VO conversion - engine failure
 

I have posted a while ago that my car, an 84 300SD with a VO conversion kit would no longer start (the thread was lost in the hard drive crash last month). I tried a few things that I will post later but was unsuccessful in my attempts. I'm getting to the point that I want to know what killed my car. If it can be fixed along the way that's a bonus.

I have just the last few days found 3 more cars with similar symptoms as mine had when it was still running. The symptoms were:
- poor idle or not able to idle on diesel (fine, even good on VO)
- white smoke (only confirmed in one other car)
- severe loss of power on diesel (probably on VO, too, but much less so it seemed great in comparison)

The cars are 300SDs: 84 (mine, Greasecar, self-installed), 82 (home-made conversion), 83 (Greasecar, by authorized Greasecar installer) and a 300D wagon (around 82, Greasel). The wagon died some time during the summer.

I have thought for a while that the Greasecar kits don't supply a lot of heat for the engine to be ok in the long run with the temperatures in Massachusetts and could cause trouble because of it in the long run. Greasel is worse from looking at the parts of their system. I don't know what temperature the fuel actually gets to but the heat exchange system doesn't look beefy enough on either system.

Does anyone have similar experience or know of other cases? Or maybe insights as to what could be the cause and/or the fuel heating issue described above?

What sort of time frames have these vehicle been operated on WVO and these kits.....basicly how long in time and how many miles?

Things I have done to the car
 

Here's a list of things that I have done or had done to the car:

Shop:
new glowplugs
bench tested all injectors, replaced #1 because of unsatisfactory spray pattern, other 4 were good
valve adjustment

myself:
restored stock fuel system configuration - diesel only
all clear fuel hoses to see air - small leaks but no major bubbles
installed pressure gauge between fuel filter and IP - around 6-8 psi fuel pressure
changed fuel and air filters
inspected fuel screen in tank - ok
drained tank and filled with fresh diesel (not full, around 2-3 gallons)
changed hand primer pump on lift pump
removed and cleaned lift pump (before fuel pressure reading above)
inspected and cleaned IP overflow valve - ok

This engine is fairly new, it is a 3 year old factory replacement engine, installed by PO (I have the car since Jul. 2004). It's been leaking some oil into the driveway as a testimony to poor installation and the engine oil had gotten alarmingly low at some point before I noticed it. The oil pressure was always ok, though.

Time and milage these vehicle were used on WVO is important for this reason.....500 mils and you have poor filtering issues...50,000 miles you might have mechanical issues

The owner of the 83SD claims 12,000 miles, conversion about 1 year ago. Mileage of engine around 170K.

I'm not sure about my car because the odometer never worked while I had it. Best guess: 15-20,000 miles, perhaps 10-15,000 actually on VO. Conversion in Oct. 2004. Engine is new 3 years ago, perhaps 50-60K on engine but really unknown.

The 82 SD is relatively relatively new conversion, around May-June 2005. Definitely doesn't get the fuel hot. 200K miles.

No idea about miles on the Greasel wagon, conversion was done about a year before it died.

OK.. now we have the critical info.....you'll have a lot of good answers tonight...


I'm not a WVO expert, but have been researching it....does sound like it can be related to WVO temps that were too low casuing polymerization and slow clogging of injectors as a result....but thats just an educated guess...few hours and you will have answers from people with first hand knowledge and experience.

It's definitely not filtering issues with clogged filters. I had those in the past and know how they feel like. The owners of all cars either use the same grease as me or are pretty competent filterers by now.

Since you brought up filtering: the grease I use is from a Wendy's restaurant and partially hydrogenated. Possible that the IP is all clogged up from waxes in the oil.

I also forgot to mention two things about the car:
it gets fuel to all injectors although timing is unknown
it won't start on starting fluid (if I am doing it right, of course. It's a first for me)
camshaft is turning as confirmed by looking into oil filler neck while cranking.

Wendys definately has issues of animal fat contamination....they likely have the deepfryer oil and the grill waste ( beef tallow) mixed in the dumpster...was this true during the summer or is this new since fall temp drops.

What is the location....would help to put thsi in your CP so we know if you are in Canada or south texas.

I used the Wendy's source since around April or so. We don't have a centrifuge but used some settling to try to get rid of the thicker stuff. That works up to a point...
Ideal would be a centrifuge step at relatively cold temperature before filtration but they are prohibitively expensive.

I'm thinking to first have a compression test done, which should have either devastating results or bring peace of mind for that part of the engine. If the compression is good I guess the IP would be the next thing to look at, first timing and then tear it down and see what's up.

What gets me thinking that it's bad compression is that the car should start on starter fluid even if the IP is bad.

Does this make sense? Any other ideas?

Starter fluid in a diesel is a bad idea...some may argue otherwise but you can do potiential damage that way...

I got to head home now but hang tight , there are a lot of guys running WVO who will be on tonight....

So, was all the above done after your engine failure?

If so, you need to do a compression test. With adequate compression of <235psi you should be able to start the engine, provided the timing and IP are OK.

If compression is inadequate, that will need to be addressed before going any further. If compression is OK, next confirm all timing events: Check valve and IP timing.

If IP and valve timing is OK then the problem has to be fuel-related, either a dead or plugged IP.

Some other questions...
...was the engine shut-down on diesel last time it ran?
...is it possible for you heat the engine compartment (or coolant) so that the temp of the engine components is above 60something F?

This is a possibility. Raising the temp of the car (heated garage, for example) might fix this.

Not even a cough? While not a recommended practice in this situation, starting fluid sprayed into the intake snout should have made it fire. I'd definitely do a compression test; that low oil problem you mentioned may have scuffed the cylinder walls and wiped-out the rings.

Thanks for all the answers. I will have a compression check done.

The starting fluid did not produce even a sputter or burned smell or anything. I read a lot of the dangers, too. An act of desperation, perhaps not a smart one but it did produce some food for thought.

The filter changes I did when I first thought that the idle was poor. The valve adjustment and injector test were done not long after after it stopped idling on diesel. I guess the glow plugs were a coincidence, the light no longer came on. The other things were done later in hopes of reviving the engine.

I ran used VO in my '78 "old300D" for a spring and summer last year. It was tired and I didn't much care if it broke on me. I noticed it ran progressively worse on diesel fuel, a lot of knocking, and it never had any power anyway.

Anyway, the engine had a bit of blowby, and when I changed the oil it seemed different, a bit sticky. I figured I had unburned and partially burned VO getting into the crankcase.

I had fun, but I wanted a daily driver, so my 240D will never see any un-reacted VO again. It runs very well on diesel, and even better on B100. I expect it will stay that way too, as oil analysis is favorable.

I'd do a compresson test, and if that checks out bench test the IP.