185BHP D5 engine on Bio-Diesel

[samuelellis]

A garage near me has just opened up and is selling biodiesel - had anyone ever run a Euro4 D5 engine on biodiesel and if so have you had any issues

[Jim314]

Are they offering a range of biodiesel mixes B5, B10, B20, . . ., which would be respectively 5%, 10,%, 20%, . . . biodiesel in petroleum diesel? Or are they offering 100% biodoesel?

[Simon Jones]

Biodiesel does have a reputation for causing problems with rubber fuel pipes and seals.

[Jim314]

Isn't all 'road diesel' in the UK B5 or B10? That is, isn't there a legal requirement to mix in 5% or 10% bio-diesel in the fuel sold as 'diesel'? if so, you are already using biodiesel. But you don't want to go to a higher percent bio-diesel without really investigating the effects.

What model year and what mileage is on the odo of your vehicle?

My opinion is don't start using a new fuel labeled 'bio-diesel'. Wait to see the experience of others with this new fuel.

[The Edge]

My last 02 D5 didn't like B100 at all which was a bit of a shame.

I would imagine the 185 is no better, if not worse. Old engines with mechanical injection timing seem to manage just fine.

[Jim314]

The link below is dated but a good entry to the online discussion of the use of bio-diesel. Go to post #3.

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic...-fuel-mixture/

Hi

All diesel sold in the UK now has up to 7% biodiesel in it. It will not break your engine and is warranted as safe by the Government to use in your vehicle. It still conforms to the EN590 standard for diesel.

If the diesel has more than 7% it is not EN590 standard and should be labeled differently (i.e. 20% would be B20, 100% would be B100).

Having a small amount of biodiesel in your fuel helps keep your engine cleaner, quieter and better lubricated than straight diesel. Biodiesel has good cleaning and lubrication properties and also helps reduce emissions as it has oxygen molecules in it so it helps get a more complete burn of your fuel. These are desired properties that oil companies normally try to obtain by putting additives into the fuel.

There is absolutely nothing to worry about if you stick to the EN590 standard diesel.

Cheers

Dave
Edited by FatblokeVRS, 04 October 2011 - 19:20.

[Simon Jones]

Might be worth checking you particular engine with Volvo.

http://biofuel.org.uk/biodiesel.html


Engine Impact

Like other biofuels, biodiesel cannot be used in standard diesel engines. The alcohol content and different structure of biodiesel means that it can react with the rubbers used in standard engines and cause them to dry and crack. This leads to leaks and engine failure. The solution is to use different rubbers, which is the case with newer diesel engines.

[GregP]

Originally Posted by The Edge

My last 02 D5 didn't like B100 at all which was a bit of a shame.

I would imagine the 185 is no better, if not worse. Old engines with mechanical injection timing seem to manage just fine.

+1 on this. 2003 V70 D5 Euro3.

Ran high quality biodiesel mostly at B100 (i.e. unblended) for one year / 12,000 miles after much online research. Did the fuel filter swap after the first tank as commonly advised. Car took a couple more turns to start up during the cold, so I even fitted an electric Swedish Calix brand block heater to pre-heat the engine during the snowy snap, but this wasnt strictly necessary. No other modifications required.

Found a good supplier in South London making professional batches to the EN standards from waste cooking oil, which includes 'winterisation' of the fuel over the colder months. They had a closed loop business selling the best quality oil to takeaways, which they collected once past its use in the fryers.

Much eco-satisfaction and engine was much smoother with less knocking and noise, but a little less poke and mpg down ~10%. This was offset almost exactly by cheaper price per litre than regular petrodiesel.

However, the usual chip fat smell grew and I noticed the injectors leaking fuel over the engine block, which persisted after professional remounting, and eventually a misfire developed in two cylinders. Took it to a decent indie specialist who sent off the injectors to a specialist. Response was all five injectors beyond refurbishment. Now whilst biodiesel is a good lubricant, they blamed the B100 for lacking the correct lubricating properties for the injectors which obviously run at tremendous pressures (https://www.quora.com/Does-diesel-fu...ate-the-engine). That said, the injectors were very old (~180k miles, and I assume the original set) so I cannot definitively verify this. The B100 might have just tipped them over the edge.

All five needed replacing, think I got a good deal at £1000 for all five fitted, but a very expensive experiment! A weaker / more sensible man may have scrapped the car but I had already invested in some replacement of the big consumables (clutch, DMF, etc) and done a few other mods, and frankly couldn't face the faff.

The debate continues.

[LankyTim]

I don't think I've heard of bio diesel causing injectors to fail, so long as it's well made there shouldn't be any issues. I have seen cases of bio eating away at the "black death" deposits around leaky injectors. I had a PT cruiser (don't laugh) with a slight weep around an injector, it looked like it had been weeping for years. The biodiesel ate away at the black deposits until the diesel was spraying out from around the injector. On the plus side, the injector was easy to remove and re seat.