US Fuel Quality

[WesCadwall]

I apologize if this question has been covered somewhere else. Do the diesel Toyotas have any problems with the current ULS diesel sold right now. I had a M-35 A2 (1970) that had been full depo rebuilt in the late 80’s and it ate 2 injector pumps due to the lack of sulfur in the current fuel. Running mid-grade dyed fuel is a no-go in South Carolina. $10,000 fine if caught. I had my tanks dipped weekly by DOT when I had the duce. I am looking for a Land cruiser and wanted to know if I should cull out the diesels I am seeing.

 

[TheBussman]

Japan uses even less sulphur in the fuel then we do. Now days the red diesel has the same amount of sulphur so that's irreverent. I don't know of any major issues running it although adding some 2 stoke oil (incrauses lubricity only, every so slightly decreases cetane) or fuel additive (most incrause lubricity and increase cetane) would help if your concerned about it.

 

[WesCadwall]

Japan uses even less sulphur in the fuel then we do. Now days the red diesel has the same amount of sulphur so that's irreverent. I don't know of any major issues running it although adding some 2 stoke oil (incrauses lubricity only, every so slightly decreases cetane) or fuel additive (most incrause lubricity and increase cetane) would help if your concerned about it.

Thanks. I never heard of any problems with Toyota diesels but around here they are rare.

 

[duece71]

No issues so far in 2 years with my 1-HDT.

 

[WesCadwall]

Thanks, this forum has been a God send for info.

 

[OM617YOTA]

If your state has a biodiesel mandate, that'll more than make up for any ULSD lubricity reductions.

No trouble in a year on my 1KZTE, but Oregon has a B5 mandate.

 

[dogfishlake]

I think adding a diesel additive is a great idea. That said, I remember to do it about 70% of the time, lol.
It is safe insurance for your injection system to do it regularly at best and occasionally at least

They are forever machines, so hedging your rebuild interval schedule cannot be too bad

Cheers

 

[WesCadwall]

Thanks, I had trouble with the 70’s multifuel (2 injector pumps) , called Stanadyne and was told all they could do was use the same o-rings as usual. No vitron option. The ULS diesel eats the rubber o-rings. No repair other than installing a Cummins 6BT. I ended up selling the truck.

 

[WesCadwall]

Based on this info I think a diesel will be one option I will consider.

 

[Dougal]

Thanks, I had trouble with the 70’s multifuel (2 injector pumps) , called Stanadyne and was told all they could do was use the same o-rings as usual. No vitron option. The ULS diesel eats the rubber o-rings. No repair other than installing a Cummins 6BT. I ended up selling the truck.

Sulphur isn't a lubricant, there was a lot of scare-mongering that ULSD would cause all sorts of injection pump problems in every country. But it hasn't worked out that way. Diesel has lubricity specs to meet.

I haven't had any issue with diesel eating NBR rubber seals, viton (FKM) is usually overkill. But o-rings can be obtained in any material so it would be no problem for an injection shop to measure up the originals so you can swap them out for whatever.

 

[DivByZero]

Sulphur isn't a lubricant, there was a lot of scare-mongering that ULSD would cause all sorts of injection pump problems in every country. But it hasn't worked out that way. Diesel has lubricity specs to meet.

I haven't had any issue with diesel eating NBR rubber seals, viton (FKM) is usually overkill. But o-rings can be obtained in any material so it would be no problem for an injection shop to measure up the originals so you can swap them out for whatever.

According to the guys who did my injector pump, the ULSD issue affecting seals in the injector pump is real, and was very noticeable when it came into Australia. Rebuilding pumps is their main business, and they were flooded with work in the months and years that followed. What they also said though, is that the materials the gaskets are made from were also adjusted around the same time to handle low-sulfur diesel fuels. This made doing the seals a "one and done" job. In 2025, any seals pre-dating the gasket material change are over 20 years old, and have more than reached end of life anyway, so I don't think low-sulfur diesel is an issue these days.

 

[Dougal]

According to the guys who did my injector pump, the ULSD issue affecting seals in the injector pump is real, and was very noticeable when it came into Australia. Rebuilding pumps is their main business, and they were flooded with work in the months and years that followed. What they also said though, is that the materials the gaskets are made from were also adjusted around the same time to handle low-sulfur diesel fuels. This made doing the seals a "one and done" job. In 2025, any seals pre-dating the gasket material change are over 20 years old, and have more than reached end of life anyway, so I don't think low-sulfur diesel is an issue these days.

Here in NZ we had everyone with an injection pump problem blaming the fuel changes. But all the machinery I was involved with had no issues at all and some of them were over 60 years old. Most of the complaints seemed to be from 15+ year old VE pump owners looking for something the blame. But those are the highest maintenance pumps anyway.

Everything else had no problem at all.

 

[Tennessee Jed]

I'm not waiting for it to happen. I add 4 oz to each of my two tanks at every fill up. I don't drive it every day and a big pump bottle will last nearly a year. Comes with little bottles for easy use - 4 actuations of the pump = 4 oz.