Just bought my first diesel. It seems to run fine with very little noise as it is although it is louder at some times than others. I see that a lot of you guys like fuel additives. Is it necesarry? If it is then which additive is the best and what are it's benefits? I love the truck and what to keep it running well as long as I can. Thanks in advance for any help.

Welcome to the forum sledhead. Your question has been discussed several times before and is hotly debated. Use the search function and you will see what I mean. To summarize quickly: GM authorizes the use of only additives which contain no alcohol and demulsifies the water in the fuel. Many here including myself choose to disregard this and use an additive which emulsifies water, (but in most cases does not contain alcohol). Beyond the water managment issue most agree that lubricity is a primary concern in additive choice. The other benefits of additives are to prevent freezing, clean injection components, and raise cetane level. Do some reading before you make a decision. --SS

Thanks for the info SS. Tough decision. GM says one thing but it seems like the majority of folks say the emulsifying products are the way to go. I fix planes, not trucks so I don't know what to think. It would seem to me that any product that promotes standing water in your fuel would be bad. But why would GM tell us to use it? Would they be able to tell if we used an emulsifier? Seems to me if you had to bring it in you could run the tank empty and fill it up with fresh fuel. Lots of questions, very few answers.

Welcome to the forum! salmon slayer put it very well. if you do a search for primrose, fppf, or stanadyne you will find lots of helpful information.


Nick

AKsledhead,


Welcome to the forum.


I'm in much the same position as yourself in that I've not worked automotive stuff for years, and even then it was NHRA drag racing. I've been fixing and flying small aircraft and bizjets for twenty plus years now.


So the water thing had me bugged too. My thoughts about it would suggest an emulsifying agent is best, but what I've learned here is that the fuel system runs at such a high pressure that even small amounts of water going through the injectors can erode the components. So perhaps the best way to approach it is to trap the water in the filters. With that thought, I put in the Racor filter kit. As far as the other additives, the fuel station where I get 99% of my fuel adds cetane and lubricity stuff at the pump. They sell Stanadyne stuff at their stations and bulk plant so I think that's what it is.


As others have said, do a few searches, there is lots of information and even more opinions on this subject....http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Confused.gifEdited by: Zeeb

Without a doubt one of the hotest topics on this 4M. I read all I could, I wasn't convinced by either side. I put in the Racor kit for the heater and water separation. And, I use Rotella DFA. It's one that gets good comments from most and is available at Wally World up here. I don't know the right answer. I'll stick with this set up until someone can convince me I should change.


BTW, are you on the Snow West 4M?

I'm on snowest forum too but I rarely post. Mostly use it to check snow conditions. I can't even remember what I go by on snowest. Edited by: AKsledhead