Bio-Diesel 2.0 D4D

[Gogarty]

Hi, I want to run bio-diesel in my avensis. It's a 2.0 2008 model. I know some people are just against bio but please leave any bias aside. Can the seals in the pumps, injectors and fuel lines stand up to bio? Have you heard any horror stories? Thank you very much

Kevin

[Jamesbelfast]

I take it when you refer to bio-diesel you mean the stuff suppied via the pumps at some filling stations

In all honesty I have never heard of any horror stories regarding the use of such in Toyotas but I have heard of problems relating to cars from the VAG group and some French cars. It would seem the fuel lines and pump seals on some cars ain't up to the job and begin to deteriorate over time.

No doubt Toyota themsleves should be able to give deinitive advice on the matter.:)

See the link below for further information where they seem to advocate seeking written information from your cars manufacturer.

http://www.biodieselfillingstations.co.uk/approvals.htm

[Gogarty]

I take it when you refer to bio-diesel you mean the stuff suppied via the pumps at some filling stations

In all honesty I have never heard of any horror stories regarding the use of such in Toyotas but I have heard of problems relating to cars from the VAG group and some French cars. It would seem the fuel lines and pump seals on some cars ain't up to the job and begin to deteriorate over time.

No doubt Toyota themsleves should be able to give deinitive advice on the matter.:)

See the link below for further information where they seem to advocate seeking written information from your cars manufacturer.

http://www.biodieselfillingstations.co.uk/approvals.htm

Thanks for the response, I was hoping to use my own fuel, being 17, having little money and all the rest. I'll try that though thanks

[cmia]

you wont be able to run 100% bios diesel,

you may get away with with a 40% mix.

try at your own risk

[superowlett]

Hi, I want to run bio-diesel in my avensis. It's a 2.0 2008 model. I know some people are just against bio but please leave any bias aside. Can the seals in the pumps, injectors and fuel lines stand up to bio? Have you heard any horror stories? Thank you very much

Kevin

I asked Mr T about this and they didn't recommend it as it's apparently unregulated and prone to clogging up the engine with deposits.

I justify using regular diesel with the fact that it does more to the gallon than my petrol car can manage, and emissions are lower.

We need more info on bio-diesel as I would gladly use it too if it were proved adequate, but like you, don't want to make an expensive mistake.

[Norman Fraser]

Kevin, from what I can gather is that the Bio-Diesel is just cleaning up the gunk left by regular diesel, after its clean it should be all clear, Cheers Norm.

[FROSTYBALLS]

Unfortunately Kevin was only a member for a short period and last visited the club almost 12 years ago. So they won't see your reply.

[Cyker]

Yeah that is some impressive necro-threading!

It's worth knowing tho', although with the demonization of diesels probably not very applicable for much longer...

Unlike ethanol, biodiesel is close enough to diesel that almost any diesel engine can use it straight without risk to seals etc., and it's better for injectors and the fuel pump as it has higher lubricity than mineral diesel, esp. ULSD. However, it will clean out the fuel lines and probably block up the fuel filter very quickly, esp. on an old diesel, so will likely need to change the fuel filter a few times until all the years of deposits and guck are cleaned out.

After that, should run fine, even better since the fuel system has been cleaned out!

Only other caveat is it might make the car fail its MOT emissions test as, while biodiesel is lower in particulates, co, hc etc., it usually has a lot higher NOx for reasons I forget.

 

[yossarian247]

12 hours ago, Cyker said:

 

Only other caveat is it might make the car fail its MOT emissions test as, while biodiesel is lower in particulates, co, hc etc., it usually has a lot higher NOx for reasons I forget.

 

Diesels still only have to pass a 'smoke test' for the UK MOT not a full emissions test, so increased NOx shouldn't be a problem as far as the MOT goes.

[Cyker]

Oh okay, I thought they tested other stuff too as they always used to print the various emissions on the MOT certificate (Back when they gave us actual MOT certificates still...!)

That's kinda dumb tho' as it suggests you could remove the catalytic converter from a diesel and it'd still pass the MOT...!?

[yossarian247]

47 minutes ago, Cyker said:

Oh okay, I thought they tested other stuff too as they always used to print the various emissions on the MOT certificate (Back when they gave us actual MOT certificates still...!)

That's kinda dumb tho' as it suggests you could remove the catalytic converter from a diesel and it'd still pass the MOT...!?

I think you're thinking of the petrol emissions test results? All the diesel MOT test printouts show is the smoke reading (or readings if they had to do more than one to get a pass) and sometimes the engine oil temperature.

It is very much a 'lowest common denominator' test, dating back to the days when the only issue with diesel emissions was considered to be black smoke. You could indeed remove the cat and it would still pass. I once did exactly that with a Citroen Xantia turbo diesel. The MOT smoke emissions results were slightly lower with the cat removed, and it gained about 2 MPG! Hence why a visual inspection for the presence of a cat was included in the MOT test a few years ago.

[Cyker]

I'll have to see if I still have any of them (Unlikely as I usually give all that paperwork to the new owner), but I swear it had listings for HCs and CO and stuff on the paperwork! Then again that was a fairly long time ago and I have lost many marbles over the years so could very easily be mistaken!  Maybe it got printed out as it's measured anyway, but isn't taken into account??

[yossarian247]

I've been taking various diesels for MOT tests fairly regularly since the mid-1990s and I've honestly never seen anything measured other than smoke!

[Devon Aygo]

Diesel test is still smoke based but it has become far stricter over time:

Pre 2008 cars

Non turbo 2.5 ppm

Turbo 3.0 ppm

2008-2014

All types 1.5 ppm or plate value whichever is lower

2014 on

0.7 ppm or plate value whichever is lower

Since 2008 manufacturers were required to list the allowable ppm figure on the car also:

For vehicles first used on or after 1 July 2008, you must test to the plate value (where present). On some vehicles, this is higher than the default value.

You must also give a major fault if you:

• can see smoke of any colour coming from the exhaust
• find evidence that the diesel particulate filter has been tampered with