How hard is it convert back to Diesel from WVO

[85dzl123]

I found a 1980 300sd that I am interested in purchasing and it is currently set up for waste vegetable oil. How hard would it be to convert it back to
Diesel? Thanks, Joe

[resago2000]

You can leave the filters and heaters in place, clean out the tanks, then run all diesel.

expect to replace the injectors sooner than later.

[ah-kay]

Originally Posted by resago2000

expect to replace the injectors sooner than later.

Are you speaking from experience or just assumption/conjecture?

If it is a single tank conversion then nothing to do. If it is 2 tanks conversion then you can also leave everything in place, nothing to do as well. I would change the fuel filters, big and small, and leave it at that.

[87tdwagen]

Your choice regarding what to do with the installed hardware.

As to the engine, order a few spare fuel filters, get twice as many pre-filters (small one) as main fuel filters as well as a few bottles of diesel purge and run those through the engine.

If you have access to #1 diesel (kerosene) plan on adding several gallons to your tank, you could opt for diesel kleen or the like, but it's mostly kerosene anyway, so use tge kerosene and save some $$.

You can also run a gallon of ATF mixed into a tank of diesel to help clean out the gum and coke deposits in your system. This will burn just fine in the engine, but the detergent effect may quickly clog your filters, so get plenty of those. Your call, I've done it myself with no issues.

The biggest challenge will be coke deposits in the prechambers and the injectors. As mentioned you may have to replace. Start with a frequent regimen of diesel purge cycles and filter changes, and you may be able to get rid of most of the residue.

[OM617YOTA]

Super easy to convert back to diesel. You walk away and find another car. Done.

Veggie conversion = hard pass, even if "free." That's like dating an ex stripper with three kids - even if she still looks good and has a normal job now, I'm not allowing that kind of headache into my life. Too many horror stories for me to even consider touching such a thing.

[argon3030]

Originally Posted by OM617YOTA

Super easy to convert back to diesel. You walk away and find another car. Done.

Veggie conversion = hard pass, even if "free." That's like dating an ex stripper with three kids - even if she still looks good and has a normal job now, I'm not allowing that kind of headache into my life. Too many horror stories for me to even consider touching such a thing.

Excellent analogy, lol!

The few WVO converted diesels VW's and MB's I looked at were in a sad state. Several trends were evident. The owners were not car enthusiasts, much less european car enthusiasts. They were free fuel enthusiasts first and foremost, and everything beyond that was neglected. I would be skeptical of any former WVO car for this reason. Personal bias perhaps, but the WVO fans I've met have all been the pot smoking "free fuel" hippie types who I wouldn't buy a shoe shine from, much less a used automobile.

[oilslick]

Originally Posted by argon3030

Excellent analogy, lol!

The few WVO converted diesels VW's and MB's I looked at were in a sad state. Several trends were evident. The owners were not car enthusiasts, much less european car enthusiasts. They were free fuel enthusiasts first and foremost, and everything beyond that was neglected. I would be skeptical of any former WVO car for this reason. Personal bias perhaps, but the WVO fans I've met have all been the pot smoking "free fuel" hippie types who I wouldn't buy a shoe shine from, much less a used automobile.

There have been very few exceptions I’ve found. I took a chance on the one I just bought simply because it was cheap and has a MB remanufactured engine in it (1992 300SD). It’s a very solid car that’s been kept on the road, but not like I would’ve cared for it. This is Mercedes diesel #41 for me since I started in this hobby 18 years ago so I’m fairly well stocked with parts should there be any problems. Generally as a rule, I stay away from MB’s that have a WVO past. To each his own.

[psaboic]

Originally Posted by argon3030

Excellent analogy, lol!

The few WVO converted diesels VW's and MB's I looked at were in a sad state. Several trends were evident. The owners were not car enthusiasts, much less european car enthusiasts. They were free fuel enthusiasts first and foremost, and everything beyond that was neglected. I would be skeptical of any former WVO car for this reason. Personal bias perhaps, but the WVO fans I've met have all been the pot smoking "free fuel" hippie types who I wouldn't buy a shoe shine from, much less a used automobile.

AMAZING......I'm a retired Naval Officer, have a Masters degree, have worked everyday of my life since I was 10 years old, and do not smoke pot. Guess you would still be skeptical of my WVO car success that I described above.
Don't worry, I'm not in the habit of selling my used cars, I either give them to family or donate them......I suppose I could round up some shoe shine if you are interested though.

[87tdwagen]

Originally Posted by argon3030

Excellent analogy, lol!

The few WVO converted diesels VW's and MB's I looked at were in a sad state. Several trends were evident. The owners were not car enthusiasts, much less european car enthusiasts. They were free fuel enthusiasts first and foremost, and everything beyond that was neglected. I would be skeptical of any former WVO car for this reason. Personal bias perhaps, but the WVO fans I've met have all been the pot smoking "free fuel" hippie types who I wouldn't buy a shoe shine from, much less a used automobile.

No comment on WVO, but your hippie analogy gave me a laugh and reminded me of Ronald Reagan's definition of a hippie as someone who:
1 Dresses like Tarzan,
2 Has hair like Jane
3 Smells like Cheetah

Take that with a grain of salt, but it came from someone who could have been Tarzan, likely dated Jane and certainly knows what Bonzo smelled like.

