Algae bloom in Bio diesel

[htmauk]

Hi all,

I have asked this question once before but was not successful in getting a response.

I am new to the land of Landcruiser and especially BJ40's. I just purchased one on ebay over the holidays and want to run Bio diesel. I talked to a mechanic that specializes in FJ40's however he admitted that he is not well versused on diesel and Bio Diesel.

He recommended that I look into the possibility of having an algae bloom from the biodiesel and that I put in about 1/2 cup of the cheapiest ATF I can find to prevent this from happening. Does this make sense to anyone?

Also I was wondering if there is a specific size line I need to get from Viton for the line exchange, and how much I need to get. I am not the greatest mechanic in the world but I can turn a wrench and figure it out.

Also where does everyone get their parts for BJ40's. Where can you get your fuel filters, air filters, and manuals. I have purchased the landcruiser's automotive repair manual for the simple purpose of learning about body, and wiring information. It assumes I have a 2F so that doesnt help me with diesel info.

Does anyone know how the glowplug or heater element works because I dont have a light that lights up to tell me the plugs are warm. The FJ mechanic told me the b engine is a true diesel and not a pseudo diesel because there are not glowplugs. i didnt get him to elaborate to on this so if anyone can explain that would be great. What I do now is pull the choke, turn the key two notices and wait for about 10 seconds and then start the rig. i dont have a problem but I want t know if this is correct.



thanks for any information you can provide. If it helps I have a 1979 bj40 imported from OZ.

[M John Galt]

Before using biodiesel in your vehicle, clean the tank and fuel system with something like Startron.
www.startron.com

Algae and other microbes will only grow in biodiesel that contains moisture. Make sure the biodiesel you use is dry; do a hot pan test to be sure.
testing for water - Topic Powered by eve community

Don't add ATF, it won't help and will likely make things worse.

The FJ mechanic told me the b engine is a true diesel and not a pseudo diesel because there are not glowplugs.

Any "mechanic" who would say that hasn't a clue in the world what they're talking about. The B engine is a diesel and it has glow plugs, there is no such thing as a "psuedo diesel" except in that individuals mind.

Diesels don't have 'chokes' so what you're pulling is something else.

[T.Stanford]

I assume "the choke " referred to is the manual throttle which won't assist in starting, it just increases the idle rpm. I don't know what that mechanic was talking about but I believe the B engine came with a glow "screen" but I have no idea what (if any) dash indication concerning the status. I don't know where you're writing from but if it's reasonably cold it sounds like everything is functioning properly. Are you intending to run B100 (100% biodiesel)? I've been running B20 for 1 1/2 years now (with no mods) with no problems, beyond B20 however it's a probably a good idea to redo all the rubber lines and seals change out to viton. You might want to try the general diesel forum to obtain info on availability of manuals, etc. Regards, Tony

[M John Galt]

The basic B engine has glowplugs, the turbo version has a glowscreen.

[htmauk]

Thanks for the information, turns out I was just not sure what I had and yes I was pulling the hand throttle. As for the engine it turns out to actually be a 13b. I just didnt realize there was a one in front of the 3 until I cleaned it up a bit. So thanks for the info. I used the Statron and have run a tank of b99 and it really smoothed out the engine and drives great.
I am going to replace the lines after a couple more tanks. Thanks for the information. My only other quesstion is my glow light doesnt go out so is there time that is too long to glow? I usually do it for 20-25 seconds figuring that would be enough. i have a sticker from whoever put the 13b in it that says max glow, 15 sec. that mean it takes that long or is that the max i should glow it?

I am in So Cal so I dont have much of a problem with cold starts. Although I am going to make some trips to the mountains and just want to know what I need to do.

Thanks

[canucksafari]

Originally Posted by M John Galt

Algae and other microbes will only grow in biodiesel that contains moisture.

They will also grow nicely in dino diesel with H2O as well.

Ironically, algae is one of the promising sources for biodiesel.
UNH Biodiesel Group

[AJAEbj42]

Originally Posted by htmauk

Thanks for the information, turns out I was just not sure what I had and yes I was pulling the hand throttle. As for the engine it turns out to actually be a 13b. I just didnt realize there was a one in front of the 3 until I cleaned it up a bit. So thanks for the info. I used the Statron and have run a tank of b99 and it really smoothed out the engine and drives great.
I am going to replace the lines after a couple more tanks. Thanks for the information. My only other quesstion is my glow light doesnt go out so is there time that is too long to glow? I usually do it for 20-25 seconds figuring that would be enough. i have a sticker from whoever put the 13b in it that says max glow, 15 sec. that mean it takes that long or is that the max i should glow it?

I am in So Cal so I dont have much of a problem with cold starts. Although I am going to make some trips to the mountains and just want to know what I need to do.

Thanks

I have an 1981 BJ42 with similar glow screen in the dash. I live in Canada and I've simply waited until I can see the glow (day or night; I'm not a scientist), then fire it up and it seams to work just fine. When I referred to my owner's manual, it describes waiting 15-20 seconds for the glow plugs to heat up. Do you also have a manual 'glow switch' on the dash? In cold weather, if after you first start it, the engine runs rough, you can simply press the switch to give the engine a little more 'glow/heat' and mine usually smooths right out after a couple of seconds of additional 'heat'.