Adding oil to diesel fuel?

[O_salt]

A friend of mine has bought a new Volvo diesel engine and the salesman / Installer is telling him to add 1% 2-stroke motor oil to his diesel fuel to help lubricate the engine.

Has anybody else ever heard of this?

[MartinR]

Originally Posted by O_salt

A friend of mine has bought a new Volvo diesel engine and the salesman / Installer is telling him to add 1% 2-stroke motor oil to his diesel fuel to help lubricate the engine.

Has anybody else ever heard of this?

[oldjags]

I've heard about using it for gasoline engines to help lubricate the valve stems. I suppose you would also get some additional lubrication of the upper piston rings during break-in. It can't hurt, but not sure how much it will actually help.

[rbk]

Common on 2 stroke for break in (oil injected plus adding to the fuel) It may be legit but i'd double check with volvo mechanic to be sure.

[bwiencek]

I've heard of additives to restore some of the lubricity to the new formulations of Ultra-low Sulfur Diesel Fuel but haven't heard of 2-stoke oil. I guess it would make sense since it is a lubricant that is meant to be burnt in the engine and since the marine engines don't have DPF or catalysts to worry about then I can't really see the harm - but I'd read the manual and see what it recommends.



If you haven't heard about the ULSD and Lubricity here's a quick article I found : https://fueloilnews.com/2010/03/04/t...-of-lubricity/


Stanadyne and PowerService are 2 brands that should be commonly available (at least in the US since your profile says you're in WA) that have added lubrication for diesel fuels if he would rather use something designed for diesel engines specifically.

[Dsanduril]

Well, the manual for my brand new Volvo engines says:

Additives
...
NOTICE! It is not allowed to add secondary treatment additives ("diesel boosters"), lubricants, gasoline, or alcohol into the fuel tank.

The manual further specifies that fuel lubricity match a maximum wear scar of 520 micrometers - which is coincidentally the same value used in the definitions for ULSD.

So, I'd ask the mechanic if he's going to personally warranty the engine by recommending a practice specifically forbidden in the owner's manual.

[newhaul]

Originally Posted by O_salt

A friend of mine has bought a new Volvo diesel engine and the salesman / Installer is telling him to add 1% 2-stroke motor oil to his diesel fuel to help lubricate the engine.

Has anybody else ever heard of this?

a friend of mine owns Skagit injection services and builds race semis and he says to always do that it helps lubricate the injection pump and injectors as well as increasing the cetane value of diesel fuel.
I did it for hundreds of thousands of miles never had any negative issues becides its cheaper than cetane fuel additives.

[oldjags]

Originally Posted by Dsanduril

Well, the manual for my brand new Volvo engines says:



The manual further specifies that fuel lubricity match a maximum wear scar of 520 micrometers - which is coincidentally the same value used in the definitions for ULSD.

So, I'd ask the mechanic if he's going to personally warranty the engine by recommending a practice specifically forbidden in the owner's manual.

A lot of manufacturers used to (maybe still do?) specify that you had to use their brand of lubricants and filters or else the warranty was void. It was just a ploy to help sell their over-priced private-label stuff. But, who wants to take the chance that a warranty claim might get denied because you used Mercruiser oil or some generic equivalent in your Johnson outboard?

[Dsanduril]

In some of the US we now have "right to repair" laws that specifically prohibit manufacturers from this practice. Driven in part by John Deere and Apple setting prohibitively high prices on parts, labor, and repairs.

But this isn't a case of using something from the manufacturer, it's a case of the local representative recommending a practice that is specifically called out as not allowed in the manual put out by the corporation. While the practice may be anecdotally (or even empirically or scientifically) quite sound, I'd still question it when the salesman for the company is espousing a practice in direct conflict with the company line. At the very least I'd ask him to put the recommendation in writing on company letterhead.

[O_salt]

Originally Posted by Dsanduril

Well, the manual for my brand new Volvo engines says:



The manual further specifies that fuel lubricity match a maximum wear scar of 520 micrometers - which is coincidentally the same value used in the definitions for ULSD.

So, I'd ask the mechanic if he's going to personally warranty the engine by recommending a practice specifically forbidden in the owner's manual.

Hi, we are talking about a D2, could you direct us to where in the manual we would find this additive section.

When we asked the mechanic if he was endorsing this for Volvo, he did not say yes, said he would get the person from Volvo who told him about this.

[MartinR]

This is an environmentally bad procedure without any benefits. So, why do it? ULSD has good enough lubrication for modern diesel engines. There are already additives in the fuel. At least in Europe.

If you run your diesel engine on Kerosene, I could understand this.

[foboss]

The Vetus manual describes a method of preserving the engine for winter storage, where engine oil is added to the fuel.
On my Kia Sorento, I added oil to the fuel several times, I did not notice the difference.

[Delfin]

You might look at OptiLube XL for a relatively inexpensive, but purpose designed lubricity improver. Here are the lab tests: https://opti-lube.com/downloads/intertektesting.pdf

[Dsanduril]

Originally Posted by O_salt

Hi, we are talking about a D2, could you direct us to where in the manual we would find this additive section.

When we asked the mechanic if he was endorsing this for Volvo, he did not say yes, said he would get the person from Volvo who told him about this.

Mine is a D2 as well

Operator's Manual D1, D2 publication #47708094, dated 03-2017, Page 79 - Fuel System.

[Compass790]

Yes heard of it a few times & I personally think it couldnt hurt & would probably help EXCEPT why risk the warranty?
I would do it if I didn't think my engine is likely to outlast me anyway & could be bothered but I don't have an engine under warranty. Some trucks use filtered used sump oil as a part mix in their diesel so 2 stroke must be ok
Good tip on getting a written recommendation on letterhead paper from rep as Dusandril said in post 9