Cheers

[psaboic]

How about the flip side......not converting back? In one of my now retired cars I ran a two tank WVO system for 10 years and 150,000+ miles. Outside of normal maintenance expected on a 30+ yr old car.....it has ran fine. The key to it all was proper filtering of the oil, and switching to WVO only after the engine has reached operating temp. I have kept a log when I was using it. Price of car, $3500, regular maintenance, WVO parts, etc....$2500, Fuel saved $17,285 and counting. So basically the car paid for itself several times over, and the money I saved on fuel did not go into the pocket of a rich oil company, or some desert dweller hell bent on killing my fellow service members.

[OM617YOTA]

Originally Posted by psaboic

How about the flip side......not converting back? In one of my now retired cars I ran a two tank WVO system for 10 years and 150,000+ miles. Outside of normal maintenance expected on a 30+ yr old car.....it has ran fine. The key to it all was proper filtering of the oil, and switching to WVO only after the engine has reached operating temp. I have kept a log when I was using it. Price of car, $3500, regular maintenance, WVO parts, etc....$2500, Fuel saved $17,285 and counting. So basically the car paid for itself several times over, and the money I saved on fuel did not go into the pocket of a rich oil company, or some desert dweller hell bent on killing my fellow service members.

Where do you get your WVO? How long does it take, and what kind of filtration do you do?

I looked into this, but for me it wasn't even close to worth the effort and definitely not the time. I'll just go to the fuel station and buy dead dinosaurs.

[psaboic]

Originally Posted by OM617YOTA

Where do you get your WVO? How long does it take, and what kind of filtration do you do?

I looked into this, but for me it wasn't even close to worth the effort and definitely not the time. I'll just go to the fuel station and buy dead dinosaurs.

Took about 10 minutes to collect the oil cubies from either my work or local restaurant. I filtered it in succession this way, simply poured it through a filter made from window screen to remove larger chunks, the screen sat above a five gallon bucket with a 5 micron screen on it, and gravity drained into a 2 micron sock filter which drained into a 55 gallon plastic drum. I tapped the drum about 3 inches from the bottom to draw off the oil. I built up enough of a supply so I always had 20 gallons ready to go at a notice, while anything else was taking its time to settle out. So my physical involvement was......moving a few oil cubies into the car trunk, taking them out of the trunk, pouring into my filter setup after they settled, and drawing off the oil. All in all, about 20 minutes hands on labor a week, and a few weeks to allow settling (like I said, I had a supply already built up so waiting was not an issue).

[OM617YOTA]

Originally Posted by psaboic

Took about 10 minutes to collect the oil cubies from either my work or local restaurant. I filtered it in succession this way, simply poured it through a filter made from window screen to remove larger chunks, the screen sat above a five gallon bucket with a 5 micron screen on it, and gravity drained into a 2 micron sock filter which drained into a 55 gallon plastic drum. I tapped the drum about 3 inches from the bottom to draw off the oil. I built up enough of a supply so I always had 20 gallons ready to go at a notice, while anything else was taking its time to settle out. So my physical involvement was......moving a few oil cubies into the car trunk, taking them out of the trunk, pouring into my filter setup after they settled, and drawing off the oil. All in all, about 20 minutes hands on labor a week, and a few weeks to allow settling (like I said, I had a supply already built up so waiting was not an issue).

That's fantastic. Hugely less hassle than what I've read about others going through.

[barry12345]

No really fixed answers. At least in my mind.

Depends on quality of wvo used. Length of time wvo was used.Method of use or type of system. Current state of things.

How is engine running at this time?How easily does it start up? How much blowby?

I purchased a road kill 1984 300d that was on pure new vegatable oil.It unfortunatly cost him his car.

I could only assume it had been on the oil for not very long. He was on a long distance trip in really the coldest part of the year. At the time the local garages where changing out injection pumps frequently. From use of a bio diesel locally. So they were biased when his car was towed in. The last thing they wanted to hear was the use of any other fuel than diesel.

He had burnt the starter out trying to restart it. The garage cautioned him it might need a new injection pump as well as a new starter. Just bad timing basically for him unfortunatly.

The real problem was the oil had promoted some form of growth in the vent line for the fuel tank I established.

[ah-kay]

There are a lot of mis conceptions about WVO.

1) WVO will not damage the IP. It has more lubrication than diesel. Why would it damage the IP?

2) Diesel engine runs more quietly with WVO. It is a fact, not fiction. It has more lubrication.

3) WVO will not damage injectors, period. If you think it will, think again.

4) WVO could cause more coking of rings. It is a possibilities if it is over dispensed by injector or cold starts. The fact is coking happens with diesel as well otherwise cars running on diesel will run forever. Once coking happens, nothing or any solvent can remove it. So get over it.

5) WVO polymerization with air and "gum" up everything. It is true but there is NO air in the fuel system. If there is air then car would not start. It may gum up in the fuel tank but not inside the IP or injectors.

I would not run away from WVO cars. I would take them anytime if the price is right. So you don't need to remove anything to run diesel unless you don't like the extra hardware. Change the fuel filters and drive on. Good luck.