L275 alternative fuel?

[hav24wheel]

I have a 84 L275. Its a 3 cylinder diesel. I was wondering if its ok to run different types of petroleum in the fuel tank as opposed to Diesel. Would it hurt it to run a blend of used ATF and diesel? Or possably used motor oil and Diesel? I know that some diesels will run on used ATF(ran through a filter first of course). Will it hurt this motor?

 

[eserv]

If you absolutely couldn't get diesel fuel and it was a matter of life or death I guess you could use almost anything in there that would burn. If you want to get good service life out of your tractor with a minimum of headaches you will use the proper fuel. Adding a little CLEAN atf to your fuel periodically is probably good as it should increase the lubricity of the fuel some. I honestly don't think it is necessary though. Putting used motor oil in there would be a bad idea.

 

[hav24wheel]

I know its not recommend, I'm just wondering if it will cause problems running it in there.

 

[eserv]

Why don't you try it and let us know?

 

[hav24wheel]

Well that's just what I'm going to do. I've ran used ATF in old pickups before, so I really don't see this beein much different.

 

[Theekillerbee]

I don't really think you'll have an issue. Heck, if you really want to run the clean stuff, run JP4 through the system! All a jet engine is is a fancy diesel motor. The original diesel motor was designed to run on peanut oil! I'm sure any oil based low volatility product would "fire" just fine in the motor. All you need is a fuel that will fire upon compression. That is why you can dump veggie oil into the system without any type of distilling and your motor will run just fine. Now you might ruin some seals in the fuel system with the alternative fuels, but the motor will run. Some fuels have more cetane value than others, so there will be a power difference, but it should run just fine. I'm curious to hear about your results.

 

[hav24wheel]

Well there was about 1/2 a gallon of diesel left in the tank, and I put about 17 qts of used ATF I drained out of my pickup into a clean pan, pored it into the tank after I ran it through a screan filter. The tractor has been siting outside (around 0*), I plugged in the block heater for an hour. And it started right up, let it run tell it warmed up and it seemed to run the same. I didn't have to do any work with it, so I'll leave it sit tell I get some snow to move.....

 

[nsmitchell]

I've been running jet fuel for years in all of my tractors and those of my neighbours. I mix it 1 part jet to 2 parts regular diesel or less. The additives in the jet fuel make it very suitable for winter operation ( -46 C earlier this week). I get the fuel for free from aircraft that have their fuel dripped and cannot be reused. It's better than paying for disposal fees.

 

[ipz2222]

24wheel.. I own a transmission shop and have been experimenting with used atf for 5 years. Do not put that in your tractor or diesel truck without some very fine filtereing. I let my fluid sit at least 1 mth, drain the top 90 % offf thrugh a fuel filter, let it sit again and then thru another fuel filter and never mix it for more than 50,50.

 

[hav24wheel]

Well, the fluid did sit for about a month before I decided to put it in the tractor, but I have it more than 50/50 right now...... Is there a issue that comes up with it more than 50/50 that you know of?

 

[eserv]

I like my diesel engines too much to be burning shit in them. stick to something that was a least formulated as a fuel. some of these other oils might work but in the long run I doubt you'll save any money even if the "fuel" is free

 

[ipz2222]

24, 50/50 is the highest ration I've tried. This was in my 7.3 f250. No problems except smoke.

 

[hav24wheel]

Well I had a chance to run it this weekend. It started right up. I think it actually starts easier with the ATF in it. The power seemed to be the same, but it did let off a bit more smoke when working it hard, but it wasn't anything too crazy. It is mixed at about 4 qts of atf to 1 qt diesel. I'm going to run this tank full through and see how it does.

 

[hav24wheel]

L275 alternative fuel UPDATE

I actually got to work the tractor by movin some snow. It seems that it has more power now. I don't know if its just because its cleaning up the injectors and what not or just the fuel. But I was able to move snow in top gear. I could put the blade down and actually start out in top gear. This summer it had a hard time movin itself in top gear.

 

[smog]

Well I had a chance to run it this weekend. It started right up. I think it actually starts easier with the ATF in it. The power seemed to be the same, but it did let off a bit more smoke when working it hard, but it wasn't anything too crazy. It is mixed at about 4 qts of atf to 1 qt diesel. I'm going to run this tank full through and see how it does.

this is about what I burn in mine this summer. I've been doing it in my VW TDI for a long time taking the injectors out once a year expecting to find something but never had any problem.

anyway, there's a fuel filter right before the injection pump to stop any solid contamination.