Quote:
Originally Posted by rwidman
Whenever I suggest to someone with a problem they can't fix to "hire a pro", I get dozens of replies as to how bad pros are, they don't know what they are doing, they screwed up my boat, etc., but now all of a sudden, they are Gods and know everything there is to know.
"Professional mechanics" are simply people who are paid to repair engines. Some are factory trained, receive the latest technical bulletins, and know what they are doing, some are just people who fooled around with engines until they learned the basics and then started charging for their services.
They did not design, build or test the engines. Any knowledge they have on the effects of fuel additives on engine performance and longevity are purely anecdotal. Also, they have no stake in the longevity of your engine.
The engineers who designed and built the engines are the ones to look for when it comes to fuel quality and the possible need for additives. If your engine manufacturer recommends adding automatic transmission fluid to the fuel, by all means, you should do that. If they recommend Marvel Mystery Oil, by all means do that. I doubt you will find recommendations for either of these products.
Your engine manufacturer probably designed your engine to run on standard diesel fuel without any additives. They may suggest an additive if you think you may be getting substandard fuel or have a problem with water or biological matter in the fuel. They will probably have a list of approved additives that you can choose from.
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What you posted makes sense, logically. Who better than the engineers?
However...
the smartest programmer often doesn't
work for McAfee or Microsoft, but actually writes viruses, that's why they need to update virus definitions on a daily basis - to keep up with the bored 16 yr old
kids. The best technician often doesn't
work for the dealership, but owns his own independent business, and so it goes with my experience with diesel mechanics.
The original
service procedure for replacing the Duramax injection pumps that had eaten themselves (due to lack of librucity, oddly enough) simply stated to replace the pump and test run the engine.
A brilliant independent
mechanic (also a friend of mine) emailed GM and told them that when the IP destroys itself, the shrapnel has nowhere to go except downstream, to the injectors. The only thing between the $4,000 injectors and the pump was a coarse
screen. He recommended
flushing the injection lines and backflushing the injectors to remove all of the debris. They checked, and sure enough, many of the replaced injection pumps were followed by replacement of all 8 injectors, due to debris. They eventually changed their
repair procedures to reflect his recommendation.
That's just one of 3 different suggestions he made to GM repair procedures where they neglected to take into consideration physics, their own design (actually Bosch's design) and common sense. It just goes to prove, just because someone is paid the big bucks, doesn't make him the smartest guy in the room. I've always told myself, "Never assume you're the smartest guy in the room."
But sometimes, after asking a deeply thought provoking question, the blank stares I see give me the unsettling impression that perhaps either I'm the only one who missed the bong getting passed around, or I mistakenly walked into a special ed classroom.
As far as ATF, it's an ancient tradition. It doesn't hurt anything, and is actually more of a detergent than a lubricant. I personally prefer the diesel additives, they were specifically formulated for lubricity, as opposed to ATF, which isn't really a lubricant. Most automatic trannies have wet clutches in them, and you don't want them to slip, especially under load.
I've even added a bit of filtered vegetable oil, talk about lubricity! My Duramax got so quiet, you'd have thought it was a gas turbine! Of course I wouldn't try that in a cold or
marine environment.