I think your answer needs futher explanation:

Yor are correct if you mean at the first stage of refining - but my understanding is that the refiners will then add sufficient additives to bring it up to recommended or acceptable lubricity standards.

This is correct for the most part. Low sulphur does not mean low lubricity. The process of removing the sulphur content from the fuel (hydrotreating) also removes/changes the naturally present lubricity as a side effect. An additive is then introduced to make the fuel meet spec.

Long story short, when you pull up at the pump, the ULSD should have just as much lubricity as LSD. If you are concerned about lubricity, use an additive like powerservice or run a low blend of soy Bio-Diesel like B2 or B5.

SO: what's the bottom line?
 

Will the new fuel be compatible with my '84 300SD? Will I need to use some sort of additive, and if so, which one? I intend to drive this car as close to forever as I can, and don't want to do anything to damage it.

Did you read my post above? It's not going to damage your car...if you are worried about lubricity then use an additive. The fuel is required to have a lubricity additive put in to meet government spec. If you are going to loose sleep at night worrying about lubricity, then use 6-8oz of power service at each fill. Although I believe that lubricity will be fine, I will still use an additive in my vehicles because it is cheap insurance.

Read your post
 

but was looking for another opinion. No offense intended. "Trust, but verify....."

Really, don't worry about it. There are plenty of engines just like yours in europe that have been running on ULSD for quite a while. These IPs are pretty well built, I just replaced mine after 340K miles. What's the worst that can happen, it will only last 250K with ULSD? You will have plenty of other things to repair before you have any negative effects from ULSD.

:D If you want to verify, just do a search. This has been discussed numerous times on this forum as well as many others. As Craig stated, cars in Europe have been running ULSD for a while. There are people out there running used motor oil through these IPs....not recommended though :D

Thanks
 

Will do the search. Other comments also appreciated.

No, it will not affect your car's performance. The lower sulfur fuel will work with modern catalytic converters, etc., so that pollution is reduced, and so that manufacturers like Mercedes, VW, etc. can once again meet EPA emissions requirements, enabling them to sell the same excellent diesel-engined models here in the US that they have been selling in Europe and elsewhere all along.

As far as the pump nozzle not fitting in your tank... It has nothing to do with the car being a 1985, or anything of the sort... You were just using a "truck" pump, which is perfectly fine.

It's the same fuel....

The difference in "truck" diesel pumps -vs.- "normal" diesel pumps is that the "truck" ones pump fuel at a much faster rate, for obvious reasons... most large commercial trucks have large, high-capacity fuel tanks.

This high-speed fuel delivery rate is not necessary for the relatively small fuel tank in a car, and it actually can cause accidental overflow and fuel spillage, so the high-speed truck pumps are fitted with a bigger nozzle, to discourage people from using them to fuel cars.

Regular gas stations typically have diesel pumps with the "normal"-sized nozzle, whereas truck stops have the larger-nozzled "truck" pumps, but they also usually have a couple of specifically designated "car" or "car/RV" pumps, with the smaller nozzles that will fit in your tank's filler neck properly.

The stuff that is illegal to burn in your car is "farm/off-road" diesel. It is also exactly the same fuel, but it is dyed red to make it easily identifiable. The reason that it is illegal to use this in your car is because it is untaxed. The government doesn't want you driving around on highways that you're not paying for (the aforementioned fuel tax). ;) It is not typically found at gas stations and/or truck stops, so you shouldn't need to worry about accidentally putting it in your vehicle.

Mike

Q
Will I need to put an additive in my fuel tank to replace the lubricity
that was provided by the higher sulfur content?
A
Like Low Sulfur Diesel fuel, ULSD fuel requires good lubricity
and corrosion inhibitors to prevent unacceptable engine wear. As
necessary, additives to increase lubricity and to inhibit corrosion will
be added to ULSD fuel prior to its retail sale. With these additives,
ULSD fuel is expected to perform as well as Low Sulfur Diesel fuel.


Hope this helps.

www.clean-diesel.org

Good link.

"Highway Diesel", "Truck Diesel" and "Diesel #2" are all EXACTLY the same thing. Only difference may be the sulfur amounts, depeneding on labels where you get your fuel. "Off highway diesel" is also the exact same thing, except it does not have tax(s) added to it, and is dyed pink. Because it's not taxed, it's not legal for use in cars, but intended for farm machines and generators etc. In rual places, where people have their own fuel tanks, sometimes inspectors will come around and dip in to fuel tanks to make sure dyed diesel isn't in their road cars.
The truck stop pumps are fun too. They do pump around 0.6-0.8Gal/sec. Normal pumps are 0.06-0.1Gal/sec. The guy who used to fill the 500gal tanks on the farm used to have a 1.1-1.5Gal/sec, much fun. But at truck stops I can fill my SD in under a minute.