Alright, does anybody know for sure who makes the GM fuel additive 88861009 for sure? Is it indeed rebadged stanadyne? Dealer is wanting me to buy this stuff saying it is sooo much better than stanadyne. Gents, whats the scoop.

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Didn't know GM made additive. If I was a betting man, I'd bet it was over priced and the only stuff that won't void your warranty.

its stanadyne in a gm bottle but i could be wrong

I don't care who makes it. I can assure you it's no better than many other options like Power Service, Stanadyne, Howes, Amsoil, Optilube, etc.

GM does not make any of their own fluids; they purchase from mass marketers. For example, their gear oil is (or at lease was not long ago) made by Texaco. It's not bad stuff, but is not at all worth the price they want for it, IMO. The gear oil peforms moderately well, but at 3x the cost of many other synthetics on the auto parts store shelf.

I susepct their fuel additive is just the same. They buy it, rebrand it, mark it up some unholy amount, and count on suckers to purchase it.

Choose one of the many availabe at the farm supply stores or truck stops, save your money, and you'll be fine. Many here swear by Stanadyne because GM officially endorses it; it is good stuff for sure. I like PS and Howes, because they are easily found and inexpensive in my area; I've had good luck with both.

Will the GM stuff work? Sure it will.
Will you grossly overpay for it? Sure you will.
Will it perform better than those other products on the market? Nope.

Oh common now...... Monster Diesel additive is SO much better than all of them.......

:rolleyes:

RBP fuel additive is the absolute bestest!!!!11 I know so because I pay 1 billion bajillion dollas for it, yo!!!1

GM recommends no additive, however, if you choose to use one, then they recommend their own GM additive (no surprise there) and stanadyne and Racor's additive.
Only reason I want to know is to rather rub the service writer's nose in the idea that the GM is sooo much better and can save my injectors.

There's an interesting sticky at the top regarding additives. Not all products were included due to cost, time, etc.

For pure lubricity concerns, you cannot hardly beat the great performance and low cost of 2-stroke oil. But that does nothing to address the other concerns of cetane boost, detergents, temperature depressents for wax solidification, etc.

Trust me, most of the major brands such as Howes, Stanadyne, Power Service, Amsoil, Schaeffers, etc all do a good all-around job of protecting the fuel system.

If the service writer is so convinced that GM's additive is better than the others, ask him for data and proof from some study. You know as well as the rest of us that he doesn't have it.

I suspect, although cannot confirm, that the GM stuff is rebadged Stanadyne. Stanadyne is the only "approved" additive, which means GM and Stanadyne cozied up for business practices. It's done all the time. That does not mean that other brands won't work; it simply means that business relationship exists to the exclusion of others. If you want to know if the GM stuff is made by Stanadyne, I'd call Stanadyne and ask around. You'll never get that answer from GM.

Here is an excerpt from the GM bulletin.
http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/showthread.php?t=119737
Only alcohol free water demulsifiers should be used in General Motors diesel engines. GM Diesel Fuel Conditioner®, P/N 88861009 (in Canada 88861038) or both *Racor Power Shot® and *Stanadyne® diesel fuel additives are alcohol free and utilize water demulsifiers to cope with water in the fuel. Other brands may be available in different areas; be sure that they clearly state that they are alcohol free demulsifiers before use.

The same can be said of:

Power Service products (see #3):
http://www.powerservice.com/faq/

Howes:
http://www.howeslube.com/faq.php

Opti-Lube:
http://www.opti-lube.com/faq-dfi.htm

and so on ...


There are some brands/products that do contain alcohol; I'd stay away from them.

Again, you wanted to know if the GM stuff was worth the GM price, versus Stanadyne, or many of the other proven brands, did you not? I doubt it!

I cannot say with certainty that GM's treatment is the exact same thing as Stanadyne (although I suspect so). But I can tell you that many other brands do very well in the market, serving millions of diesel engines (including Dmax's), and have no issues whatsoever.

The same can be said of:

Power Service products (see #3):
http://www.powerservice.com/faq/

Howes:
http://www.howeslube.com/faq.php

Opti-Lube:
http://www.opti-lube.com/faq-dfi.htm

and so on ...


There are some brands/products that do contain alcohol; I'd stay away from them.

Again, you wanted to know if the GM stuff was worth the GM price, versus Stanadyne, or many of the other proven brands, did you not? I doubt it!

I cannot say with certainty that GM's treatment is the exact same thing as Stanadyne (although I suspect so). But I can tell you that many other brands do very well in the market, serving millions of diesel engines (including Dmax's), and have no issues whatsoever.
I agree, but my question is who makes the GM stuff? Is it stanadyne?

Like I said before, I doubt GM will tell you. Stanadyne might, if you poke at them a bit???

I doubt anyone here knows for sure.

FWIW, I've been told that it's Stanadyne and GM that shares the same bed.

I agree, a bear.

I cannot state for sure that GM's stuff if Stanadyne; I have heard that from some decent sources. But I don't have proof, so I will not claim it to be so.

Regardless, even if it were re-badged Stanadyne, it would still be WAY overpriced. Too many good choices out there for much less money that GM's branded stuff, be it oil, additives, or whatever.

According to the website links above Howes and Opti-lube are both demulsifiers as recommended by GM. Power Service claims their product "disperses water in diesel fuel" which sounds like an emulsifier which GM recommends against. Am I reading this right?

A good friend of mine with an '01 Dmax was getting the usual white smoke and smell. He has 167K miles on original injectors and is out of warranty. Dealer gave him some GM diesel fuel treatment saying that it will help. My friend is an old time diesel mechanic and skeptic on "treatments" that promise the moon. He told me today that after 10 miles he could tell the difference and that his smoke was all but gone at idle. Now I am real curious as to what this stuff really is.

Power Service is NOT an emulsifier. It's just ambiguous text. I can understand your interpretation point of view. But that is not what PS is; their wording could be better.

I had an in-depth conversation a couple years ago with one of their tech engineers about my desire to find a quality bio-cide. In that conversation we also discussed their other products. The PS stuff is not an emulsifier; nor does it have alcohol (except for their 911 product, which they clearly market as such).

Power Service is NOT an emulsifier. It's just ambiguous text. I can understand your interpretation point of view. But that is not what PS is; their wording could be better.

I had an in-depth conversation a couple years ago with one of their tech engineers about my desire to find a quality bio-cide. In that conversation we also discussed their other products. The PS stuff is not an emulsifier; nor does it have alcohol (except for their 911 product, which they clearly market as such).
Why not select an EPA registered liquid catalyst (1 oz treats 20 gallons) that contains fungicide, anti-bacterial and an evaporator. It is not alcohol based. Stops 70% of emissions by increasing BTU's in combustion chamber which in turn lowers tail-pipe temp by 12-15%. Purchasing various solutions separately will be totally unnecessary. Just a thought.