Hello Guys, Spring is almost here! that's not saying much, but there it is. Anyway, as some of you know I am not "Diesel Savvy" as most of you guys are. I know I have learned a lot on here, but I have not seen or read anything about "upper cylinder lubricant" for diesels. I have a '86 6.9L and this old dude told me I should be using an upper cylinder lubricant every other fill up. Huh? Anybody know anything about this? I know I heard him right, but I may have misunderstood. Maybe he meant ATF for upper cylinder lubricant...I don't know..So, can any of you tell me what to use at fuel fill-ups please...

Thanks,

Pete

 

Nothing extra you need for that. Oil gets sprayed on your pistons from underneath. That gets everything pretty good and keeps the pistons cool. Your skirt will carry oil up the cylinder wall. Thats what the little grooves that run around the skirts are for. You don't want a bunch of junk running through your injection pump.

 

Thanks catfish101...I think maybe that old dude was pulling my leg...since he knew I didn't know much about diesels....

Pete

 

not to mention diesel fuel is a oil product and while gas is to diesel doesn't have the alcohol properties that gasoline has. diesel lubricates as well as burns. thats part of the reason diesel engines last longer than gas engines between rebuilds.

do not add ATF to your tank DO NOT. its RED farm diesel is RED. use diesel kleen if you want an additive.

 

I bet hes talking about marvel mystery oil. I says upper cylinder lubricant right on the jug. Its not a bad idea to add some the biggest advatage of it is it will provide a little extra lube for the ip.

 

you CAN run atf (type F only), red dye farm diesel is a chemical, not literally a dye. they can test it to see if it is or is not no tax farm diesel. you can run lucas, marvel mystery oil, 2 stroke oil, wmo, diesel kleen, ford boosters ect. theres a million of em out there

 

even cheap two stroke helps lol.

 

yea i know there is a chemical difference in atf and farm fuel. but why chance it? hell ATF runs 4-7 dollars depending on type and where you buy. and diesel kleen is 5-8 bucks. and diesel kleen is better for the engine.

i wouldn't want to go through telling a trooper oh its just ATF not farm diesel and have to wait on them to test it blah blah and all the other bs that comes with that. not to mention i could see them honestly charging a person to have to test there fuel

if a person is experienced with running ATF and they prefer it thats cool but the guys who are relatively new here who don't know everything they need to know about it shouldn't be told to run it. a person new to diesels might not know what farm diesel is. and realize that atf is going to turn the fuel red and they be one of the unlucky ones to get pulled over and dipped. they might not be to happy with us if one of us happened to be the person who told them to put it in there and they had to go through the hassle of having to be tested, or slammed with a ticket or whatever could possibly happen

 

Is the only reason not to use ATF because it turns the fuel red?

 

yes.
i did try it once a few tanks back.i poured a whole quart of MERCON in.
i have to say,the engine sure did love it.iv never seen a pickup or car pulled over having their tanks dipped in my life here.i kept the empty bottle and receipt with me just the same though lol.

 

Hey Guys, Thanks for everyone chiming in on this one. I too think newbies like me should get the straight skinny...you know the pros and cons...legalities and all that about what to put in our fuel tanks....Anyway, for me I have decided to use Diesel Kleen as directed on the bottle and just for a little more ip lube I intend on using 2 cycle oil also...I mean the 2 cycle oil is laying around my barn everywhere cuz I use it for my mowers and chainsaws...and it is reasonably inexpensive...BTW...this is why I love this forum...everyone always seem to have good info and are willing to help out other Diesel Lovers...

Thanks again,

Pete

 

they'll dip tanks here. you gotta get creative to run red fuel around here anymore...wink wink

 

Around me we dare not anymore a guy that buys hay from us claims they spun his filter off because they got suspisious of that the fuel tank in the box was plumbed in.

 

yea those of us in the truck country of the midwest have a much higher chance of getting dipped. especially going to livestock sale barns. happens all the time, hell sometimes they dip tanks at intersections through towns. though that hasn't happened in quite awhile the sale barn dips do they always check people. the northerners don't have it happen as often or maybe even not at all im not sure. (maine, new hampshire, vermont, and all the smaller new england states that don't have the agriculture we do here)

 

If you are going to use 2-stroke, make sure it has a TCW3 rating or better. Ash content is too high in lower rated oils. Ash is abrasive. Bad for mechanical fuel systems.