Which diesel fuel cleaner additive do you use,or would recommend ?
I don’t put any additives in.
There has been much talk lately about supermarket fuel, and that you shouldn’t buy it because mainstream companies put additives into their fuel.
If this is true (which it isn’t) then why would I need to put more additives in?
Dave the Renegade:
Which diesel fuel cleaner additive do you use,or would recommend ?
Depends what your putting it in really Dave I would have said, I used to put a cap of brake fluid in my old F12 when the weather got bad, My mate put it in His new 1996 FH12 & goosed two injectors so I’d be a bit carefull what cleaners/additives you put in anything modern Myself…
I always thought that it was a bit of an Urban Myth that putting a cap-full of brake fluid into a tank of diesel stopped it waxing?
I used to put acetone in my fuel, petrol or diesel. It did seem to make them go better, especially the diesels. Apparently it breaks down the surface tension of the fuel allowing more complete combustion. Definately gave crisper power & more mpg.
Some people put 2-stroke oil in aswell to lube the pump. I cant see a modern common rail engine liking that though.
Harry Monk:
I always thought that it was a bit of an Urban Myth that putting a cap-full of brake fluid into a tank of diesel stopped it waxing?
I got told by a Finn its what He used & from then on in I did it, maybe I was just lucky who knows as I never waxxed up after that I stopped doing it when I bought My first FH in 2001. I’m sure a scientist will be along soon enough to put us right, I did ask our fitter here in Canada what to use He knew of this brake fluid thing too but obviously we don’t use it here We help ourselves to something I will post the name of when I’m next in work.
Stuff like Diesel Magic can be useful to get vehicles through emissions tests but I think a lot of these fuel economy, or some other thing, improving additives are possibly snake oil and I think a bit like Scanias 
there’s a willingness to delude yourself it was worth handing the extra money over for.
Someone I used to work with used to swear by putting Molyslip in the oil and it certainly did seem to do something 
still not convinced enough to put it in one of my own vehicles.
I’ve never done it but heard of ATF fluid being used to clean up injection systems, I don’t quite know how you’d explain to VOSA/C&E the red tinge in the sample of derv they’ve just drawn from your fuel tank though 
Diesel does have a load of additives in it, but the stuff about supermarket diesel is nonsense, all fuel is refined in the same refineries, it doesn’t matter which brand you use, the fuel in a particular area will have come from the refinery that is closest to where you buy it 
ATF or even engine oil can help with lubricity (a ridiculous made up word) modern low sulphur diesels do not have the lubrication of older fuels, so you can have injector problems as a result, but be careful what you put in, oils have additives too and some of them can damage the fuel system
The best thing to use is the Lucas upper cylinder lubricant and injector cleaner, although even that is unnecessary, injectors will go a million miles without it. Some people will of course swear by their additives, saying they’ve used them from day one and not had a problem, it’s kind of like putting a notice on your fridge saying that no elephants are allowed inside, you can guarantee that it will work, but I don’t have a notice on my fridge, yet I’ve never had an elephant in it, maybe I’m just lucky 
Any other additives that promise increased mpg are pure snake oil, especially ones that can also be added to the crankcase to protect your engine or the oil in it. The only way to improve fuel mileage from the diesel is to improve its BTU content and diesel is one of the most efficient substance on the planet for BTU content, for any product to work it would need to have a better BTU value than diesel and cost less than diesel, none of them do, so you may as well save your money and just buy diesel in the first place 
Can’t honestly see why you would need a lubricating additive in a diesel engine- after all, the fuel is OIL anyway. Or am I missing something?
The only additives I have used in diesel engines is one which prevents waxing in cold weather. One of my employers used to use five gallons of paraffin per tankfull in times of extreme cold. He claimed- and was probably correct- that, being slightly abraisive, it cleaned the injectors at the same time. He also said that VOSA were aware that operators did this and would turn a blind eye. Luckily I never had to test this statement for truth! Apparently a couple of gallons of petrol per tankfull works just as well, but the employer in question reminded me that paraffin was cheaper!
When the temperature dips significantly, I add a couple of litres of petrol when I fill the tank in my personal vehicle and have never had any problems with waxing.
Our diesel suppliers say all diesel & gas oil is winter grade from the start of October and that should.
GCR2ERF:
Our diesel suppliers say all diesel & gas oil is winter grade from the start of October and that should.
Spot on!!
Ross.
The best additive that I am looking for is to clean up the system on a transit turbo diesel.
Retired Old ■■■■:
Can’t honestly see why you would need a lubricating additive in a diesel engine- after all, the fuel is OIL anyway. Or am I missing something?
You’re missing the facts
Diesel is not oil, it is a processed from crude oil, but it is refined into a SPIRIT and will actually break down oil.
Tar is oil in it’s most basic form and a drop of diesel will disolve tar.
Dave, apart from the Lucas upper cylinder cleaner, I have no recommendations, except that if the system is that clogged, maybe it needs new parts 
So what about this stannadyne stuff then?
newmercman:
Retired Old ■■■■:
Can’t honestly see why you would need a lubricating additive in a diesel engine- after all, the fuel is OIL anyway. Or am I missing something?You’re missing the facts
Diesel is not oil, it is a processed from crude oil, but it is refined into a SPIRIT and will actually break down oil.
Tar is oil in it’s most basic form and a drop of diesel will disolve tar.
Dave, apart from the Lucas upper cylinder cleaner, I have no recommendations, except that if the system is that clogged, maybe it needs new parts
No its not that bad.It is an old van with 250,000 miles on the clock and hasn’t been starting very well,but a new Varta battery has cured that problem.
Cheers Dave.
You could Just don’t tell VOSA it was me who put you up to it. always try my ex-employer’s trick of a couple of gallons of paraffin in the tank, Dave!
Just don’t tell VOSA it was me who suggested it. And no, I won’t buy you a new pump if it doesn’t work!
Retired Old ■■■■:
You could Just don’t tell VOSA it was me who put you up to it. always try my ex-employer’s trick of a couple of gallons of paraffin in the tank, Dave!
Just don’t tell VOSA it was me who suggested it. And no, I won’t buy you a new pump if it doesn’t work!
Haven’t got a problem with smoke Casey,its only a transit which doesn’t smoke and gets through the emission test no problem.It wasn’t staring very well,but since putting a new better quality battery on,its starting OK again. I remember the paraffin in the deisel in winter,especially in the old Atki’s.
Cheers Dave.
There you go. If it ain’t going too bad at that age maybe you should just think yourself lucky & enjoy it before sending it to it’s last resting place. Made a b*lls-up of my last post but I gather you’ve managed to decipher it!
Deisel is great when doing an oil change.drain the old oil then put bung back in and mix deisel with a little oil and put it in the engine where the oil goes and let it tick over for a while very good for for cleaning the engine out and repeat if necessary ,then add new oil
Breaks down all the gunge.