Hey guys,

Just wondering if any of you are running additives. Diesel fuel additive to help increase the offsets of the new diesel with increased lubrication? I wonder if it helps or not? I have run a few tanks of the additive and I am not sure if I can tell a difference or not. If there is one it's not major. Not like when you run premium in your car after running low octane for a while.

Either way, just wondering if anyone was seeing a benefit or if it's something to avoid.


Thanks.

 

With so much torque in my 07 Bluetec, I have never felt the need for additives.

 

I've regularly use Power Service Diesel Kleen® +Cetane Boost®, mainly for the Cetane boost it provides. Seems to make the engine idle more quietly.

 

What kind of frequency for use of PSDK?

 

The lubricity of ULSD, per the ASTM spec, remained the same as it was for LSD.

 

Per MBUSA additives are not recommended, and there is a real possibility of voiding your warranty especially with Bluetec.

 

What he said!

My CDI starts and runs fine, even in the coldest weather. Using Sunoco diesel, it idles quietly. Dunno why I'd want to dump any questionable substance in the fuel tank.

 

Although the Power Service website claims they will not void the manufacturer's warranty. I don't believe they can make claims for Mercedes.

 

I've tried everything in my trucks and never, saw, felt, or could measure any improvement by using the common additives. There are some white papers that say lubricity can be improved. Two exceptions: Maybe an additive at <-20 or if you have an algae problem. Hard to imagine getting algae in a 22 gallon tank that gets common use but I guess it could happen. Some of the additives smell so nasty I can't imagine what chemicals they are. I wouldn't put anything in the Benz tank.

The very big deal with common rails is to use the best fuel possible. The Benz filters down to 2-4 Microns so it doesn't take much to gum up the works. The best way to get good fuel is to buy from a station that is pumping a lot.

Having said all of that, I think much of the concern about diesel fuel is overblown. I've got a boat with common rail diesel motors. You typically run a pretty high risk of bad fuel around the water due to rusty tanks and so on. Because of that, the boat has a more elaborate filter system. Before fuel gets to the engine, if goes through these filters called Racors that have a clear bowl with a spinner in it that separates contamination and water. You can see anything that comes in and gets caught. Nada, nix, nothing has been trapped (knock on wood). They always stay clean as a whistle even in that environment.

I think the fuel and supply lines are better than they used to be and good from the pump as is.

 

Yeah the only issue I had was when my wife had me stop at a small town to get gas, and I used a no name station. I suspect he bad gas issue. She said use that one no one's there...there was a reason bad gas.

 

Plus the fuel filter change interval is much longer than it used to be. On the W123 300D there was no way to run 20k miles without running into issues and power loss. Overall the newer fuel system (and of course the fuel) seems to be much better.