Dilspec
SILVER Star
That's good news, glad it's working out.
Diesel Fuel tank cleaning options
- Thread starter FJBen
- Start date
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10 months ago I bought a BJ60 with 3B. Looking for advice on how I can flush out my diesel tank as a precaution. I know very little about how the BJ60 fuel system works. I presume there is no electric pump in the tank, and the mechanical IP in the engine just sucks it from the tank through the filter.
It sat in my garage for 10 months as I was working on it, and I wasn't going to drive it in winter, so I finally got it going again a few weeks ago. It had 1/3 tank of diesel sitting in it, that is at least 2 or 3 years old, since it was also sitting at the guy's place I bought it from. It fired up OK. Last weekend I drove it 200 km and put in some fresh diesel that diluted the old stuff by about 3x. I didn't want to run the tank dry to get all the old stuff out in case that caused any gunk at the bottom to slosh around and get sucked up.
I see a drain plug at the bottom. Can I just open that up and drain out all the diesel? If there is any accumulated water / sediment in there, is there a way I can help flush that down the drain hole? And I'll change the fuel filter.
Again I have no problems with it right now, I just want to do some basic maintenance to keep it that way.
It sat in my garage for 10 months as I was working on it, and I wasn't going to drive it in winter, so I finally got it going again a few weeks ago. It had 1/3 tank of diesel sitting in it, that is at least 2 or 3 years old, since it was also sitting at the guy's place I bought it from. It fired up OK. Last weekend I drove it 200 km and put in some fresh diesel that diluted the old stuff by about 3x. I didn't want to run the tank dry to get all the old stuff out in case that caused any gunk at the bottom to slosh around and get sucked up.
I see a drain plug at the bottom. Can I just open that up and drain out all the diesel? If there is any accumulated water / sediment in there, is there a way I can help flush that down the drain hole? And I'll change the fuel filter.
Again I have no problems with it right now, I just want to do some basic maintenance to keep it that way.
Diesel doesnt deteriorate like petrol if you keep moisture out of it, it can be used when its 15 years old..
Having a pre filter with a glass bowl is the best precaution.
The best way to clean them is to remove the tank, put a litre of solvent (petrol kerosene etc) and give it a good shake and drain it out.
You should also remove the gauze filter from the fuel pick up and clean that if it has one.
But if you drain it not much muck comes out, I wouldn't bother removing the tank.
Leave your old filters on for few days after you drain and refill, then change them.
Prefilters are a good eye into your tank as they will get really dirty if you have rusty water etc in the tank.
Having a pre filter with a glass bowl is the best precaution.
The best way to clean them is to remove the tank, put a litre of solvent (petrol kerosene etc) and give it a good shake and drain it out.
You should also remove the gauze filter from the fuel pick up and clean that if it has one.
But if you drain it not much muck comes out, I wouldn't bother removing the tank.
Leave your old filters on for few days after you drain and refill, then change them.
Prefilters are a good eye into your tank as they will get really dirty if you have rusty water etc in the tank.
I recall reading that the new diesel goes bad after a year or so? Kind of like the ethanol they put in gasoline makes it go bad. Maybe I'm wrong though. If I google it, I find that it won't last longer than 6 months!!! That is probably scaremongering though.
"New" diesel had the sulpher removed, but when they removed the sulpher, it took other things out that help with lubricity. So they added lubricants to the diesel.
Ive used it when it was 4-5 years old no problems and I know of others who used 15 year old fuel in their boat tanks.
Ive used it when it was 4-5 years old no problems and I know of others who used 15 year old fuel in their boat tanks.
- Thread starter
- #27
New diesel is terrible and doesn’t last at all. The injector/IP place said they see this all the time with the new diesel. An old diesel I bought sat for 12 years, started up and ran fine. This was 15 years ago.
the diesel I had in my current bj74 sat for 4 years and was varnish/Carmel and completely messed up the injector and iP.
you can pull that plug and drain that tank no problem.
the diesel I had in my current bj74 sat for 4 years and was varnish/Carmel and completely messed up the injector and iP.
you can pull that plug and drain that tank no problem.
What a great thread!
Thank you guys for your contributions!
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1984 BJ42
1983 BJ45 P/UP
Thank you guys for your contributions!
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1984 BJ42
1983 BJ45 P/UP