Doese anyone know whether you can run a ford diesel f truck on bio-diesel? That is diesel made from vegetable oil. Iam interested to know if anyone is USA uses bio-diesel in their late model f trucks. I can get it for 1/3 the cost of normal diesel here in Australia.
Steve

 

Steve, I'm looking into bio-diesel also, since there's a local source here in California.

There are some issues though, the main one is that bio-diesel damages rubber and other elastomers. It's a pretty strong solvent, it even can damage your paint. Running bio-diesel blends, such as B20 (20% bio, 80% petro) will reduce the damage, but it still happens to a lesser extent. The use of pure bio-diesel would require the replacement of all rubber in the fuel system.
Some places of concern: Fuel lines, seals and gaskets, and injector O-rings.

The other issue is whether it will void Ford's warranty.

I have contacted Ford regarding the warranty and other technical issues, and when I hear from them I'll post the info.

-Lee

 

Just got more info from the supplier. He says that even though pure bio will degrade the rubber, people have been running B20 no problem. He does have companies who run it in their Ford F-series turbo diesels with no modifications, some up to 50%. They have been running it for years without a problem (the B20 mix).
The price varies week to week depending on supply, and right now it costs a bit more than regular diesel. But he says that overall, the price will gradually decrease. Here in the U.S., you get a tax credit for using alternative fuels, and B20 qualifies for that, so it's worth it for some.

 

Lee
We contacted Navistar and at frist they said only a mix of 5% bio-diesel to 95% regular diesel would be safe, but after more questions they stated that the seals and o-rings of the injectors are compatable with bio-diesel. I have just started making up my own bio-diesel from waste vegetable oil, with it working out to be 1/3 the price from the pump for regular diesel. I have been running it in a test vehicle a 2.2 lt toyota light pickup truck, it runs fine and has at the moment and the exhaust smells like cooking french fries.
Steve

2000 F250 Crew Cab 4x4 PSD
Converted to right hand drive
for Australia.

 

G'day 1imports

What do you think of your F250?

I plan to buy one this year and have been trying to get some feedback from Australian owners of these machines, without much luck. The new privacy rules mean dealers can't just hand out owner details and that makes it pretty hard to ask questions of the owners! One dealer gave me the name of a Dodge Ram owner, which needless to say didn't result in me learning much about the F truck. This added to the fact that there isn't many of them on the road yet of course.

How many km do you have on yours and have you found any problems with it? Do I take it, from your thread, that the fuel consumption is rather ordinary? Another dealer has told me that he has F truck owners with the 7.3l who are regularly getting 25mpg. Personally, I find that a little hard to swallow and I'd like to talk to this owner for sure!

My F truck will be a commuter vehicle travelling 650km (400mi) per week so fuel figures matter. Where I live the usual diesel price is around AU$0.90/litre (Which, as near as I can tell, is equivalent to about US$1.75/US gallon). It will also be called upon to carry relatively light loads on occasion.

What do you use yours for?

Yeah I am pretty inquisitive and thanks in advance for any input you can offer.

Ozeffie

 

Jim
25mpg is not unreasonsable. We have been importing and converting these trucks into Aust for the past 11 years,(around 100) most of the Powerstroke diesels will return 22 -26 mpg once they are run in with around 40-45,000 kms on the clock. Our truck has 25,000 kms on it and is used every day just around town, it returns around 19 mpg with 1/2 tonne load and towing a heavy camper trailer (over a tonne in weight) at 100 -110 kmh. Around town on short start/stop 4-5 kms trip post office, school etc., it only get approx 16 mpg.

Now that Ford Aust is selling or trying to sell the Brazillian built F series, along with major changes to the importing compliance system we have been forced out of a successful and enjoyable business. This whole situation has come about because of the boat loads of cheap second hand Jap riceburners (cars & 4x4) flooding the market and pissing off main car makers.

The reason we are looking into making bio-diesel is not because of poor economy of our F truck but it is our way of defeating the Government and not having to pay fuel road tax, also it is stopping some of the waste vegetable oil going into land fill as well as lowering the emissions. If we can all do a little it will make a differance in the long run. Lastly it is costing less then 20 cents a litre (which is 40 cents US a gallon) plus the time involved, which at the moment I have got. Cheers.

 

Hoping not to sound like a complete idiot can some one either tell me more about bio-diesel or where to find out more on it. Thanks

 

G'day 1imports

Were you BR aka VDC?

