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Adding oil to fuel of m35a2

rustystud

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Back in the day when I was an over the road driver we would add a can of automatic transmission fluid to a tank of fuel to "lube the injectors". I'm not sure if this worked or was just an "old truckers tale" but we did it. Of course that was when diesel was .35 cents a gallon and a can of transmission fluid cost about 75 cents.
Your mileage may vary.
That is still a valid thing to do with todays "low sulpher" fuels. I actually use "Opti-Lube" in all my diesel fuel tanks. Though I have been known to add a couple quarts of ATF or straight 30w to a full tank of fuel. When the industry first went to the low sulpher fuels we lost over 300 injection pumps at Metro transit. They basically tore themselves apart ! It was not good !
 

rustystud

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Lucas fuel additive is straight mineral oil and decreases the lubricating effect of diesel. Lucas was good at advertising, not chemical engineering. His famous oil additive is just base stock. His stuff is garbage. There have been many threads about increasing lubricity and hands down soydiesel(biodiesel) at a 2 percent mix is better than anything on the market. Most pump diesel contains 10-20% bio in Missouri, so the adding anything other than antigel is moot here. Check locally for a place that has a mix near you. I run the 20% mix in my truck, no "corrosion" issues, no algae issues. You have to be careful with the scuttlebutt floating around about fuel additives, its infectious.
Actually "Opti-Lube" beats anything on the market. It is the very best diesel fuel additive out there. Independent studies prove it.
 

M543A2

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My comments about biodiesel come from experience and from the comments of employees of a large "burn the bean" biodiesel plant close to me. They deal with the corrosive properties daily according to the workers who talked with me. Biodiesel also likes to chew away at some kinds of polymers in fuel systems. I just pulled a multifuel motor out of storage to check it out as we do with our motors in storage periodically to make sure they are still OK. I found rust in the fuel filters, not from a tank but on the surface of the filters themselves and inside the cans. The transfer pump on the side of the injection pump showed signs of light rust starting to form even though there was fuel in it. Some of the fuel had actually evaporated out of the filter cans. The older diesel would not do that. We periodically run these engines in the can bottoms to keep them in good shape. We made up a radiator that bolts to the container end so we have the ability to run them until they warm up. We will now be running diesel in them with Marvel Mystery oil added in a heavy mix to preserve the fuel systems better since the government now seems to think they know best how to ruin both gasoline and diesel nowadays. We also find that without adding additives of some kind to fuel tanks both gasoline and diesel will rust them inside unexpectedly quickly. We have one deuce without motor that has sat for about 3 years. The previous owner ran an oil mix in the fuel, some fuel still left in the tank now but no rust to be seen inside, so adding oil to the fuel helps prevent rusting. We find ourselves saying #$^&$#@@ kinds of things at the government for all of these fuel changes that damage systems. They also now have taken zinc out of engine oil so we have to add it to prevent damage to flat tappet engines. EPA is one of the most destructive and expensive to the end user government agencies to come along in years! No one is controlling what they do or forcing them to research and be responsible for the cost of their regulations.
 

royalflush55

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That is still a valid thing to do with todays "low sulpher" fuels. I actually use "Opti-Lube" in all my diesel fuel tanks. Though I have been known to add a couple quarts of ATF or straight 30w to a full tank of fuel. When the industry first went to the low sulpher fuels we lost over 300 injection pumps at Metro transit. They basically tore themselves apart ! It was not good !
Injection pumps went down in every industry because of the lack of lubrication in ULSD. Yet oil companies and fuel suppliers would swear their diesel was safe to use. Several companies would not warranty injection systems on new machinery if a quality diesel additive was not used for lubrication after they had several injection pumps go bad. I have seen injectors on tractors trying to stick and the engine ran with a miss. After pouring a quart of ATF in the diesel and continuing to run the injector would clean itself and run properly without a miss. Bottom line is todays diesel needs some form of lubrication!
 

pitpawten

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Heard no mention of Power Service stuff in this thread (good or bad). I already stock it for my trucks and tractor so was planning on continuing to use it on the deuce.

Any real-world negative results from PS stuff in a multifuel?

Sidebar, used to prefill the fuel filters at changeover with atf on my merc diesel, but believed it's benefit was the mild detergent content rather than its lubricity.
 

royalflush55

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Heard no mention of Power Service stuff in this thread (good or bad). I already stock it for my trucks and tractor so was planning on continuing to use it on the deuce.

Any real-world negative results from PS stuff in a multifuel?

Sidebar, used to prefill the fuel filters at changeover with atf on my merc diesel, but believed it's benefit was the mild detergent content rather than its lubricity.
Power Service is acceptable additive. It is readily available at most truck stops and stores. It is not as good as Opti-Lube as shown in independent tests but it is more available. A lot of truckers wouldn't use anything else.
 

loosescrews

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Springfield, Mo
rustystud

Originally Posted by loosescrews
Lucas fuel additive is straight mineral oil and decreases the lubricating effect of diesel. Lucas was good at advertising, not chemical engineering. His famous oil additive is just base stock. His stuff is garbage. There have been many threads about increasing lubricity and hands down soydiesel(biodiesel) at a 2 percent mix is better than anything on the market. Most pump diesel contains 10-20% bio in Missouri, so the adding anything other than antigel is moot here. Check locally for a place that has a mix near you. I run the 20% mix in my truck, no "corrosion" issues, no algae issues. You have to be careful with the scuttlebutt floating around about fuel additives, its infectious.



