So I recently picked up a beater fixer up 350 idi 7.3 a few days ago. Got my first post in here introducing and what not. Well PO says there's a waste oil kit in the truck. I don't want it there. Don't care for it. Figure if I wanted to save money and be a tree hugger I'd buy a prius. I want to take it off n possibly sell it. My question is what's all in the setup? I know there's some kind of pump deal behind seat. Is there suppose to be any other stuff around truck that's suppose to go with it?

Thanks.

 

Funny, thats my question too.... We really won't be able to help you without some more information. What type of kit? or is it a DIY set up...?
There are a couple different companies making kits, and lots of people throwing stuff together themselves. Several different ways of doing it with different components.

If you shoot us some pictures we might be able to help, otherwise not sure what to tell you besides finding someone with a stock truck, park them side by side, and compare whats different.

 

Crap. Lol. Ok in the morning I'll take pics of the setup. Is there suppose to be extras inside the engine compartment?

 

Probably stuff in the engine compartment. Generally for a veggie oil system there is a tank with a heater, fuel lines running from the tank to the fuel system near the injector pump, coolant lines running to the heater in the tank, a set of valves on the fuel lines to switch which fuel you are running, and some wiring in between. There may be other components like extra filters, auxiliary fuel heaters, all sorts of gauges and senders...

 

Most alternative diesel fuel kits are installed parallel to your stock diesel system. If that is true, then it would be no harm in keeping the WMO kit. In fact, I'm racking my brain on why anyone would willfully uninstall an alternative fuel system.

I've been running alternative fuels for over 100,000 miles on my Jetta TDI, and over 50,000 on my IDI van. The amount of money I've saved in fuel alone has covered the cost of my van, the new turbo, new IP, my overdrive, and more.

And in some markets (like here in Los Angeles), the addition of a WVO/WMO kit on a vehicle will sometimes add a couple grand to the selling price. Unless there is a defect in the system or air intrusion possibly bypassing your aftermarket selector valve, removing a perfectly-fine WMO kit seems baffling to me.

This has nothing to do with tree-hugging. This is about dollars and cents.

 

Well first I don't have the foggiest idea about this setup. PO said he unhooked lines for tank and injectors. The gauges and switch are all disconnected. Pumping systems seems to be all there. There is a tank under bed. Not sure if it's heated or what not. There seems to be some heating element for it behind seat with rest of components. I have no idea what type of waste oil it uses. Looks like there old veg oil in the filter of system. PO said he decided to unhook because it kept gunking up or something of that nature. Is it worth to keep it and try n hook it all back up? Is there a blend needed like partial oil n fuel. I'm working nights right now n slept all day. I'll try n get pics of everything tomorrow again.

 

Could be the po was too lazy to filter before putting it in the tank. If it was me I'd sell it. Then if you still want to save on fuel make some homebrew biodiesel. It's cheap, clean, and doesn't require a heater and all the other crap. Use the money from selling wvo stuff to fund your bio processor.

 

BioD has it's problems too. I personally like WVO, cuz instead of BioD, All you need to do is filter and dewater it. BioD you have to process, add methanol, and it risks burning down your garage. WVO is just veggie oil, like you have in your kitchen. And since you are lowing the viscosity of the oil by heating it, instead of chemically like BioD, you get all the bang of BioD without all the bucks.

The corollary of WVO is that WVO requires a large upfront cost (buying and installing heated tanks, fuel lines, filter, heat exchangers, and selector valves.). But once that is done, you effectively have two fuel systems. It's nice cuz if one fails, you can fall back on the other. I've been saved by my WVO kits more times on the road than my stock fuel system.

If the PO didn't use the WVO kit much, then you might want to drop the tank, clean it, check the fuel lines (make sure they are not clogged with polymerized oil), and assess the state of alternative fuel system. If you could post some pictures, I could help you with assessing the condition and type of system you have. I assume you'll have to replace the auxiliary fuel pump and wvo filter, but aside from the system being full of oil goo, you might be able to just clean it and start using WVO. When Diesel prices return to $5/gal soon, you'll want to hug that WVO system.

 

Alrighty. Finally able to get some pics here. There is a tank in the back under the bed. Held up with straps lol. All the lines run to and around the tank. There seems to be a line running for coolant back there out of a coolant heater that's mounted in the front. Not sure of any heater in tank. There are a set of meters in cab. 1 is a fuel gauge and other is temp. There was also some sort of **** along with the gauges. There were about 6 wires going to it. All that was un hooked and cut. If more pics are needed to give me info on it let me know. Thanks.






Setup behind seat





To the left of big setup behind seat





To the right of big setup

 

That's actually not a bad kit. Still a little hard to tell everything from a few close-up images, but I can tell the PO did put in some decent money. I'd say at least a grand.

That Duralift e-pump is a minimum of $90. The filter heads are pretty sold too. Not too cheap. I didn't see much of the tank, so I can't tell you if that's good or not. Lots of these DIY kits had a coil of flexible pipe in it, but some had heated fuel pick-ups.

