BADEST Deisel bug I have ever seen

[pagar]

Got a call last night from the guy I sold my old club truck too. He was driving home down the motorway and truck started to splutter and die and he could not start again. eventually got it to run but not much over Idle and drove home in first gear. He said he had a heap of white smoke out the back. My first thought was pump gone big time or dropped a piston. could not beleive it felt like a right a##hole sold him a truck that died the next day (literally) so i figured best to go round and take a look. I took a jerry can of new feul just in case. Took the fuel lines off at filter and blew back into tank in case it was a blockage and then pulled fuel filter(about 750 - 1000 kms old). Well boy was I in for a shock, emptied filter contents into a white bucket and it looked a bit grey so thought I would drain what was left in the tank eeewww. what was in the bucket could only be described as looking like a bucket full of used moter oil. black as the ace of spades. could not beleive it. so flushed tank with a bit of fresh fuel and put in 20 ltrs of clean stuff, rinced out filter (did not have a spare with me) and put back to gether, runs fine. So it goes to show if you have a heap of white smoke it does not mean injector pump as most diesel mechanic say. and for the record I am 98% positive it got in the tank from the Shell on i think it is lake road Rotovegas the one on your way into town from SH5 north so any one buying your deisel there dont let your truck sit in the back yard for a couple of months after.....

[albundy]

Had a problem myself just after xmas with with shell diesel. Wasn't black thought, it was a creamy coloured sludge type. was so thick I had to pull the water sensor on the bottom of filter apart and clean out, plus the injectors were full of the crap as well. I actually put a new fuel tank in as it was sitting there. Cleaned it out real qwell before hand though.
Al

[SMOKEY]

If you have got the Black Mould looking Diesel bug you will have to get an additive to kill it or it will keep growing. It was rife in diesel tanks in the Canterbury region a few years ago , the fuel companies got on to it quickly by dosing all there tanks. We had it really bad and where changing Fuel filters all the time, even when the bug dies you still have to flush it through your fuel systems.

albundy , GOOD TO SEE YOUR MONIKER, pathfinder DIDN'T SUIT YOU,

FITZY.

[KiwiBacon]

So what's the dosing agent?

[SMOKEY]

Sorry don't know as the dosing was done by the Fuel company, a phone call to one of the fuel companies should provide an answer. I will make some enquires at work and post back any findings.

FITZY.

[pagar]

Fuel set is my Biocide of choice, we use it in the boat cause it sits with a partial tank all the time. if it is in your tank reall bad start with a double dose and rince you old fuel filter well in clean diesel and refit and after at least a couple of tanks of fuel change out fuel filter continue dose till bottle gone.

[Jerry]

Had a problem myself just after xmas with with shell diesel. Wasn't black thought, it was a creamy coloured sludge type. was so thick I had to pull the water sensor on the bottom of filter apart and clean out, plus the injectors were full of the crap as well. I actually put a new fuel tank in as it was sitting there. Cleaned it out real qwell before hand though.
Al

had that in my diesel vitara I just got rid of, tank had to be drained etc, someone suggested its when the petrol station tanks are refilled you get all the froth, not filling up at a station where there is a lanker filling up anymore.

[Weemsy]

i have been a commercial and plant diesel tech since school and a good way of preventing diesel bug getting too far into your fuel system is to fit a pre-filter as close to the fuel tank as possible. dont go fitting a straight in-line type though, it needs to be one with a small clear bowl with a nylon mesh filter. i found that this will clog itself up with diesel bug way before it has chance to cause major problems. i was retro fitting them on hundreds of trucks/cranes/forklifts etc etc.
the good thing is with one of these type filters, if your motor starts to splutter and cough, just spin off the bowl, clean the mesh filter with diesel, compressed air, your ladies dress if needed then fit it back and carry on. if its really bad you can do the same again and again if you really have to.
they were mercedes hand-primer-cum-pre filters off trucks, but they are 12 or 14 mm fuel line couplings, maybe a bit big but easy to modify 2 banjo's.
its just a thought, maybe of no use????
i can get the part number if anyone wants it, or the parts itself if needed.
weemsy

[pagar]

Thanks for that wessy, It is a good idea, may well look into that, sould not be a problem for me as I am adding an additive to my new truck with a biocide and driving it daily which helps. I could then in theory look at a racing fuel filter which although is inline it is a glass tube with an internal mesh scerren and is washable. (and available through many race shops)

[xorph]

How would I go and check if I had diesel bug? (I have a 1hz cruiser)

I cannot believe there are organisms that can live in diesel!!! diesel kills anything! Ive spilled diesel on the lawn a year ago and it is still dead!!!??

every so often my cruiser splutters and misses and coughs white smoke when it starts, Im kind off assuming the engine's just showing its age and has lost compression or something, but it is very strange how it only happens sometimes.
Also strange is how it sometimes runs better than other times. e.g last time coming up from south managed 115kph up bombays. time before 103kph with similar load and air temp.

this site sort of explains something:

http://www.oillab.co.nz/diesel_bug_explained

[Weemsy]

its easy on commercials......open the cap and look in the tank with a torch!!!!
otherwise, check your fuel filter is the easiest way to check.
depending on which kind of filter is fitted to your vehicle (i dont know specific vehicles, sorry), drain your water trap into a container and let it settle for a while and/or remove the filter and check the filter base for a watery, transparent 'slime'.
this is just a basic check as it will be mostly sitting somewhere in your fuel tank.

using diesel conditioner is a good idea anyway, whether or not you find it. i usually put some in every service, i think its about $6 a bottle, made by fuchs or similar.

hope this helps a bit.
weemsy

[pagar]

I prefer to run Moreys deisel additive as it is a multi purpose additive, it contains a biocide a moisture inhibiter and adds the lubrisity lost by the removal of sulphur

[cruza]

My thoughts are ,pretty doubtful your problem was through one tank of bad diesel from the service station. intakes are well off the bottom of the tank and are regularly checked for water . Probably had water in ya tank for a while , warm conditions of ya fuel tank, lots of running or leaving the tank with a low fuel level. I was surprised with my landcruiser which sits most of the year and does only 5-6 thousand for hunting trips , the water/ sediment that comes out of my tank . I drain the tank once a year, flush it out with petrol and let it dry, (bug does't like petrol/ or dry tanks!! After getting caught out once going to the coast at nite with a blocked filter , its just part of maintence now, as is checking for water in the diffs every quarter.