240d Runs Fine On Used Motor Oil - Page 3 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

Nate Stanley · #31 02-21-2003, 10:02 AM

I just dumped a gallon of used oil in my tank Tuesday AM, topped it off with Diesel, refilled this morning and got 23 MPG, car ran fine---but I agree in principle that this oil should be filtered before you put it in your tank.

diesel don · #32 02-21-2003, 10:12 AM

As Jim mentioned, the filters are from Greasel.com

Very cool as you could dump ten gallons in one and go away and take a nap. The draw back is that they cost $10 or so per filter.

After filtering 8 gallons, the thing looks like it will last for 500 gallons or so. Others mention that they merely turn them inside out and wash them with soap and water. I was pretty encouraged by the rate flow of filtering. Took about 5 minutes or so per gallon (i had the oil at 70 degrees or warmer though).

Don

#33 02-21-2003, 10:14 AM

I just posted another 400 miles running about 60% oil 40% diesel. For the first time ever, my glow plug light didnt come on immediately when I left for work yesterday morning. After I turned the engine over a couple of times, the light came on like normal...At work last night to go home the light did not come on. I do not know if this is a result of burning too much oil or if its time to deal with new glow plugs...originals are still in there from factory in 1983. Filled up with Diesel on the way home and probably had about 10% oil and now my light came back on....who knows? Anyway, going to keep everyone posted on what happens as I burn more oil...it is the cheapest transportation I have ever had.

PS ...My company actually pays to get rid of the used oil.

Tasma · #34 02-21-2003, 10:39 AM

I tried running used oil in my Cummins. It ran fine but the filter plugged up and left me stranded. Be sure to keep a filter and wrench with you in case this happens.

300TD4x4 · #35 02-21-2003, 10:59 AM

What will the greasel filters or any other filtering process do for the waste oil that the engine's oil filter did not do when the oil was in the crankcase? I would think that to do better than the engine's oil filter you would at least need a pressurized filtering system. I've got a few gallons of waste oil laying around and I'm tempted to dump them in without filtering them.

#36 02-21-2003, 03:24 PM

So if I took a stack of 5 coffee filters, would this be enough to get the used engine oil clean enough to use?

#37 02-21-2003, 03:33 PM

Remember this...it is easy to lose focus of what you are doing...used motor oil is not relatively dirty. The engine that it came out of was running on this oil and if it were dirty the engine would not be running on the oil. The oil is constantly filtered while in the engine. Todays oil filters are of extremely high quality and filter the oil very good. Todays engines are made of longer lasting metals that do not break down and deposit into the oil like older engines. Just think of how dirty the diesel fuel is that you put into your car at the pump. It has probably never been filtered other than at the pump itself. One other thing, dont forget you have two filters inline before the oil gets to the injector pump. Be careful not to filter the slick out of the oil...(joke). Enjoy free riding on free oil.

mpnye · #38 02-21-2003, 03:37 PM

Ya . . . but keep in mind that there is an amount of COMBUSTION ASH suspended in the oil pan BELOW the pump pick-up . . .

engatwork · #39 02-21-2003, 03:49 PM

Ought to be able to make really black coffee with these babies

LOL.

#40 02-21-2003, 04:29 PM

So does the 16" Greasel filter fit into a five gallon bucket? How does it work?

Have a great day,

diesel don · #41 02-21-2003, 04:46 PM

Larry,

I purchased five filters from Greasel. They are probably 36" or so long and I suspect the rough size of a volleyball vertically.

They come with a strap that is fairly sturdy for tying them in an upright position. I just tied a rope to that strap and suspended it over the 5 gallon bucket with the bottom of the bag a couple of inches into the bucket (so it wouldn't swing wide and drip on the floor). There is a sturdy ring of some fashion woven into the top of the bag filter so that the mouth of it is rigid and always open. As the oil is poured in, the bag assumes the shape of a cylinder (small golf bag or so).

I then just poured in one gallon at a time. On one occasion I put in two and it handled the weight fine. I was swapping glo plugs at the time in the TD and checked it every now and then.

Pretty cool process.

Don

Fredmburgess · #42 02-21-2003, 04:59 PM

?? Has anyone got any info on emissions from burning used engine oil? One of the reasons I run waste vegetable oil is that the emissions are actually cleaner and less toxic than exhaust from straight diesel. Since waste engine oil is generally considered a carcinogen, I wonder what the resulting exhaust contains. Of course, this may be one of the safer ways to dispose of it.

- Larry Bible, the filters Greasel is selling are cloth bags with a wire ring sewn into the opening. I put a 5 gallon container of WVO on a shelf, open the spigot, and let it gravity feed through the filter bag which I have hanging from the shelf edge over an open 55 gallon drum. I get my filters in bulk from manufacturer - cheap enough to toss them whenever they get good and dirty.

- I run 20% filtered WVO in the diesel tank, 100% filtered WVO from a heated auxilary tank in the trunk (ala the Greasel setup). As I've set it up, the 100% WVO goes through an MB prefilter, a stock VW diesel filter, the fuel pump, and finally the stock MB spin on filter. 5,000 miles since last filter changes with no indication of problems..

- I'm going to start making biodiesel from WVO and skip regular diesel altogether. That 617 engine is bulletproof!

Fmb

#43 02-21-2003, 04:59 PM

diesel don,

Thanks for the description. This is much more than you can learn from their website.

Have a great weekend,

300TD4x4 · #44 02-21-2003, 05:10 PM

Ya . . . but keep in mind that there is an amount of
COMBUSTION ASH suspended in the oil pan BELOW the
pump pick-up . . .

I don't understand what you mean.

rwthomas1 · #45 02-21-2003, 07:16 PM

You are fooling yourself if you think that used oil is not dirty or in any way "clean". Automotive filters only filter to 20-30microns in cheap filters and maybe as low as 15microns in a premium type filter. Even the very best bypass filters, and bypass filters are NOT common, only get to maybe 3-4micron at best. Diesel fuel filters are commonly 2 MICRON!!! So the "clean" used oil you are putting in your tank is LOADED with crap that is all at least sub-10micron. Soot suspended in diesel oil is SUBMICRONIC, meaning simply smaller than a micron per particle. All these particles floating around in the fuel system may or may not harm the pump and injectors but to claim they aren't there is foolhardy. Filtering the oil to the 2micron level likely is sufficient. Hydraulic system filters are commonly available in this rating. RT