Veg in Diesel - vegistroke

[petebal]

Hi folks,

Yep, new to this forum, but not new to grease.
Have about 80K miles with veg on my 2002 f250 (7.3), 130K total.

It's been about 5 years since i installed my v2 vegiestroke, and until recently, had no issues with it, but hey, we're all getting older.

Recently I've noticed my diesel fuel guage going up, and while that's normally a good thing....well....you know....not in this scenario.

While running on long trips, i could see the guage moving ever so slowly towards the FULL side of the guage.

after these trips i have hard starts....she grumbles when i turn the key, then is a bit miserable starting.....sometimes white smoke, hard starts, romp romp, etc...

So, I figure I have a check valve going bad, probably. I'm posting to get some advice.

Should i order the two check valves and replace those? Anything else? The hoses look good under the hood...no cracks, rotting, etc...

i was going to go with a new kit, but why fix everything when only a piece is broken.

As always, thanks ahead for any advice you can lend.

Thanks!
Pete

[Snake]

You nailed it. At least one of your check valves has failed, and you'll want to replace both. I'd say go over your system from front to back and replace anything you don't have confidence in.

[vegginpsd]

Snake is correct, and few know the V3 better than he.

Replace both check valves, and dont forget the loctite 545, and some new sleeves found here

Replacement O-rings for Ford Diesel Engines

Or from your Ford dealer if you insist on paying more....


Another thing I like to do in this situation is gut the factory check valves. They offer a significant amount of fuel flow restriction. Another option is to order (from Ford) the fittings for the fuel outlet on the fuel bowl. Same threas on both ends as the factory check valves, with NO restriction.

Good luck!

[petebal]

thanks guys!
yep, got the 545 from mcmaster-carr.

anyone have the part number on the check valves?
i know i could get them from BFT, but don't want to wait a couple weeks for their arrival.

[ParkCity.PSD]

This brings up another question I've had...Is it a problem to mix diesel and straight veg? I thought I had read somewhere that mixing the two causes some kind of nasty sludge or something? I ask because I had considered putting some diesel in my veg tank once I get everything hooked up to test everything out. Bad/stupid idea?

[petebal]

putting diesel in the veg tank to test everything is (was?) the recommended practice.

I also remember reading something from Jason saying that he recommended mixing some diesel with veg in your veg tank.

also, when you purge i think some diesel is put back into your veg tank, so that shouldn't be an issue.

DON'T mix veg in your diesel tank or you'll be dealing with what i'm dealing with right now...
not good.

[ParkCity.PSD]

Copy that...Thanks. Maybe that is what I remember hearing about in the past.

[Snake]

Originally Posted by vegginpsd

Snake is correct, and few know the V3 better than he.

Thank you sir. I've found that the more I learn about this system, the more I realize I don't know.

[Snake]

Originally Posted by ParkCity.PSD

This brings up another question I've had...Is it a problem to mix diesel and straight veg? I thought I had read somewhere that mixing the two causes some kind of nasty sludge or something? I ask because I had considered putting some diesel in my veg tank once I get everything hooked up to test everything out. Bad/stupid idea?

WVO and diesel is okay. The only downside is that it thins out the wvo and some pumps have had difficulty priming. Adding some diesel to wvo does have the benefit of slowing polymerization.

You may be thinking of veggie oil mixed with motor oil. Now THAT is something you want to avoid.

[elrojo63]

Waste motor oil that is. I've mixed with new motor oil and had no problems.


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