Geomorph
Veteran Member
I posted this in someone's TDI101 fuel filter question but I wanted to start a new thread specific to this question.
The fuel filter I changed in December on my 05 Golf (PD) had black fuel drain out of it. It turns out my in-tank lift pump was dead as well, so when I changed that out last month, I got to see the inside of my fuel tank. It was coated in black stuff like what I could see inside the fuel filter hole. Also, there were some drops of brown water inside of the dead lift pump that I noticed when I emptied the fuel out of it into a bucket.
I have been running the car on diesel with 5% biodiesel for the last year and have also included 4oz of Stanadyne Performance formula with every fill up for about two years. That stuff is supposed to take care of water by making it separate out easier in the fuel filter, but now I am wondering if it just makes it separate out easier into the fuel tank. In either event, I was also driving around for probably 3,000 miles, at least, with a dead lift pump. I think I read somewhere that a dead lift pump situation may contribute to excessive heating of the fuel (I'm not sure about this last one). Here is a website that I found that discusses the issues of heat and its effect on creating asphaltenes:
http://fuelschool.blogspot.com/2009/...l-filters.html
For comparison, I also recently changed the fuel filter and inspected the inside of my 02 Beetle (VE) fuel tank. The fuel filter looked much cleaner than the PD filter and the fuel tank looked clean. The tank was white-ish inside, no black deposits. The fuel filter was about the same age as the Golf filter and both cars had been run on the same fuel: B5 plus Stanadyne. So I'm thinking that my PD car heated the fuel a lot more than VE car creating the asphaltene issue. Having a dead lift pump in the PD might also have contributed to the issue.
My questions are:
Should I try to clean out my PD fuel tank by wiping it down or putting some chemical in the tank (any suggestions)?
Does it matter if I do nothing? Will the fuel filter just take care of it?
Will this stuff dissolve back into the fuel and maybe clean itself up with time now that I might have less of a heat issue (working lift pump in the tank now)?
Right now I have Chevron fuel with TechronD in the tank. Any insight appreciated. Thanks.
The fuel filter I changed in December on my 05 Golf (PD) had black fuel drain out of it. It turns out my in-tank lift pump was dead as well, so when I changed that out last month, I got to see the inside of my fuel tank. It was coated in black stuff like what I could see inside the fuel filter hole. Also, there were some drops of brown water inside of the dead lift pump that I noticed when I emptied the fuel out of it into a bucket.
I have been running the car on diesel with 5% biodiesel for the last year and have also included 4oz of Stanadyne Performance formula with every fill up for about two years. That stuff is supposed to take care of water by making it separate out easier in the fuel filter, but now I am wondering if it just makes it separate out easier into the fuel tank. In either event, I was also driving around for probably 3,000 miles, at least, with a dead lift pump. I think I read somewhere that a dead lift pump situation may contribute to excessive heating of the fuel (I'm not sure about this last one). Here is a website that I found that discusses the issues of heat and its effect on creating asphaltenes:
http://fuelschool.blogspot.com/2009/...l-filters.html
For comparison, I also recently changed the fuel filter and inspected the inside of my 02 Beetle (VE) fuel tank. The fuel filter looked much cleaner than the PD filter and the fuel tank looked clean. The tank was white-ish inside, no black deposits. The fuel filter was about the same age as the Golf filter and both cars had been run on the same fuel: B5 plus Stanadyne. So I'm thinking that my PD car heated the fuel a lot more than VE car creating the asphaltene issue. Having a dead lift pump in the PD might also have contributed to the issue.
My questions are:
Should I try to clean out my PD fuel tank by wiping it down or putting some chemical in the tank (any suggestions)?
Does it matter if I do nothing? Will the fuel filter just take care of it?
Will this stuff dissolve back into the fuel and maybe clean itself up with time now that I might have less of a heat issue (working lift pump in the tank now)?
Right now I have Chevron fuel with TechronD in the tank. Any insight appreciated. Thanks.