What to do about a truck that can not burn more than B5
 

We have a 2009 F350 Super Duty 6.4L diesel which we bought new. We only use this truck to tow a heavy 35' travel trailer. This trucks owners manual says you can not use any more than B5 biodiesel or regular ultra low sulfur diesel. Ford tells you this and also our local dealer tells us this.

This year we went on our usual camping trip to Iowa. At Bloomington, Ill. we were down to 1/4 tank of diesel and it took us 3+ hours to find only 1 BP gas station that sold reguler ULSD, all other gas stations and 3 major truck stops all had 6-20% biodiesel. My truck can not burn this! The same problem occurred when we got to Iowa and when we returned back to Indiana.

Does anyone else have this problem? Has Ford offered anyone a solution to not being able to find the correct fuel for this 6.4L diesel? Is there some sort of modification or other solution to allow me to burn 6-20% biodiesel? After this recent trip we are hesitant to take this truck and camper anywhere for fear of getting stranded due to not finding the correct fuel.

Really? In Des Moines, Ia now and all B5 just filled. Will be back in Texas late tonight and have never seen more than B5. I know the new 6.7's can burn B20. I guess I have never run into this problem. Not questioning you, just a little confused on what you are looking at here.

Lucky you can find the B5 and even luckier if you can find the regular ultra low sulfur diesel. We looked an hour and a half in Davenport until we find a station near our campground (Cenex) that had regular ultra low sulfur diesel. In Bloomington, Ill after 3 hours of looking all the pumps we saw said biodiesel blend B6 to B20%. We did stumble upon the one station that had regular ultra low sulfur diesel after 3 hours and our gauge about on Empty. We used to see B5 on our way to the Quad Cities, but you don't even see that anymore, it is the higher blend now. So my 2009 350 diesel superduty is now outdated with only 15,000 miles on it (:

I hear ya.Here in northern IL. it is hard to find a station that carries B5 or ulsd I get my fuel from a Mobile station which is the only one I can find in my area who is usually 10-20 cents higher per gallon than the Citco or Bp across the street that sell B5-B20 marked on their pumps.

I believe you can run a higher bio if you delete the DPF. You should be able to run a LSD too.

I run up to B-20 but I'm deleted.....

You drove 3 hours just to find fuel...?

You found B6 but wouldn't run that because it's not B5...?

I hope you're not that selective when the zombies come!

You didn't mention if your truck is modified so I'll assume it's not. The 6.4's beef with anything higher than B5 is mainly emissions related. So if you delete your DOC/DPF you'll be fine. But your warranty will be out the window and you could have an issue if your state inspects for emissions equipment...

Need s'more info!

there is a very easy solution to the OP

TRADE IN FOR A 6.7:-X03

Yeah, he has an '09 with 15K miles...that's an option... :-roll

After owning a 6.0 Excursion and bailing on an '11 6.7 after the dealer pulled some 11th hour shenanigans, I'm in full agreement with Diesel Power magazine (for once); the 6.4 is the best diesel that Ford's ever built... 7.3 owners, take NO offense!

I know that International built the 6.4, so please don't go there. And since I'm a guy that mods (and the OP may not be) I'll happily run my Gearhead Street tune good for 530 HP and 1047 Torque while stock 6.7s are dusting their turbos... :-X04

There's problems with EVERY new motor, regardless of the manufacturer. I'd like to say that I'll wait until the bugs are worked out with the 6.7 but my 6.4 is a keeper!

nothin but problems with my 6.4 and almost every other 6.4 owner that i know personally

Ronin, We drove around Bloomington, IL 3 hours looking for the right kind of fuel for my truck. My 09 F350 can not burn anymore than B5 biodiesel or regular ULSD. We haul a 36 foot travel trailer, I just can't pull into any gas station while towing this. I have to use truck stops or places where I can get in with this trailer. Most, if not all, of these places now have B6 to B20 biodiesel blend, it says exactly that on the sticker on the pump. My truck CAN NOT burn this. In Bloomington, we had already dropped our camper off at our camping spot and went looking for gas. After 3 hours of looking for fuel we finally found a station that had the right kind of fuel (ULSD) and we had nearly run out. It was all B6 to B20 biodiesel blend in the city of Bloomington, there was no B6 alone or not even B5, which my truck can burn B5 if you have to use it. I have been told this will ruin my engine and void my warranty (which I also paid extra for a 7 year warranty when I bought my truck new) in the owner's manual, by Ford after I called them when I could not find fuel and by my local dealer on two different occasions. Plus I know someone that works at Ford and when they built my truck told me under no circumstances to never put any more than B5 in my truck. Ford told me to drive to Springfield, Illinois, they supposedly had B5. How was I supposed to get there on Empty and it was 100 miles or so from where we were at, at the time. This is a REAL problem for me, it isn't imaginery and it isn't made up. The purpose of buying this truck was to mainly haul our big heavy camper so we could take our autistic daughter around and see the country, plus our families live in Iowa and Illinois, which Iowa is where we like to go. The area of where we can now go has now narrowed considerably, mainly it appears we can't go more than 4 hours from home without running into fuel issues and it could even possibly be narrower than that.

Our state (Indiana) does not inspect for emissions. What is involved with the DOC/DPF? My truck is not modified in any way. It is still just like we got it when we picked it up from the dealer. Our truck is a 2009 6.4L turbodiesel, there is no extra gas tank in the bed. I MUST do something, because right now my family and I are stuck. Thanks for any info you can provide to help me. Rich

might want to look into the titan 65 gal tank. not sure why you have such a hard time finding ULSD as just about every diesel selling station in the country is selling it by law. i had a 6.4 for 2 years and drove coast to coast without ever an issue.

Zero powertrain problems, ball joints, radiator, rf hub bearing yes. 1 overhead map lamp and 1 rr brake lamp. 2008 74,000 Getting back to biodiesel, just because a fuel station pump says "up to 20% bio" does not indicate your buying 20% bioblend. As crude oil continues to fall and the price of fuel declines, the profits of producing biodiesel, and ethanol will also decline. Without their government subsidies these companies cannot exist, the prediction is by 2020 the US will not be dependent on foreign crude, and actually be a world supplier of crude oil. If you think using B20 is a problem, the people who have to use gasoline diluted with ethanol E15 are really pissed who have outboard motors, chain saws, lawn mowers etc.

im really pissed about the ethanol in my gas engines. not only does it kill fuel systems, perform worse, cost more, but it also creates worse pollutants. thanks government.

24k on my 2010 and not one hiccup!!!

I honestly think more and more states are jumping on the Bio-bandwagon, I still wouldn't hesitate running it in a truck with a DPF if was just for a short time.......maybe not extended use.....but you could always get lie 5 gallons and move onto a station that has regular diesel. You WILL NOT find any station that carries the"old" diesel, everything sold in the USA now is ULSD, maybe a bio blend but still ULSD.