1996 and a 1999 running WVO- differences??
 

I live in NJ and have had a 1996 E300 for 2 years. In the summer months I run it on straight WVO. No modifications whatsoever. I just dump my filtered WVO in the fuel tank and she drives fine. In the fall I start mixing it with diesel. Usually around 75% WVO and 25% diesel as long as it's above 40* or so. When it get's to the winter time I run it with 75% diesel and 25% WVO. I have had absolutely no issues with it running and driving except she's a little unhappy when I start her up without the block heater. I recently replaced the fuel injectors just for the hell of it and they didn't look too bad. Same with the glow plugs. I just purchased a 1999 because I've wanted the Turbo version of the same car.

I'm planning on doing the same thing with the 1999. Just to test the waters I put about 4 gallons of WVO in the tank (half full of diesel) and she starts idles runs fine, but when I drive I notice the turbo not spooling as fast as when it was one straight diesel. Has anyone else had experience with the 98 or 99's?

Thanks.

I answered my own question. I was replacing my air filter and accidentally disconnected the small gray vacuum line under the box. I was losing boost as a result. The car runs perfectly on mixed WVO at 40* tonight so I should be good to go.

How's the blending going ? What is cool about these cars is they have a good built in fuel heater that is a thermostat. It would be cool to rig that so it stays open all the time and you get free heat. Anyone ever done that?

That is going to be my first mod to mine if no one buys my 1999. I will really miss greasing .

We didn't have a very cold winter this year here in NJ. I always had a minimum of 4 gallons of WVO throughout the winter. As long as it's above 60* I've been running it half diesel and half WVO. Now that it's getting in the 80's, I've been running it on almost all WVO with no problems at all. The hotter outside...the easier it is for me to drive.

How often do you have to replace the fuel filter?

I change the stock fuel filter when I notice some sort of drag on the engine. Gone about 7k miles on it so far, and still runs great.