Monday, October 20, 2008

Longevity of Diesel Engines


We all know that diesel engines can log hundreds of thousands of miles, often outliving the body of the vehicle. But how to ensure that kind of longevity for your engine? As the colder weather sets in, it's time to pay good attention to your engine temps before switching over to WVO; also remember to backflush well and drive on diesel before shutting down for the day.

With regard to keeping your engine happy, here's an interesting piece that I found at www.mbz.org.

Diesel Longevity

If there is any "secret" to what I'm doing, it's that well-designed diesel engines need only clean fuel and to be run in their optimal temperature range regularly and they will deliver LONG trouble-free service, so long as the oil/filters of suitable quality are changed at prudent intervals. When they are abused (run for short intervals and at low speeds), even extraordinary maintenance will not offset the destructive consequences and the engines WILL deteriorate and at some point they will fail not from poor design, but from poor application.

There are many thousands of diesel engines that have balked at the abuse their owners have subjected them to that could be revived, but maintenance alone WILL not do the job. They MUST also be driven as they were designed to be driven or they will prematurely fail, the victim of inappropriate use. There are also some engines out there that have gone over the edge and will NOT be successfully revived. Fortunately for us [diesel enthusiasts], the bulk of the mechanics working on these machines (conditioned by the gasoline car maintenance that comprises the vast majority of their experience) will condemn almost all of these cars, allowing us to buy them at bargain prices and restore the majority of them to proper function.

- Marshall Booth, PhD.

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