Against my better judgment, and having donned my flame retardant suit, I step into the ULSD additive debate with much trepidation:
First- I must respectfully disagree with Flying J's response to Brad. Sulfur is not a lubricant.There is a good reason for calling it brimstone. Sulfur clogs particulate filters and converters, and in its caustic form (ever hear of sulfuric acid?) eats turbo blades and bearing journals. It is bad stuff! One tank full of the older low sulfur diesel and the sulfur content can literally destroy the turbo blades on a CAT ACERT engine (about $6K in repairs). I have the pictures to prove it.
The processing required to reduce the sulfur content of diesel to 15 ppm, also removes naturally occurring lubricating agents. The US government mandates a 520-micron wear standard for commercial diesel, so additives to increase lubricity and inhibit corrosion, must be added to ULSD prior to its retail sale.
If you feel the need for more lubricity, then you must buy it on the open market. The problem being, who is selling the snake-oil, and who is selling the good stuff? If you spend some time searching the internet, you may be surprised to find certain name brand additives may actually reduce lubricity.
The bottom line- Diesel engine manufacturers are not recommending the use of after market lubricity additives. As a sampling:
Caterpillar’s recommendation is from their “Caterpillar Commercial Diesel Engine Fluids Recommendations” document:
"There are many different types of fuel additives that are available to use. Caterpillar does not generally recommend the use of fuel additives."
Cummins recommendation is:
"If it is determined by a Cummins dealer or distributor that use of a non-Cummins product has caused a failure during the Cummins warranty period, then the repair of that failure would not be covered by Cummins warranty".[Note from JC; This gives the service manager some very broad powers- if he determines you are using additives- and even thinks they may be a cause- you may need some very deep pockets to counter his decision]
Mack Trucks recommendation:
"Mack Trucks, Inc., neither recognizes nor recommends the use of any fuel additives. We do allow a maximum of 5% bio-diesel fuel to be blended with regular diesel fuel for use in our engines."
As a side note- On the good side; it takes around 60 late model trucks to equal the emissions of a single well running truck sold in 1988. I had the honor of testing our first 2007 CAT ACERT engine a few years back, and after 5000 miles of cross-country testing, to include a stint in Death Valley at 117 degree temperatures, the exhaust pipes remained as clean as when I left Miami. I often rubbed a white handkerchief inside the tail pipe, yet found nothing in the way of soot. This was several years ago and before the 2010 EPA mandated engines started coming on line. Rumor has it that 2010 engines can sometimes actually clean the air as they travel through some towns and cities. Newell plans to test our new 2010 EPA engine this summer, and I will keep you posted.
John Clark
Experience is what you get just after you really needed it
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