Newbie on Grease

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SupaJoeshs04's picture
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Joined: 04/29/2008

Hey guys I just installed a grease car kit a week and a half ago on my 89 f-250 7.3L and have since put about 600-700 miles on it, I had a few questions if anyone feels like helping.

First where do I get replacement filters? autozone didn't have them
but is there an equivelent I can find at local auto parts stores?

Second- I installed the kit closely to the directions but thought it better to add an extra fuel pump because the stock fuel filter on my truck is after the lift pump so if i would have tapped into the fuel line prior to the lift pump, the veg oil would have gone through the heated filter then filled the diesel filter up with veg oil before going into the IP. but the question is the return line to the veg oil on the install said to return it to the outlet side of the lift pump, wich i did however wouldnt it make more sense to T it into prior to the fuel pump so the fuel cycles through the heated filter?? rather than just pressurzing the whole circuit it it only going though the filter as fast as the engine uses the oil??

third- ive been burning the used motor oil ive had lying around in the kit, seems to work well anybody have any expirience doing this? only thing is it dosnt seem to mix with the veggie oil real good but im sure it does once it sloshes around the tank.

fourth- why would the kit include rubber lines when they work poorly with biodiesel?? I do intent to eventually start making biodiesel as a substitue for the regular diesel for startup and shut down.

Fifth- purge time for this truck? ive been going 25 seconds and timing it so it has another one or two minutes before i get to my parking spot and shut down

sixth and a little about the bugs im working on ideas here would help.
symptoms:
- has become a little harder to start on diesel, even beetween short run times where i dont even switch to grease so it cant be because of a short purge, i have added diesel kleen to the diesel and the oil
- sometimes when switching fuels it stutters a bit and even dies if at idle once it cut the whole way off and i had to switch to purge and still took awhile to crank on diesel to get restarted. but once i got moving i switched to oil again and ran good the whole way home. this is when the engine is cold, or during cold startups once it gets hot enough to switch to oil

- sometimes after extended highway operation, 100 miles plus it will idle for a bit in traffic then begin to idle rough and have trouble accelerating again and is usually fine once back upto speed but at times will loose a little power and pick back up, I dont think it is the filter because it only happens after being run for an extended period, and runs good next time i switch over after being cold, and i thought oil would flow through the filter better when being warm and up at operating temp so long. my suspision was the tank not venting, it seems the valve on the access panel (40 gallon tank ) is only to let air out and when i open the cap sometimes it feels like the tank has an excess vacume, more than ive ever seen on a stock tank in any vehicle. what is up with the allen keybolt on the top of the fill cap? does the fitting in the access panel also let air in to relive a vacume?? my other thought is dirty injectors as it wasn't the easiest truck to start before the conversion.

anyways any thoughts would be of help sorry i wrote so much.

o yea and this is my first diesel I only got it a month ago and i am pretty mechanically inclined and good with all sorts of engines and understand diesels but it is my first so i may be overlooking somthing dumb. if so sorry about that too

o yea and ive seen people talk alot about sucking air but this shouldnt be an issue for me since i added an extra pump and it "pushes" the veg oil into the rest of the system right? the only two connections that could leak air are the one from the PEX to rubber line then rubber line to fuel pump right?? i have made sure these were tightened with engine hot.

and since someone will ask

my prefilter system involves a waterpump that p

SupaJoeshs04's picture
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Joined: 04/29/2008

update, seems to be running better now, probably just took some time to get all the air out of the lines

Phil's picture
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Joined: 05/28/2004

Congratulations, sounds like you solved your problem and are off to a flying start.

Just a few thoughts: filters are available from lots of online vendors, try googling the parts number. I've gotten them from associated diesel.com, or something like that.

The kit does (or did?) come with rubber lines. I thought they might have changed that, but if they did not you have to change them to run biodiesel. I have not been using biodiesel in the main tank - people seem to be having more problems with pure biodiesel than they do with WVO.

Every vehicle is different, but 25 seconds should be fine. It helps a lot to drive for a mile or two afer pruging to get every last drop out of the system.

On your filtering setup, many people find that pumping through a household water filter will cause a dirty filter to bypass, allowing dirty oil through. I use the filters, but only with gravity pressure.

SupaJoeshs04's picture
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Joined: 04/29/2008

thanks for the advice phil I will have to set up a gravity feed once i graduate and move back home

Phil's picture
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Joined: 05/28/2004

Are you sur you will be welcomed home with all that grease?

CDX825's picture
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Joined: 12/12/2007

The 7.3 IDI was not exactly the easiest to start anyway with the design of the heads. You may also have some burnt out glow plugs. You will want to do some research on cavitation. The 7.3 was prone to that. There is a whole section dedicated to that engine here http://www.thedieselstop.com/forums/
Great forum with lots of good people and good info.

SupaJoeshs04's picture
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Joined: 04/29/2008

I just replaced the glow plugs so thats probably not the cause, although some of the bullet connectores were missing the insulation. Today though i did notice that fuel was dripping from the stock fuel filter so that might account for some of that loss of power, ( I noticed it today when the engine was hot after it had sat a bit and was restarted, the main connection tot he alternator turned out to be grounding out so i noticed while investigating that) makes sense cause i never saw it leaking when engine was cooler, and I alway had power then. but could this allow air in and cause hard starting?? I will put a new fuel filter on tommorow and find out i suppose, meanwhile will look into cavitation

bodycounter's picture
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Joined: 12/02/2005

I just have a couple of things to say.

1. SupaJoe, you seem to have done a good amount of research on your system and I congratulate you on that. Its a refreshing change from some of the people that come on here with new systems and just go H E L P !!!!!

2. More importantly, please dont burn the used motor oil. It might burn ok but what you are doing to the environment by burning that stuff is very toxic. Theres a lot of nasty byproducts in there that dont burn up, they just soot out and then they get into the breathing air. Please just recycle the used motor oil. If i remember correctly, any place that does oil changes is required by law to take up to 5 gllons per day from the general public for free.

It wont save you that much on your grease "bill" but it is really bad pollutionwise.

[Coming off my soapbox]

Welcome to the greasy world. Keep on truckin

Lee

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Novelty+Economy+Environment= NEE.....
I am a Knight that says NEE
__________________________________________
NoName - 2002 Jetta TDI - Greasecar setup - RC2 - Rocki Mod

chad4vw's picture
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Joined: 05/18/2007

Good call Lee....I think it would also be much better to just recycle the old motor oil....I actually have had alot of people ask me why I am burning old WVO, saying it is horrible for the environment....I respond that it is far better than diesel, but I really don't know the exact details....Do you happen to know how much better WVO is than diesel as far as pollution goes????.... - chad4vw-

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" Could someone please pass the pickled pigs feet "

peaber's picture
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Joined: 06/16/2006

http://www.greasecar.com/tech.cfm

http://www.nols.edu/bus/bus_veggie.shtml

http://www.plantdrive.com/html/emissions.html

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1994 Chev Suburban 6.5 diesel. Purchased with 162,000 miles. Installed GreaseCar kit. Now has 208,000 miles. Relocated PMD to air filter box.

"My grandfather rode a horse. My father drove a car. I flew a jet-plane. My son will ride a horse."

SupaJoeshs04's picture
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Joined: 04/29/2008

but the shop closest to me burns their used motor oil in their oil furnace to heat the shop in winter, dont see how thats any better than the high heat and pressure combustion u get in a diesel?