
Sounds jolly exciting…

Me:
Good advice. Yes will give it some high load excercise for sure. The BMW engine has a built in oil separator on the exhaust’s gas system (a higher tech version of a catch can) and the Grenadier has two fuel filters for Australia, the secondary one has a water separator as well.

BIL:
Sounds like they have done their due diligence..

 

[MarkH]

Has a photo appeared anywhere yet of this elusive water separator/filter in the the engine bay?

 

[Bobby Mac]

I’m not familiar with ‘modern’ diesel engines such as the B57. In my old Defender I have always used a fuel additive to stop algae growth and keep injectors clean. It appears to have worked well with the old girl still going strong after 460,000 kms and no excess smoke, power or economy loss. Is a fuel additive a good idea or no, no for the B57?

 

[TheDocAUS]

Here are some general observations about the B57 motor here. It concludes:

BMW diesel engines have been impressive for a few generations, and the B57 is yet another powerful, efficient, and reliable powerplant without any major issues. Keep up with oil changes, bring your engine up to temperature often, and the B57 should serve you reliably for many years.

I will be using additives to kill algae, clean the injectors and reduce carbon build up. They worked well in my Nissan Patrol common rail diesel.

 

[AnD3rew]

I’m not familiar with ‘modern’ diesel engines such as the B57. In my old Defender I have always used a fuel additive to stop algae growth and keep injectors clean. It appears to have worked well with the old girl still going strong after 460,000 kms and no excess smoke, power or economy loss. Is a fuel additive a good idea or no, no for the B57?

There have been injector failures on these engines which seem to be put down to poor quality diesel. If available it is recommended to use premium diesel, if not available then probably an additive is a good idea.

 

[MarkH]

I've always used Lucas after a bit of research, as well as BP Ultimate where possible, it can't hurt. https://www.repco.com.au/oils-fluid...d1UtnT0uonfJ4KX6j5Fjk7gIpbfFVS_BoCdVkQAvD_BwE

 

[Bobby Mac]

I’ve been using Nulon for a while now.

 

[4runnernomore]

ive Been using fuel Doctor for a number of years in my D2 .

 

[TheDocAUS]

ive Been using fuel Doctor for a number of years in my D2 .

View attachment 7824100

Fuel doctors is a great additive.

 

[AnD3rew]

ive Been using fuel Doctor for a number of years in my D2 .

View attachment 7824100

My Diesel mechanic brother in law says he doesn’t see much benefit over using quality premium diesel. He also says the first questions a manufacturer will ask on warranty claims for engine and injector damage is what fuels and have you used any additives and that unless recommended by the manufacturer you may find yourself with a denial of claim.

 

[Eric]

My Diesel mechanic brother in law says he doesn’t see much benefit over using quality premium diesel. He also says the first questions a manufacturer will ask on warranty claims for engine and injector damage is what fuels and have you used any additives and that unless recommended by the manufacturer you may find yourself with a denial of claim.

Suppose that rules out used cooking oils then

 

[Shaky]

Suppose that rules out used cooking oils then

When Ineos find batter bits in the fuel system they will know, you have been filling up at the local fish & chip shop for the last 12 months

 

[rovie]

When Ineos find batter bits in the fuel system they will know, you have been filling up at the local fish & chip shop for the last 12 months

It may sound strange, but there was a man in my neighbourhood who used to get old French fries oil from the snack bars and put it into his GAZ multi-fuel engine. That went on for a few years. Now he is dead. Not the engine, but the man. His son still drives the car from time to time. The whole thing must have happened 35 years ago.

 

[Blackbox88]

It may sound strange, but there was a man in my neighbourhood who used to get old French fries oil from the snack bars and put it into his GAZ multi-fuel engine. That went on for a few years. Now he is dead. Not the engine, but the man. His son still drives the car from time to time. The whole thing must have happened 35 years ago.

There was actually a run on cheap cooking Oil from the Aldi a few years back in Holland haha
A lot of modern cars didn't survive it haha

All the oldies no problem but man you could smell them coming from miles away if the wind was blowing your way haha

We also had a lot of Mechanics from KLM who put left over pumped out Kerosine from airplanes in there older diesel like Volvo etc ran very well!

 

[rovie]

There was actually a run on cheap cooking Oil from the Aldi a few years back in Holland haha
A lot of modern cars didn't survive it haha

All the oldies no problem but man you could smell them coming from miles away if the wind was blowing your way haha

We also had a lot of Mechanics from KLM who put left over pumped out Kerosine from airplanes in there older diesel like Volvo etc ran very well!

That was sustainable! They were ahead of their time.

 

[Blackbox88]

That was sustainable! They were ahead of their time.

Agree yeah it was a hype specially being a liter of oil costed like 99 euro cent.
I think the problem arose that most cars couldn't handle it and then the government came and started working on regulations etc. so it slowly died away.

Another thing which was popular was converting old americans to LPG but that seemed to never really have taken off i guess because the road tax goes on weight in holland and those are heavy.
I am now in Thailand and actually a lot of big trucks like 18 wheelers here drive on LPG (Have like 10 tanks stacked behind the cab).

 

[klarie]

@Blackbox88 a friend of mine used an oder US Vehicle V8 with Liquid Petroleum Gas - but had severe damage on engine. But up the road where I live there is one guy owning a green W123 engine OM 616 2.4lD with prechambering system. No problem to feed with uses / filtered frying oil. but 2 tanks needed - Real diesel until engine is at operation temperature - then switch to frying oil - but before shutting off engine switch back to diesel and let it run for a short time.

 

[Blackbox88]

@Blackbox88 a friend of mine used an oder US Vehicle V8 with Liquid Petroleum Gas - but had severe damage on engine. But up the road where I live there is one guy owning a green W123 engine OM 616 2.4lD with prechambering system. No problem to feed with uses / filtered frying oil. but 2 tanks needed - Real diesel until engine is at operation temperature - then switch to frying oil - but before shutting off engine switch back to diesel and let it run for a short time.

Yeah same thing we saw with older US vehicles specially with kickdown as LPG burns hotter it destroyed the engine block over time.

Oeeff yeah that sounds a lot more complex I guess because he did it properly it actually worked
The older cars I know about they just poured it in the tank as long as it has more then 50% diesel it wasn't a real problem until it became a problem haha.

 

[Tazzieman]

Chucking the oil in fresh is a bit dopey but perhaps before google was invented it was the done thing.

 

[Blackbox88]

Chucking the oil in fresh is a bit dopey but perhaps before google was invented it was the done thing.

Well I can tell you those guys didn't much give a shit and also weren't the smartest bunch
They might thought that he it works with Left over Kerosene it also works with Oil haha