Have I Messed Up My Car With B100 Biodiesel?

[spyizme]

hello guys,

i'm a noob and i'm going to try to keep this story short and simple. I went on weekend holiday and left my car (Toyota Avensis 2.0 D4D Diesel 2004) with my brother. Someone told him to goto a local station where they sell cheap B100 bio-diesel and it should work fine with the car.

My problem is that since I've returned, although the car seems to be running okay, its gone only slightly sluggish and also my local garage said that this toyota avensis model can't handle the bio-diesel and there is a risk of damaging the injectors, diesel pump etc.

Could anyone pls tell me if this is the case???

Also is there anyone who has a Toyota Avensis 2004 or newer that knows it working okay?

thanks so much.

bio4me

[Raistlin]

Biodiesel can be used in its pure form (B100), but may require certain engine modifications to avoid maintenance and performance problems.

Blending B100 with petroleum diesel may be accomplished by:

Mixing in tanks at manufacturing point prior to delivery to tanker truck

Splash mixing in the tanker truck (adding specific percentages of Biodiesel and petroleum diesel)

In-line mixing, two components arrive at tanker truck simultaneously.

Metered pump mixing, petroleum diesel and Biodiesel meters are set to X total volume, transfer pump pulls from two points and mix is complete on leaving pump.

Biodiesel may contain small but problematic quantities of water. Although it is not miscible with water, it is, like ethanol, hygroscopic (absorbs water from atmospheric moisture).

One of the reasons biodiesel can absorb water is the persistence of mono and diglycerides left over from an incomplete reaction.

These molecules can act as an emulsifier, allowing water to mix with the biodiesel.

In addition, there may be water that is residual to processing or resulting from storage tank condensation. The presence of water is a problem because:

Water reduces the heat of combustion of the bulk fuel. This means more smoke, harder starting, less power.

Water causes corrosion of vital fuel system components: fuel pumps, injector pumps, fuel lines, etc.

Water & microbes cause the paper element filters in the system to fail (rot), which in turn results in premature failure of the fuel pump due to ingestion of large particles.

Water freezes to form ice crystals near 0 °C (32 °F). These crystals provide sites for nucleation and accelerate the gelling of the residual fuel.

Water accelerates the growth of microbe colonies, which can plug up a fuel system.

Biodiesel users who have heated fuel tanks therefore face a year-round microbe problem.

Additionally, water can cause pitting in the pistons on a diesel engine.

[Jamesbelfast]

Any form of so-called bio diesel should not be used in modern diesels unless the manufacturer expressly says so in writing and even those that do specify exactly what standard. So the moral of the story is - if in doubt stay away from the stuff. And anyone who tried to run a Hdi diesel engine on veggie oil is just palin crazy in my opinion. First thing I would do in this case is get a couple of samples of the fuel sold - send one to weights and measures and hold one for evidence. Sadly there are people out there selling cheap diesel which has been contaminated in many ways.

In the meantime if you have any doubts have the fuel system drained and filters changed and hope for the best - sure your brother can pay for it.:)