So. Generally I'm not a fan of mechanic in a can but my opinion comes from gasser experience. Some of you may remember I have a truck with moderate stiction and have tried several oil addatives with some decent short term improvement but nothing that lasted long.

After reading on the effects of cetane in Diesel engines, what our fuel is like here in the states vs other countries and checking up on some of the available addatives, I decided to stop by the Ford shop and buy a couple bottles of the Motorcraft cetane improver. I've tried a couple of fuel addatives in the past with no noticeable effects and I often use Diesel Kleen thinking of the lubrication side of the issue.

I should also say that our trucks are in different conditions and have different degrees of wear etc. and what works for one truck may have no effect on the other. I'm just sharing my experience. End of disclaimer .

The mornings here have been in the mid 50's mostly, plenty cold enough to make my truck jump up and down and rattle loudly on the first start of the morning. I drive it to work most days. I usuialy let it idle for a couple minutes before dropping it in gear. After pulling out of the driveway, I drive flat and level for a 1/4 mile to a stop sign, take a left and immediately pull a hill the goes up about 100 feet over a 300ft distance(pretty steep). My truck don't like the hill at all. Usually engine rattling loudly, there is no shift on the flat part unless I lift off the throttle and then it jerks into the next gear, hitting the hill, I commonly watch the tach and bring it up to 2200 rpm and creep up the hill at a slightly faster than walking pace. At the top its starting to smooth out but shifts are still hard. 7-8 stop lights, truck is smoothing out, then 55mph temp is nearing 150° and it's running good. Some more lights, 65mph for awhile, 35min trip each way, almost every day, same thing.

Filled up last week and added the cetane booster. Nothing noticeable (figured that) first couple days then cranked the third morning same mid 50's temp, engine rattles as usual for thirty seconds and smooths out...hmm. Out on the street, smooth pulling, and drops smoothly into the next gear on its own just as I was about to lift! Wow, didn't expect that. Its early morning and little traffic so I often roll through the stop sign to give it a run-a-go at the hill but I stopped to listen to the strange smooth idle. Pulled out and headed up the hill driving like I described above and 1/3 of the way up, it changed gears. Amazing! Still smooth all the way up and out of town. Two more days have been the same. Fuel mileage is up 1.3-1.5 mpg from where I would expect at this point in the tank. I think much of that is because it was drinking fuel when it was cold and now it would seem it's not. I didn't heavy dose it. Just mixed according to directions. I bought a couple of bottles so I'm going to run it awhile and see if this lasts or is just a fluke. Sorry for the stupid long post but I thought some of you may be interested. I know a few members have mentioned they run this addative and so far I'm impressed.

 

It is pretty good stuff I've run it before,that being said since I've been running stanadyne (with blue label)my engine i believe is a little more quiet and runs a little better.

 

This result kinda confuses me. I've always thought of stiction as being related to the spool valve. Nothing in the fuel is going to touch those. I figured since it ran so well a couple days after the RevX, it confirmed spool valve issues. Either something has changed a bit since then or the increase in cetane is now covering up the issue somehow. As temps drop lower I'll find out if this will work but the truck is easily drivable as it is now and if it stays that way in winter temps it will be fine. I had planned to polish the spools soon but with this result at this price, I may leave it alone for a while yet.

Another consideration, I've been suspicious of the FICM for a while, voltage is good but the injector buzz isn't the same every morning, some mornings it's weak and other mornings I don't hear any buzz at all. I'm thinking I'll get Ed to work his magic on it and continue running the cetane booster.

 

I've been running cetane boost at every fill up since 18k miles, when my EGR valve gave up on me. The lead shop mechanic at my favorite dealer suggested it. He said that injectors rarely failed when faithfully using it, so he gave me half a case. I figured I might as well use the stuff and it's served me well.
I also don't let my oil get over 3k miles on it either, I figured if I was buying a 50k truck, I shouldn't go cheap stretching out oil changes.

I really do believe these 2 things have kept my 10 year old truck starting and running like the day I drove it off the lot.

 

Hey Rusty I know what you are saying about starting out and climbing a hill, since I have own this truck which will be 2 years this month I have always used the ford cetane booster in all my fill ups. No problem driving every or every other day. My winter oil change is with arch oil 9100, and it is little more quieter, and my neighbor appreciate too.

 

Have always wondered about the Ford cetane booster.......is this the stuff that smells bad?

 

Does Diesel Kleen have the same amount of cetane in it as the Ford cetane booster?
Or are they two very different products?

 

Similar products but I have read many good things about the Motorcraft stuff, perhaps it's geared more for the Ford trucks. I think it's a case of something is better than nothing, but as Rusty mentioned nobody here drives the exact same truck.

I noticed a HUGE difference using Archoil 9100 after just 100 miles, where someone else can run it and notice little to nothing after 2000 miles...

(I see you are from Whidey Island......we visit Orcas almost yearly with family in the Skagit Valley and Whatcom county, greetings!
At least you rarely worry about gelling things up!)

Sorry off topic.

 

When I bought my 06 F350 a few months back, I had my buddy (head diesel mechanic at Ford dealership) tell me that the Motorcraft cetane boost & performance additive is a great product to use with the 6.0's. Said it's a cheap insurance for the injectors. Also, said to continue to use with each tank of diesel fuel and don't skip out on adding it!! He also said that the Archoil 9100 is another great product for these trucks. So, I'm using both in my truck!

 

Yep, smells horrible. Left it in my tool box once and stunk it up for probably a month. Now it lives in the bed beside the tool box .

 

This it?

I think I might start using this instead of the 2 stoke. I think I have another injector going out.

.

 

PM22 is it but $13 for that 6oz bottle is no bargain, list price $33.12? Lol.
I stopped by the Ford place here in town got 2ea, 22oz bottles for $17.98. $8.99ea list. A bottle treats "up to" 125gal of fuel. So a 30gal fill-up costs about $2.23 for the Addative.

 

I've been using opti-lube since I bought the truck 1.5 years ago. The first tank didn't have anything in it. I got some of that and poured it in. By the time I got through a quarter tank it was running smooth as butter compared to before. I didn't really notice a fuel economy increase, could have been one, but didn't run it long enough before to really know. That was a convincer for me, never ran a tank without it since.

 

[PM-22-A] Motorcraft Diesel Cetane Booster and Performance Improver(PM22A)

This is the same pm-22, just the bottle that I always get. Price is close to the same as well, somewhere between $8-$9.

 

I suspect my mileage increase is coming from the cold starts. Watching the lie-o-meter too so it may not be that much. It used to drop a few points every morning and make it back up after the engine warmed up but now it drops very little. That little improvement is adding up. Maybe the cetane improves combustion at lower temps and the PCM is reading the improved parameters and leaning it out a little when cold.

I had tried XDP's fuel addative because they sent me a free bottle with an order last year. The folks that make StaBil also were nice enough to send me a bottle of their diesel addative a while back also. No difference like this with either product tho..

Another thing about this truck is that it has always run well once the EOT gets up to 130°-150° depending on outsid temps. The difference with the PM22 is just the cold start. It runs the same once it's warmed up.