Actually "Opti-Lube" beats anything on the market. It is the very best diesel fuel additive out there. Independent studies prove it.​

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
As far as a bottled additive, Optilube XPD is the best, but as far as things to put in the tank, its not. A 2% blend of biodiesel(soybean) shown a 30% improvement over Optilube XPD, and 2.8 times less wear than straight diesel. Also, bio comes right out of the pump with the regular diesel here where I live.

http://www.jatonkam35s.com/DeuceTechnicalManuals/Diesel_fuel_additive_test.pdf
fuel additives.jpg
Lucas, used motor oil, and other additives makes things worse. Bio can cause corrosion, and if it sits it will at a 100% concentration. The real killers of these trucks isnt ulsd, its neglect and disuse/misuse. Treat it well(bad pun) and it will do the same to you:driver:.
 
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WillWagner

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The trans fluid has grit in it that would clean the injectors, that what we were taught in deisel school in 1976?
No, it is just very high detergent. Think about it, why would there be grit in ANYTHING that lubricates, cools and is used hydraulically? Your diesel instructor was a tard!
 

Scar59

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Power Service is acceptable additive. It is readily available at most truck stops and stores. It is not as good as Opti-Lube as shown in independent tests but it is more available. A lot of truckers wouldn't use anything else.
Power Service in all my diesel equipment. No issues.
 

Haroldmac

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Wow. this had really gotten confusing. lol. I might be over thinking this. My Deuce is not on the road a lot so maybe i just need to focus on keeping the fuel free of moisture with an additive. I put the stock stack back on it (was run out the back) and thought also adding some oil would give it a little black smoke and be good for lubricant for internal fuel parts.
 

TsgtB

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I put some Diesel Klean in the tank, thinking i had water in the fuel, after checking a sample from the bottom of the tank, it was good and clean.
I do put a quart of 2 stroke in when I fuel up, I hope that is not hurting anything...
 

rustystud

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Location
Woodinville, Washington
rustystud

Originally Posted by loosescrews
Lucas fuel additive is straight mineral oil and decreases the lubricating effect of diesel. Lucas was good at advertising, not chemical engineering. His famous oil additive is just base stock. His stuff is garbage. There have been many threads about increasing lubricity and hands down soydiesel(biodiesel) at a 2 percent mix is better than anything on the market. Most pump diesel contains 10-20% bio in Missouri, so the adding anything other than antigel is moot here. Check locally for a place that has a mix near you. I run the 20% mix in my truck, no "corrosion" issues, no algae issues. You have to be careful with the scuttlebutt floating around about fuel additives, its infectious.



Actually "Opti-Lube" beats anything on the market. It is the very best diesel fuel additive out there. Independent studies prove it.​

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
As far as a bottled additive, Optilube XPD is the best, but as far as things to put in the tank, its not. A 2% blend of biodiesel(soybean) shown a 30% improvement over Optilube XPD, and 2.8 times less wear than straight diesel. Also, bio comes right out of the pump with the regular diesel here where I live.

http://www.jatonkam35s.com/DeuceTechnicalManuals/Diesel_fuel_additive_test.pdf
View attachment 602995
Lucas, used motor oil, and other additives makes things worse. Bio can cause corrosion, and if it sits it will at a 100% concentration. The real killers of these trucks isnt ulsd, its neglect and disuse/misuse. Treat it well(bad pun) and it will do the same to you:driver:.
The problem here is that the bio-diesel must be "soybean" based. Most all other bio-diesel sold out there is not and does not contain the properties we want in our fuel. I totally agree with the report though.
 

rustystud

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Location
Woodinville, Washington
No, it is just very high detergent. Think about it, why would there be grit in ANYTHING that lubricates, cools and is used hydraulically? Your diesel instructor was a tard!
I wouldn't call him a "tard" just uninformed ! I think what he was trying to convey was that ATF especially in the 1970's had a higher coefficient of friction then regular oil did. I know for a fact that if you used Dexron ATF in a Ford transmission that you would loose your clutches in short order. They where designed to use that higher friction oil. In fact we used to use "Mercon" oil in our GM transmissions to get better performance from them. There was a test you could do to prove this. Take a sample of Dexron oil in you hands and rub them together. Then take some Mercon and do the same thing. You would rub your hands raw in short order with the Mercon oil.
 
Last edited:

loosescrews

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Location
Springfield, Mo
The problem here is that the bio-diesel must be "soybean" based. Most all other bio-diesel sold out there is not and does not contain the properties we want in our fuel. I totally agree with the report though.
Agreed, not only is biodiesel from other feedstock lower in lubricating value, it is also more corrosive when left idle. Although carbon steel will be fine(generally), yellow metals, cast, and soft metals such as zinc and aluminium experience the brunt of its corrosive properties. Polymers and elastomers like natural rubber, chloroprene/neoprene, andnitrile degrade as well. Note that the following report goes into detail about multiple fuel stocks, but also goes under the premise of using high blend fuel 50% to 100%. It also states the older high sulphur diesel was corrosive due to the sulphur compounds combining with moisture over time and making acids.

https://www.researchgate.net/profil...inhibition/links/0912f510217dd1a6a3000000.pdf
 

Dasgog

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Tucson, AZ
Hello

I am sorry to bring up an old thread but I came upon it while considering what I should do myself. 1972 M35A2 and was wondering about additives to add with my Fuel for Lube as well as keeping it rust free..
And this is probably due to my ignorance more so but after reading both pages I am more confused over what to do :/
 

Dasgog

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Tucson, AZ
I use Stanadyne diesel additive in the summer/spring/fall for injection pump lube, and Howes in the winter to prevent diesel gel.
Hello thank you for the response. Here in AZ we don’t have winter (maybe 10 days a YEAR below 35) so I assume I’d use this Stanadyne throughout? What’s the ratio? Every fill up or once a month . Whole bottle or what’s your usage?
I plan on keeping the tank always full as the previous owner did not and had to replace everything fuel wise cause of rust
 
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