Hooray for Diesel Purge!

[roni024]

I was having some trouble with my 1998 Jetta TDI recently with HARD cold starts, smoke at startup, poor response, and rough idle. The car has 220k on it, and I've seen posts about running Diesel Purge through the fuel system of to clean the injection pump and injectors.

I ran 2 cans of LiquiMoly Diesel Purge (cost $9 each at NAPA) through the car last night, and I have to tell you, it runs 90% better now! The car cranked right up this morning (25degF) with NO SMOKE, the response is 3X better, and the rough idle is negligible now. I'm so impressed that I just bought 2 more cans today to purge with tonight to see how much more improvement I can get.

If anyone is having issues like I had with a high mileage TDI, a good fuel system cleaning is THE way to go!

 

[30_Yr_Dsl_Veteran]

If you had used FUEL POWER additive each and every tankful, you would not have gotten to this point in the 1st place!

 

[apaustin]

How much fuel was in the tank when you added the 2 cans? How long did you run it and did you run it hard or normal?

 

[FordGuy100]

I think you are supposed to have it pull from the can itself while running. Find the hose from the tank to the filter (going towards IP), unhook, but a similar hose onto the filter and run it into the can, then let it run. The only drawback to this would be not all of the diesel purge would get burnt, some of it would make its way past the injectors and ultimately back into the tank. But then again it would just get burnt eventually.

 

[vanbcguy]

Yup, to do is to right you run both the supply and return lines in to the can, then run the engine directly from that. Good idea to use a small disposal filter too just in case any wind borne junk finds its way in there. Run the engine from the can till it is all gone. Marvel at how long it takes your engine to consume that little fuel!

 

[Abacus]

Now add some 2 cycle oil to every tank to keep it lubed up.

 

[MarsBar]

Abacus -- what mix type for the 2-cycle: 40:1, 50:1, or does it not even matter?

 

[Abacus]

I add it at 128:1 and the Power Service at 256:1. Basically it's 1 oz ashless TC-W3 2 cycle oil (from Wal-Mart, I buy the gallon jug for $12.18) per gallon of diesel fuel and 1/2 oz Power Service per gallon of diesel.

Using this has greatly helped finicky starting cars over time, helped clean the inside of my wife's injection pump, and kept my own injection pump going to over 440,000 miles.

I have zero empirical data to back up why I use it, so please take it for what it's worth. It's worked great for me, however, and I'll keep using it.

 

[0die]

I got a magic mix or PS, boicide and 2 cycle oil....

I just kinda mix a random blend into an old water bottle and add a few oz each fill up...when I remember to..lol

 

[curtludwig]

A neighbor gave me some bottles of old motor oil that are still sealed but are missing the label. I've been putting a quart at a time through the Jetta, maybe 1 quart every other month. Doesn't seem to hurt anything, the oil gets disposed of and I get 10 or 12 miles of free driving each time I do it.

 

[apaustin]

I started using the Abacus TC-W3 treatment and it was my perception that the engine took a little while to adjust. Now I'm pretty religious about it.

 

[30_Yr_Dsl_Veteran]

.the engine took a little while to adjust.

That's like: your wife took a while to adjust to you hitting her in the head with a hammer everyday!

 

[Abacus]

The wife's B4 took 4-6 tanks but gradually started easier and easier. Now it starts with just a touch of the key in any temperature. When I resealed the IP I could see where rust had been but it wasn't present any longer. When I resealed mine at 386k it still looked new inside.

 

[gfnetadmin]

Could anyone share their setup for running Diesel Purge? The supply side I've read is 8mm ID (~5/16), return looks a little smaller? 5/16" hose splice for the supply, smaller one for return? Is clear plastic or vinyl hose OK to use?

 

[Vince Waldon]

"Diesel purge setup" is actually not a bad search term, lots of threads, here's one of the bigger ones:

http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=87948

 

[gfnetadmin]

Thank you, I wasn't sure about using splices or tubing that weren't designed for fuel applications.

 

[Abacus]

Could anyone share their setup for running Diesel Purge? The supply side I've read is 8mm ID (~5/16), return looks a little smaller? 5/16" hose splice for the supply, smaller one for return? Is clear plastic or vinyl hose OK to use?

No, the plastic or vinyl hose will melt with the high temperatures generated. This is my setup, used with a glass bottle. I can get the sizes off the piping when I'm out in the garage later.

 

[gfnetadmin]

I picked up a two pack of 5/16" fuel line splices at Napa last night, they're metal, not plastic, a little long, 2 1/2". Have a spare set of fuel lines from filter to pump, seemed OK for the supply side, maybe a little too big for the return. Thought I'd just use plastic fuel line into glass jar.

 

[ToddA1]

I’ve used cheap hardware store vinyl, with no issues. I’ve sucked straight from the can and also drilled holes in a Gatorade cap and used the plastic bottle. It doesn’t get that hot, where you’ll have an issue.

-Todd

 

[IndigoBlueWagon]

Plastic vinyl hose works fine on rotary pump cars. On PDs, not so much. Fuel gets too hot.

 

[Vince Waldon]

Good point; because of this PDs have a fuel cooler in the return line to the fuel tank, in part to prevent damage to the sender/lift pump.

Not a concern for the OP, but threads get read by many.