Free Ford Tempo Diesel and GMC Diesel Pick up

[suspectnumber961]

49 is what I got with the 86 Escort diesel. Might try a little acetone to reduce the smoke? Maybe DieselKleen w/Cetane?

[vacationtime247]

^ It doesn't smoke! Seriously, ever! Know I've seen a few video's where they do. Guess if it ever does, I'll put a bumper sticker on the back saying, 'Smoking the competition'. lol
VT247

[Christ]

If it ever smokes, rebuild a set of injectors using a $50 home made pop tester, buy a $100 bosch timing tool kit from eBay, and fix it. Or just dial back the fuel screw and enjoy slightly less power.

[MetroMPG]

~50 mpg from a "free" beater = congratulations!

[david85]

Never tried the acetone trick since that would reduce lubricity of the fuel (truckers used to use gasoline as an antigel back in the day, but thats not a good idea with today's fuel either). I run stanadyne supplement in my truck and tried automatic transmission fluid on occasion with good results. The ATF cured a stall on decel condition twice before eventually having the pump rebuilt (and upgraded).

You can run an additive like diesel kleen, stanadyne, howes, etc. if you want, but based on your results, you have a mint engine and fuel system in there since you are basically getting the exact results that car should be getting. Just take good care of it. A supplement won't hurt and offers a little extra protection from fuel contamination. Ford diesel trucks came from factory with a water separator in 1986, but I'm not sure if ford did that for their cars. If it doesn't have one, you might consider adding it.

At this point, I wouldn't even bother doing anything with the pump seal unless it starts leaking again.

If you want to be ambitious, you can try advancing the timing slightly, since ultra low sulfur diesel doesn't explode the same way as the old 'unskimmed' stuff they used back in 1986. Just scribe mark the current location of the pump if you decide to tamper with anything and go very slow with any adjustments because those are some great numbers by any stretch!

[usergone]

Advancing the timing is a way to eek out a little more efficiency. The problem is when you set it too far forward. Instead of pinging like a gas engine (well, it always pings but it would ping more) you would have a head gasket job in the near future.

One of the great things about a diesel engine is that you can run many many more alternative fuels than with a gas engine. A gas engine can run any fuel that readily vaporizes. A diesel engine can run any fuel that is somewhat lubricative and is not too thick to pump. IE, ATF, veggy, WMO, bio... you get the point. (see signature). Just, as you will read most places talking about it, filtration is the most important part. You could set up a simple series filter system or just jury rig one up to try the oil you get from your next oil change. With your arsenal of cars, you could cut your fuel usage quite dramatically just from oil changes

However, the one thing I have noticed is that my diesel does NOT like to be operated cold, then shut down before getting warm. If I make a run that is that short, I take a gasser.

[david85]

Originally Posted by thecheese429

Advancing the timing is a way to eek out a little more efficiency. The problem is when you set it too far forward. Instead of pinging like a gas engine (well, it always pings but it would ping more) you would have a head gasket job in the near future.

One of the great things about a diesel engine is that you can run many many more alternative fuels than with a gas engine. A gas engine can run any fuel that readily vaporizes. A diesel engine can run any fuel that is somewhat lubricative and is not too thick to pump. IE, ATF, veggy, WMO, bio... you get the point. (see signature). Just, as you will read most places talking about it, filtration is the most important part. You could set up a simple series filter system or just jury rig one up to try the oil you get from your next oil change. With your arsenal of cars, you could cut your fuel usage quite dramatically just from oil changes

However, the one thing I have noticed is that my diesel does NOT like to be operated cold, then shut down before getting warm. If I make a run that is that short, I take a gasser.

I agree with all of that^

The good news about the smaller diesels like what they put in the tempo, is they generally tend to get up to temperature pretty quick thanks to their light weight and aluminum head. I've noticed that with our mitsubishi driven diesel ranger too. I was choked when I saw how quickly that thing warms up even in the winter compared to my truck LOL.

I try as much as possible to avoid driving my F250 for short trips where it barely can reach operating temperature. Long distance on the highway is where it wants to be.

I've ran up to 50% waste engine oil/used ATF in my truck once and it made for a noticeable improvement in power and low end torque. I didn't run it long enough to draw any solid conclusions on MPGs, but since the BTUs per gallon are higher, it stands to reason that it should go further on a single tank. It didn't have much tendency to smoke any worse either.

I was only using a 10 micron filter however, and wasn't comfortable running it for longer periods with such inadequate filtration. Most guys have multi-stage filtering that starts at 10, then ends at 1 micron. An inline magnet, and water separator are also recommended. I just never got around to making a proper system like that, and my pump was on warranty at the time so I didn't want to push my luck.

[vacationtime247]

Been using a coffee filter to strain the oil now. About as redneck as I could make it and still have it work. On my third tank now. When it comes time to fill up again, I'll be making a 50/50 mix of oil & tranny fluid with pump diesel. Have a big black oil tub and a large full oil drain pan full of waste oil / tranny fluid. Filter those into 4 cleaned clear white detergent tubs scavenged from a nursing home. Fill them 1/2 full of diesel and add the recycled fluids. Test it and see how it works. Not so ambitious that I'm going for fully recycled waste oil......yet.
VT247

[david85]

So how does it run on that chocolate flavoured diesel? LOL

Any change in power or MPGs?

[usergone]

I'm not ambitious enough to try straight oil either - too thick IMO. I have run thicker blends but in conjunction with some short trips I got a ton of carbon caked onto the injectors. If I had a way to reliably heat the oil to coolant temp, I would probably be more willing. In other words, as soon as I build the fuel heater