Older Diesels and newer low-sulfer fuel
 

So I was telling a buddy of mine about looking for an old Cummins and he said that if I bought one I'd have the engine refitted with new fittings/gaskets etc because the new low-sulfer diesel breaks down the old rubber.

True?

NY

Yes and no. Ulsd came out around 2005 and most of the problems relating to the change were fixed around the same time. If you plan on using bio then yes there may be a problem concerning rubber parts in the fuel system, but otherwise probably not.

Thanks for the reply W93. So, is there a fix for engines that you want to run on all fuels, including alternative fuels?

NY

It really just depends on the truck. I know from experience that bio blended fuel (<5%) will mess up the orings in the 7.3 injectors and some of the seals in the 1st gen cummins ve pump if they haven't ever been replaced . Its not as bad as it sounds. Like I said, its really not a problem now, anything that could be torn up by usld or some of the bio blends got torn up and fixed a couple years after that fuels introduction. Nothing to worry about unless you get a truck that was parked before all that.:tu:

My .02 My understanding of Ulsd is that it doesn't have the same lubrication properties as previous blends which the VE pumps require. I found out the hard way when I needed to get my pump rebuilt. Since then I've been adding some form of fuel treatment or a pint of low ash 2 cycle oil per fill.

so far so good!

Good information !
 

Thanks for the replies, fellas !

NY