Alternative fuels

Raptordude · October 17, 2017

Hey guys, looking at getting a diesel for my next truck, but looking for some info first. My dad has a 7.3 powerstroke, and he can burn anything in it. Motor oil, trans fluid, veggie oil, kerosene, the list goes on. He can do all that without any modifications to the truck, and he has been for quite some time (255k and climbing on stock injectors)

He filters and de-waters before it goes in the tank.

My question is, can you do this at all with a common rail setup? The 7.3 has HEUI injection and robust injectors, where as the duramax is much more precise. I've always been told running alternative fuels, such as oil and trans fluid is a big no no in anything except a 7.3 and 12v Cummins. Is this true? Or can you get away with it if you filter and de-water properly?

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kstruckcountry · October 17, 2017

Even with heavy filtration, it's not going to like it.

The old 12v is the best common engine for that sort of thing.

swathdiver · October 17, 2017

Check out a White Continental Multi-Fuel engine. Might be right up your alley!

Raptordude · October 18, 2017

Even with heavy filtration, it's not going to like it.

The old 12v is the best common engine for that sort of thing.

That's kinda what I figured. I wonder if the 6.0 powerstroke could be modded to do it...the stock injectors wouldn't like it but it's HEUI injection like the 7.3.....hmm

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sdeeter19555 · October 18, 2017

Seen guys run "filtered" waste oil in a CR 5.9l Cummins...they replaced the injectors soon after. The electronic injectors are subject to extremely high pressure, mainly to curb noise, and any minute particles will rapidly wear the seats and cause leaky injectors. After they leak so much, the rail can't build enough pressure to even fire the engine. It doesn't seem to affect the CP3 in that generation of Cummins, but the injectors didn't fair so well.

Now, I'm not going to say I didn't consider running my own waste oil in my own CR 5.9l, but after reading the problems resulting from the use of waste oil in the Cummins CR, I shied away from the idea (even though I was going to filter through a Frantz).

Two other thoughts: you have to know the source of your waste oil to prevent getting antifreeze, brake fluid, brake cleaner, etc. Which have no lubricating qualities and auto transmission fluid has friction modifiers in it to make the clutches grab, which is something you might not want to subject a high pressure fuel rail to...

Those 6.0l Powerstroke are more problematic with oil than anything...UOAs that I read about showed that system shears even robust oil pretty fast, halving the oil change interval seemed to be the answer to that problem.

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