Can anyone tell me how well the 6.0 will run on biodiesel? I have the itch again for making my own fuel. I wouldn't be asking if I had kept my 7.3 but I needed a bigger truck. Any issues with cetane ratings ect?

 

The biggest thing is that the injectors don't like it, long term. The FUEL side of the injectors don't mind it, but the OIL side of the injectors start having major problems about 50K miles in.

The problem is that the spool valve starts sticking; unlike the 7.3 injectors, there's no spring behind the spool valve to force it closed. The spool valve gums up, and the injector starts misfiring.

There's no problem with a batch every once in a while, but a steady diet will eventually make you buy injectors, even on Ford's stated maximum of 5% biomass. The higher the concentration, the faster you'll need injectors.

-blaine

 

How does Bio affect the Oil side?

 

I've always heard biodiesel helps with lubricity of the injectors/pump. If you are making your own fuel, I would invest in a really good filtration system.

 

On a 6.0 you have 8 injector pumps.

 

starting to dislike my truck more and more.....thanks for the info guys

 

Combustion by-products get into the oil as a normal part of operation. Oil drives the 6.0 injectors (as it does the 7.3 injectors). The 7.3's will run on bio all day long with nary a complaint because they use mechanical force to close the injector spool valves.

The 6.0 injectors don't have that mechanical assist. When they clog, there's no extra force to shut the spool valves; only magnetic force, and that's not enough.

No one (that I know of) has done the necessary testing with either synthetic oil, or HSS/RevX to find out of the different oil composition will change the way bio effects the injectors.

Guthrie: You might check in the biodiesel forum here to see what they say.

-blaine

 

Some states like the one I live in (Pa.) already have a biodiesel mandate in place. Currently it is 2% but as these boidiesel Mfg's make and reach spelled out levels, the percentage goes up to a max 20% now that worries me. I see no difference in mileage and performance between 2% and none.

 

I have used b5 here and there with no problems at all.

 

I have used B99 in the summer and B50 in the winter for 2.5yrs now. I have not had any problems yet. I use a retail biodiesel which has to pass federal regulations for content, cetane, etc.

The main issue as far as I understand it is that in all diesel engines, some fuel gets blown by the piston rings and ends up in the crankcase oil. Petrodiesel and biodiesel have different effects on motor oil, with biodiesel having a tendency to make it gummy and thick - this is not good for injectors in particular. You need to increase your oil change interval if you use biodiesel regularly.

I believe that much of the bad that gets said about biodiesel is from home-brews. It is a bit like home-brewed beer: Some is great, and some is just awful.

The guys on the biodiesel forum here are master brewers and can offer a lot of help if you are interested in brewing yourself.

 

This is the problem with using the term "biodiesel". You have to qualify it.

Some fools think they can go suck the waste-oil vats behind Mickey-D's and be off to the races. That MIGHT work on a late '70's diesel Rabbit Beater, but it won't work with a modern Powerstroke. Untreated vegetable oil of ANY variety will doom your injectors.

Properly de-esterified (chemically treated) virgin bio base-stock is not problematic up to 5% (according to Ford) as long as you use the severe service maintenance intervals. 2% blends bring otherwise untreated ULSD back into ASTM spec for lubricity. There is very little hard data on running 10-20% blends, mostly because they're so hard to find on a consistent basis.

One of the HUGE, and generally un-discussed, issues with bio-mass based fuel is that there's so large a gamut of what is considered "biofuel". Manufacturers have to deal with the lowest common denominator when trying to design engines to run this stuff, and that means that most blends are automatically disqualified.

For individual users, by the time you've spent the money to buy the necessary tools and chemicals get a QUALITY product (i.e. one that won't make your injectors self-destruct), you've spent far more than you can reasonably expect to recoup during the vehicle's lifetime.

-blaine

 

Frankenbiker,

I agree completely. Some guys turn it into a hobby of sorts and are rightly proud of what they do for themselves and the environment. I doubt many claim to save money doing it though. Quality waste oil is much harder to find than it used to be and the equipment to process it properly is expensive.

I did a bunch of reading about it a few years ago and decided I would buy the retail biodiesel product. The retail product makes me "feel good" but does not save me any money.

I'm changing oil every 4K or so and I am going to do a Blackstone analysis with my next change (something I have been meaning to do for a while).

 

I had my oil tested from them. 15w-40 ford oil. I went 5k on it and they said I can go 7,000. Im sure you can go farther.

 

I've had my truck 6mo and am new to diesels but I was plannin on a 7500 oil change interval. Local fuel pumps (south Alabama) all say 10% bio diesel low sulfur or either "off road diesel". Think I should back up to 5000 if I'm burning the bio stuff?

 

It might also be wise to change your fuel filters every 10,000 also.