Are there any long term affects on Diesel cars that go to biodiesel?

Question

I currently drive a Diesel Jetta. I have been using regular, 'ol fuel in if for about a year isince I bough it new. Can I just simply switch my fuel to biodiesel and if I need to switch back to regular diesel, will there be any issues with the maintenence of my car?

Answer 1

I drive a Jetta TDI and I use 100% biodiesel. I've been doing it for over a year now. I haven't had any issues with my car. Of course if I am on a long trip and biodiesel is not available I can stop at a normal diesel pump. Biodiesel is a little bit more expensive than normal diesel but, it's definitely a responsible thing to do :D. If you are skeptical I would definitely go to a biodiesel seminar. I was a little leery of it at first but now I am confident that my car will run even in freezing temperatures. As far as maintenance issues I haven't had any.

http://www.biowillieusa.com/

** FYI, I did a research on available "useable" farm land and there is plenty of land to grow crops for large reserves of biodiesel. One of my biology teachers made that claim and I brought the public data to him to show him otherwise. I just want to clear up the whole "there's not enough land" idea. Also there are many sources that it can come from one of them being algae and another being waste cooking oil. So you don't necessarily need vast areas of land with crops that may possibly fail.

Answer 2

increased efficiency

cleaner engine

maintenance will be required less often and will be easier

no issues with switching back and forth. matter-a-fact, most conversions will allow you to mix bio-diesel with petro-diesel.

Answer 3

I hear deisels work well off bio deisel and burn cleaner.

Answer 4

biodiesel is a bit better for the environment because it is grown in the united states out of crops that are reusable but by the time it is processed and refined it creates pollution just like normal diesel fuel. also its a less efficiently burning fuel so its really hard to see the benefits besides the fact that this country can not support wide spread use of the grown fuel. i think that hybrid biodiesel would probably be the best combo if you were going to spend all of that money but i dont see much point to switching to biodiesel unless you would just like to make yourself feel a little better that your purchasing american fuel.

Answer 5

Yes, it can just run on post-1990 models, the only change might be a little more corrosion in the fuel lines.

Check out this video: http://www.cnettv.com/?tag=hd_ts

Answer 6

No.

With the ULSD (ultra low sulfur diesel fuel), a good majority of the lubricating properties of the fuel to the engine and injector pump are now gone.  Since biodiesel has much better lubricating properties than even the old higher sulfur content diesel fuel, and will make the engine vibrate less, rattle and shake less and make less noise at idle.  Oh, did I mention Biodiesel is supposed to increase engine life because of all of these things?  

Even if it's a few "cents" more to use it, id doesn't make "sense" not to.

Find a biodiesel pump in your area and use it for every fill up.

p.s.  Not that you'll need it, but carry an extra fuel filter with you in the trunk, with the wrench to change it.  Biodiesel cleans the dirty soot the petroleum diesel left behind, and in some cases it can accumulate into clumps and clog the fuel fiter, and you will notice a loss of power as the engine is starved for fuel.  This lean condition won't hurt the engine, as this is how a diesel controls RPM's anyway, but go ahead and change the fuel filter at your earliest convenience to restore power, and make life a little easier on the lift pump.  Don't waste your time doing it early.  Give the biodiesel a good chance to clean the tank and fuel lines up first.  And if you never notice a power loss just change it after the first year of using biodiesel, and then go back to the regular maintenance schedule.

There has been some concern over having to replace the fuel lines, because methanol is used when making biodiesel, and people knoe that 85% ethanol in E85 has been shown to deteroriate rubber.  I have never replaced a fuel line and squeeze them everytime I change the oil to see if their getting soft.  

They aren't.  Not quite sure how this fuel line concern with biodiesel got started, I've never seen any evidence for it.

Good luck reducing your dependence on foreign oil, and using a renewable fuel that will help reduce global warming.  

p.s. You'll love how your car smells.

Answer 7

Bio diesel is cleaner the petroleum diesel.

You could safely run b20 or 20% bio diesel to 80% regular diesel.

You may have to replace the fuel filter more ofter over the first year.

But since bio diesel lubricates better the petroleum diesel your car will last longer.

PS.. Diesel engines run better on bio diesel because that is what they were designed to work with.