Fuel Line Question

[ultim8gamr]

I know that some of the larger military trucks were designed to run on almost anything available with the multifuel engines. I have a M1008 and was wondering if the fuel line on it is a heavier duty than what was found on most stock trucks of the time. A friend and I are planning on running some Biodiesel in our trucks and I was hoping that the military trucks had better fuel lines in case multifuel was needed in the service to operate the trucks. Pretty much what I want to know is: are the fuel lines on the truck now strong enough to stand up to biodiesel or will i have to replace all of them? i will be getting the biodiesel from a petroleum company so it's not just some homebrew stuff.
John

 

[acetomatoco]

Guess I have no idea what you mean by strong enough... The fuel system in the Cucv was designed for Diesel No 2 and No1 ...Bio Diesel has been used by some folks ....I would worry more about the pump and poor lubricity as has been discussed ad nauseum..on many forums...I have heard of no problems with fuel lines associated specifically with bioDiesel , but there are lots of fuel system problems with the CUCV in general...pourous rubber, pressure switch in filter, etc... I would not be replacing fuel lines til I saw a need... ACE

 

[thedeliverator]

John -
I'm not running my 1009 on biodiesel (yet), but from my experience running my other vehicle on it, don't worry too much about the fuel lines, IF they've been serviced at some point. If they're stock from when the truck was new, or you don't know their history, replace them just to be sure. If you want to spring for the extra few dollars and get Viton lines and seals, go for it. Rubber is cheap compared to the frustration of having a leak when it's least convenient....

Technically, the 6.2L J-code Chevy/GMC diesels are not designed to run on anything but diesel (#1 or #2) fuel. They should operate just fine on biodiesel, commercial or homebrew, and there are some who run straight vegetable oil into them, with some modification.

Be sure to check the Alternative Fuels section of this forum, and you might take a look at the 6.2L Diesel forum on Diesel Place

A note on biodiesel - the homebrewers don't do a bad job at all most times. I've seen comparisons between stuff made at home and what you can buy from the chemical companies, and the people doing it for themselves are coming out far ahead in terms of fuel quality. Different process, different goals, etc, etc.


ACE, what's this about poor lubricity? First I've heard of it being a problem with BD. I seem to recall BD being added in to regular diesel to restore lubricity when they switched to the ultra-low sulphur stuff.

 

[bus63kombi]

I will chime in here on this subject. I run Biodiesel, And 100% Veggy oil in my M1009. Biodiesel is a great sourse for lubrication. I run all my diesels on Bio for that fact. With the Ultra low Sulfur diesel out there plays bad on older diesel parts. Having biodiesel, even B20 restores that and insures you won't eat a part. My 1981 Peugeot TD munched its IP because of ultra low. I haven't had any problems with running bio diesel in the CUCV. One thing CARRY A SPARE FUEL FILTER or two. Bio acts as a solvent and will fully clean your fuel system, with the older fuel systems normally have gunk and crap in it and the Bio will clean it. And it will clog a filter. If you want to run B100 i would recommend changing seals to Vitons or the Bio will start to eat away the rubber.
Thats my 2 cents. been running it for over a year and half love the stuff.

 

[acetomatoco]

It wqs the ulsd situation which has been addressed before...Jeff at Frontline has commented many times...Sulfur and lead are wonderful lubricants...and the Algores of the world have denied us the benefits because parents keep feeding their kids paint chips and diesel in their sippycups...ACE

 

[emmado22]

Is there something in a can that one can buy to "add the Sulfur and Lead" back to ULSD????????????????????