Diesel Fill Up Tips or Tricks?

[Fraser]

Originally Posted by edco

This is quite the walk down memory lane.. I believe 3 plus OD.

I trust the walk wasn't too painful. Many thanks

[edco]

Originally Posted by Fraser

I trust the walk wasn't too painful. Many thanks

No..not much.. There is an interesting story I will share. When I bought the car, it was a base vehicle, no heating seats, cloth interior, etc etc.
There is a board called TDIClub.com that I became a member of, and subsquently read a story about a chap in Florida who unfortunately had a semi back up onto the hood of this car to the roofline. The car was totalled but he had photos of the damage and I noticed that the interior, including leather heated electric memory seats, matching door cards were untouched. I bought a wiring harness from Germany and a buddy who at the time lived close by and I spent a November Sunday tearing out the old interior and installing the new leather, power, etc parts so that it was a "FrankenTDI". I bought all the parts, including a steel belly pan - TDIs typically come with plastic below engine covers that dont last in cold climates where ice and snow accumulate and pull them down. The ripper was the guy sold me all the parts for $500 delivered to my door, I spent probably another $250 for an OEM CD player, wired in an XM radio kit, and a gaggle of small odds and ends, and for a while she was a stunner.. then parts that were unrelated to the work we had done (ie non electrical) started to fail, and being "naked" with an untrustworthy TDI was not looking good to me..I ended up selling it for about what it cost me 3 years and 30K miles later as diesel prices were about 25-40 cents cheaper in NJ than reg or premium.. but it was a bugger to keep running..special tools needed, ie VagCom..unique anti-freeze.. My favorite part since they take a while to warm up in the interior, was installing an electric heat pump that would circulate (via an A/C plug I installed in the bumper) and heat the coolant on a timer when I knew I was going to be driving the next day. It took about 2 hours and when you got inside and fired her up it was all warm and toasty. My neighbors thought I had an electric car !

Oh and the additive I used at EVERY fill is called Power Service.

Good Luck and Happy Thanksgiving all
Ed in NJ

[bigx5er]

Well folks, this thread made me decide to cancel my X5 35d order. My wife went out to a couple of local stations and she said the pumps were nasty. She wanted no part of the diesel experience.

Bummer, because it is a great vehicle. We take long trips and have no desire to mess around, especially in cold Minnesota where gas even gets on the ground during the winter.

I guess I should be thankful that I read this thread. My 2008 X5 will do for now.

[Penguin]

Originally Posted by bigx5er

I guess I should be thankful that I read this thread. My 2008 X5 will do for now.

Good thing you found out about the pumps in your area before buying it. Luckily, I have yet to have the experience of a really bad diesel pump in Illinois/Wisconsin.

[XXX555]

Originally Posted by edco

No..not much.. There is an interesting story I will share. When I bought the car, it was a base vehicle, no heating seats, cloth interior, etc etc.
There is a board called TDIClub.com that I became a member of, and subsquently read a story about a chap in Florida who unfortunately had a semi back up onto the hood of this car to the roofline. The car was totalled but he had photos of the damage and I noticed that the interior, including leather heated electric memory seats, matching door cards were untouched. I bought a wiring harness from Germany and a buddy who at the time lived close by and I spent a November Sunday tearing out the old interior and installing the new leather, power, etc parts so that it was a "FrankenTDI". I bought all the parts, including a steel belly pan - TDIs typically come with plastic below engine covers that dont last in cold climates where ice and snow accumulate and pull them down. The ripper was the guy sold me all the parts for $500 delivered to my door, I spent probably another $250 for an OEM CD player, wired in an XM radio kit, and a gaggle of small odds and ends, and for a while she was a stunner.. then parts that were unrelated to the work we had done (ie non electrical) started to fail, and being "naked" with an untrustworthy TDI was not looking good to me..I ended up selling it for about what it cost me 3 years and 30K miles later as diesel prices were about 25-40 cents cheaper in NJ than reg or premium.. but it was a bugger to keep running..special tools needed, ie VagCom..unique anti-freeze.. My favorite part since they take a while to warm up in the interior, was installing an electric heat pump that would circulate (via an A/C plug I installed in the bumper) and heat the coolant on a timer when I knew I was going to be driving the next day. It took about 2 hours and when you got inside and fired her up it was all warm and toasty. My neighbors thought I had an electric car !

Oh and the additive I used at EVERY fill is called Power Service.

Good Luck and Happy Thanksgiving all
Ed in NJ

Interesting. Which particular one do you use and what is your experience with it? Power Service Products, diesel fuel additives, prevent gelling, clean injectors, disperse water, boost cetane, reduce emissions, improve fuel economy

[edco]

Originally Posted by XXX555

Interesting. Which particular one do you use and what is your experience with it? Power Service Products, diesel fuel additives, prevent gelling, clean injectors, disperse water, boost cetane, reduce emissions, improve fuel economy

Standyne Power Boost (I think) is the complete name. Cheaper by the case. It's recommended for all of your points but especially in the winter or cold temps to reduce gelling. I dont think it impacted emissions or boosted cetane, and I dont recall any boost in fuel economy.

My personal experience was that diligence of maintenance on the diesel was of greater importance ie, fuel filter. Lots of the folks in the TDI club replaced their VW filter with a Caterpillar filter as it was " heavier duty" and could last 1-2 years. You also bring up a point with the cetane value. All diesel fuel is not created equally, especially when the US went to ultra low emissions fuel. Finding a local, high quality diesel supplier was a primary concern, but I found that the local Hess station was fairly good, though it didnt have diesel fuel at the same pumps as gas so you could spend time waiting behind tractors to fill up before you got a turn.

I guess the OP has already decided that he's sticking with "dino" fuel as it's known in the diesel world. Probably a good choice if you arent used to the quirks and pet peeves of the diesel world.

Ed

[Craig]

Originally Posted by edco

Standyne Power Boost (I think) is the complete name. Cheaper by the case. It's recommended for all of your points but especially in the winter or cold temps to reduce gelling. I dont think it impacted emissions or boosted cetane, and I dont recall any boost in fuel economy.

My personal experience was that diligence of maintenance on the diesel was of greater importance ie, fuel filter. Lots of the folks in the TDI club replaced their VW filter with a Caterpillar filter as it was " heavier duty" and could last 1-2 years. You also bring up a point with the cetane value. All diesel fuel is not created equally, especially when the US went to ultra low emissions fuel. Finding a local, high quality diesel supplier was a primary concern, but I found that the local Hess station was fairly good, though it didnt have diesel fuel at the same pumps as gas so you could spend time waiting behind tractors to fill up before you got a turn.

I guess the OP has already decided that he's sticking with "dino" fuel as it's known in the diesel world. Probably a good choice if you arent used to the quirks and pet peeves of the diesel world.

Ed

On the fuel cap, BMW states, no additives... You can void your warranty.

Craig