The unfortunate thing is, he probably bought $150-200 worth of brass fittings on that kit, and it's kind of a general rule about WVO that you don't use mild steel, brass, or copper. Those metals react with vegetable oil, and create flakes of polymerized oil, which can clog filters. If those fittings are AFTER the filter, then you might want to move the filter closer to the IP.

I used to use brass fittings almost a decade ago on my TDI. After a complete rebuild after about 4 years in use, I pulled all the brass fittings, and did a complete WVO overhaul with aluminum fittings. I analyzed the brass fittings and there wasn't much gunk on them, so I'm sure your kit is somewhat ok. Maybe all the hype is just hype. Regardless, my aluminum fittings never had a speck of gunk, so I stand by my aluminum stuff.

There are some decent components on here. That shut off valve is of decent quality. The PO spent unnecessary bank on those "bio-fuel" fuel hoses. Reg hoses will work, unless he's running BioD, but it appears to be a WVO kit. Besides, BioD can be run in the stock system as long as you're running viton seals in your IP and fuel hoses. Got any pics of the gauges. Gauges can cost something decent if the PO invested in a good kit.

Some stuff that could be replaced. Install some new pipe insulation. It'll hold heat better and it's cheap to replace. Plus you get the benefit of seeing how your fuel lines are installed. There are HOH (hose-on-hose), HIH (hose-in-hose), and so on....It'd be good to find out. I have no idea what that big cylinder is on your fuel bundle.... Might be some sort of heat exchanger. I'd be skeptical of any heat exchanger that isn't nickel-plated. Most cheap heat exchangers are copper, and that is the WORST environment for WVO--heat+oxygen+WVO+copper. If that is a HE, and that HE is copper, you should replace it with a decent nickel plated one. If I remember correctly, I'm running a 40-plate on my IDI, which would be pretty compatible for your engine too.

I gotta run, but it's a good kit to work with. Just the components alone (used) would be about $500-$750 to obtain, so I would consider fixing it up. Clean the tank, test the fuel pump, change the filters, clean the filter heads, replace any questionable fuel lines, test the selector valve, test the guages, etc. Put all back together and test it with diesel fuel (with the coolant supply shut off) and if it runs, then you know it works. Then pour in some SVO (brand new veggie oil from Costco or big box store). If that runs with the coolant supply turned on, then check the temp of the oil at the IP (should be around 160-180 deg F).

If all works ok, then start filtering WVO. ..... Hmmmm. I didn't see how your return lines worked... Still lots to work out. Where're your selector valves?

 

Ok. Well when I get some time I'll run thru and take the whole kit off except what's mounted in the truck behind seat and re plumb it all. Is there any kind of parts list and diagram for what's needed? I'm not sure of even a switch for switch fuels. And so forth. How hard is it to run in the Winter? I'm in wyoming it stays usually pretty coold. Sometimes sub zero. When I was under the truck it kinda looked like there was a cord running back there thay had a male end up front that plugs in to an outlet eith block heater.

 

Also as for.names.of parts I'm totally lost. As for selector valves.. no idea what they might be

 

I got started doing all this from a friend in Wisconsin. If he can do it in the Wisconsin cold, you should be fine. On our trips, we've met greasers in the Yukon, Alaska, Labrador, NWT, and other places. As long as your lines are insulated, you'll be ok.

As for a diagram, I don't know. If this was a DIY setup, then unfortunately, I can't tell how he put it together. Ideally, he should have two selector valves (one supply and one return), that allows you to turn on the veggie oil system, then purge the veggie oil with a flush of diesel (so that your lines don't congeal when parked).

I use Hydroforce or WVO Designs valves. both lasted several years. Make sure to get viton seals, because stock seals on the valves will eventually deteriorate from the WVO. Your valves should be as close as possible to the IP supply and return fuel lines. If the PO installed them, you should find them near the top of the engine. Trace back your IP supply fuel line. Stock should have a line from the stock diesel filter head to the IP center plug. (Hopefully, the PO didn't run the WVO thru the lift pump and diesel filter head..... some greasers do this, but I find it to be a huge danger to the stock fuel system. best bet is to keep both fuel systems separate up the selector valve at the IP, especially since the PO has granted you a sweet duralift e-pump for the VO kit anyway).

I don't have the hydraforce valve part numbers on me. It's buried in the garage somewhere. too late tonight to find out, but you need a good metal valve like hydraforce or WVO Designs. DO NOT just get a cheapo plastic Pollack valve or similar. They tend to warp or melt or just plain fail. Plenty of stories on the net for years from greasers who tried to save a buck, just to have them fail after a few weeks.

 

Ok thanks a bunch bud. I'll be taking all the plumbing off and dropping tank. Checking all parts in the series. Rewire re plumb. The works.

 

Reading up more onto it. It says you have to purge the wvo out so diesel can be present for start up. Says it takes about 10 to 15 min. I drive back n forth to work n that's the longest I drive. Which is about 10 min. I would never be able to run wvo if all my trips are 15 min or less right? Just wanna make sure before I dig head first n fix this up n can't actually use it.