Thanks for the feedback on fuel consumption. What this means to me is that I will be paying (in fuel costs) almost exactly the same $/km to run a 7.3l V8 turbo diesel as I am currently to run a 5l V8 LPG Bronco, given the difference in price between the two fuels. Who’d bother with petrol engines on LPG these days? That is one more hurdle overcome.

Now, to what you note between the lines on the Brazilian built F trucks. What is the word on them? Am I to assume they are not as well made as the US built machines or is reflected parochialism? Obviously there are some places that make things better than others; for example the Lada. A Russian built scale model of the Range Rover, some said, and at which many scoffed, but with some examples now old enough to vote and still on the road, there must have been something done right in them. In short, is the build quality there in these Brazilian F trucks?

Ford Australia is on record of having said that they anticipated sales for the F trucks to be in the order of 3500 units per annum. Whilst I do not have access to sales records, I have spoken to a number of Ford dealers and my impression is that the F truck is, to put it kindly, a slow mover. Might have something to do with the asking price I reckon.

On imported Jap rice burners - they should be crushed. No space, no pace, no class.

As for tax – think of it as a fine for doing well. Introduced in Australia to boost war coffers during world war one and found to be such an effective way of raising unlimited amounts of cash for those erstwhile and reputable bureaucrats to usurp and squander, that it was enshrined in legislation and now accounts for fully half of a working Australian’s income. The US may rue February 3 1913 when this abomination was inflicted upon its economy under the guise of the 16th Amendment.

I am not any shade of green but I agree with full utilization of what is otherwise waste product. Hang on while I rub my crystal ball. Yep, that’s what I thought. Inside five years the Australian government will legislate that private production of fuel oil is illegal, or at least so without a licence (read tax), then the fuel giants will complain “hey, people aren’t buying our over-priced and variable quality fuel and we’re going broke because of these renegades” and the practice will be outlawed. That’s assuming this act isn’t already controlled under current legislation relating to distillation of alcohol, or fuel, if you like.

On the conversion process, I’ll echo the odie780 – how and where, and specifically, in Australia?

That’s enough from me this post. Sorry about rattling on

 

Odie780
Bio-diesel is diesel which has been made from vegetable oil, which is in most cases waste oil from the fast food industry. A great site to find out more about it is veggievan.org/biodiesel/


Ozeffie
I don't get BR aka VDC????
The local Ford dealer had one on their lot for about 3-4 months it was only 6 cyl diesel (4.2lt) trayback and I suspect they moved it on to another dealer because 1. I haven't seen it drving around and 2. They now have a 7.3 lt diesel on the lot. There is not way they will sell anywhere near half of their goal.

 

Ozeffie
The penny just dropped. No we are NOT BR or VDC and would always stay well clear of them, we were around long before them and doing a much better conversion then them.

 

 

www.biodiesel.org

 

The rubber and seals in older diesels will get eaten up by bio diesel, but they can be replaced if you want to run b-100. I believe viton rubber hoses do the trick. As stated, the rubber and seals in the newer trucks is ok.

Ford, International or any motor manufacturer does not warranty fuel. If you fill up with bad fuel and the fuel ruins something, it won't be covered under warranty, whether its petro diesel or bio diesel. So if someone says that biodiesel will void your warranty, well perhaps, but only if the fuel can be fingered as the culprit. And again, your warranty would not apply if bad petro diesel is the culpret too. In that light, I would look into what the manufacturers of bio diesel say about running b-100. If they say its ok for your vehicle, and then the fuel breaks something, I think you can go after the fuel people to fix whats broke. Thats the deal with regular diesel fuel too, right? Of course if you brewing your own in the backyard, your on your own.

I don't know what, if any the long term effects of running neat bio-diesel are. At least one fella here has run b-100 with no apparent problems. Probably more testimonials overseas where they have been using the stuff longer.

-Shawn

 

This subject has come up quite a bit over on ford-trucks.

Pretty much any diesel made after 1996 uses all vitron seals/hoses which are 100% compatible with Bio-Diesel. If you have a 99+ Powerstroke your good to go!!

Keep in mind, Bio-D is a solvent, you WILL plug a couple of fuel filters until all teh crap is cleaned out of your tank. Also, Bio-D has a higher Gelpoint. If you see freezing temps in your area, be prepared to add some form of anti-gelling additive.

You can mix Bio-D with regular D with no problems.

If you can buy Bio-D for less than regular D, then DO IT! Expect a slight loss of power and MPG as Bio-D has a slightly lower BTU content as compared to regular D.

Someone made a comment about getting 26mpg out of a powerstroke. I have YET to see ANYONE get that kinda mileage without driving like a grandpa, and running empty with great tail winds.