[QUOTE=bluhorizan;1407693] Who would you use/what system would your recommend for the conversion?QUOTE]

for the last time there is no 'conversion'

you put the biodiesel in the fuel tank
you start the car

you are thinking of WVO/SVO conversions which is a very bad idea in a CDI
in my opinion it's a bad idea in any diesel
too much crap retrofit to have to deal with

biodiesel makes much more sense- NO MODIFICATIONS

sounds to me like you need to read and actually comprehend what people here are telling you, over and over and over again
BIODIESEL REQUIRES NO CONVERSION

__________________
'02 BMW 325i
'85 300D 450k
'93 190E 2.6 170k(killed by tree)
'08 Ducati Hypermotard 1100S 6k
'06 Ducati S2R800 14k(sold)

To Restate the original question:

"Has anyone converted this late model Mercedes Diesel to run on Biodiesel or straight vegetable oil? If so, what has been your experience? Which company and/or installer would you use for this conversion?"

That is what I'm interested in hearing from people about.

Re: D.D's comments, a conversion is required to use SVO ie fuel lines, heating to reduce viscosity and possible adjustment of timing and/or injectors. Nothing here appears seems to be insurmontable from an engineering standpoint. If SVO as an alternate fuel doesn't seem relevant to you in regards to our current global, political and enviromental issues, then perhaps you may believe as our current President does; there is no such thing as global warming.

If you don't have any constructive comments to add, please don't post a reply.

Get ahold of Willie and ask him what his experience is.

Nobody else seems to have any firsthand experience with running a 320CDI on biodiesel. You and Willie might be the first pioneers.

Just don't go to MB looking for warranty help if something goes wrong.

SteveM.

__________________
'93 190E/D 2.5 Turbodiesel 5-speed (daily driver)
'87 190D 2.5 Turbo rustbucket - parts car
'84 Dodge Rampage diesel - Land Speed Record Holder
'13 Ram 2500 Diesel
'05 Toyota 4Runner

It is certainly possible to convert a late-model Mercedes diesel to run on WVO. Stuffing the required bits and pieces into an already crowded engine bay might be a challenge but certainly not one that liberal amounts of money could not overcome. We here would love to see the results of such a conversion.

It is unlikely that anyone on this forum has any experience with such a project; we are mostly po' fo'ks with "Reagan-era" cars. Given the value of a late model Benz, I suspect few people would want to mess with it. Nonetheless, there has to be someone who has enough money to regard a $60,000 car as a toy to be thrown away if it breaks.

Converting the vegetable oil to biodiesel and then burning the biodiesel in the Benz would have the vote of most people here, I would suspect. The car's warranty would still be at risk but the engine should tolerate the biodiesel well.

Thank you for posing an interesting question.

Jeremy

__________________

"Buster" in the '95

Our all-Diesel family
1996 E300D (W210) . .338,000 miles Wife's car
2005 E320 CDI . . 113,000 miles My car
Santa Rosa population 176,762 (2022)
Total. . . . . . . . . . . . 627,762
"Oh lord won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz."
-- Janis Joplin, October 1, 1970

ahum......

__________________
sophie2
1987 300TD, 168K
1981 300D 220K
1968 250S W115 Diesel Converted,
2006 E320 CDI
2006 Yanmar 3YM30 / Vindo Sloop
29 Vintage Bicycles

Sophie:
Sorry if I missed the fact that you are running your CDI on biodiesel.

SteveM.

__________________
'93 190E/D 2.5 Turbodiesel 5-speed (daily driver)
'87 190D 2.5 Turbo rustbucket - parts car
'84 Dodge Rampage diesel - Land Speed Record Holder
'13 Ram 2500 Diesel
'05 Toyota 4Runner

You bought the car mid December? Have you been burning B99 or B100 since then? How many miles do you have on it? Did you burn petro at all so you could establish any difference in mileage or performance? Both of our vehicles run on B99 except when it's cold we run B85. Of course both of our IPs are mechanically controlled.

Chris

__________________
1987 300TD 309, xxx 2.8.2014 10,000 mile OCI


Be careful of the toes you step on today, as they may be connected to the ass you have to kiss tomorrow. anonymous

“Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter, and those who matter won’t mind.” Dr. Seuss

We got the CDI in December and since it has been cold here n the Bay area I have only been using B25 to B50. Our MPG around town (no freeway) is in the mid-20s. On our trip up to Yosemite as I recall we got about 32 MPG up and 36 MPG back, on twisty mountain roads with a heavy foot. I think it probably would get the EPA 37 MPG on the freeway if I drove the speed limit. It seems the MPG is no better that the prior E diesel, but the performance and torque are alot greater.. hyghway passing and acceleration is addictive and it will do a burnout on dry pavement. Not good for the MPG though.

Minor quality issue with the rear window defroster, it has a pretty large "dead" spot and the FM reception goes south when the rear defroster is turned on. Design flaw? I will be taking it in for a warranty fix in the near future. My guess is that they will have to replace the whole window but I'm not sure it will fix the issue with the radio reception since the antenna is in the same window.

__________________
sophie2
1987 300TD, 168K
1981 300D 220K
1968 250S W115 Diesel Converted,
2006 E320 CDI
2006 Yanmar 3YM30 / Vindo Sloop
29 Vintage Bicycles

the part about burning out. Those of us that don't have a CDI and can't burn out are jealous, well at least one of us. That's great that you can use B25-50. Please keep us posted as the miles with bio add up.

another bio burner

Chris

__________________
1987 300TD 309, xxx 2.8.2014 10,000 mile OCI


Be careful of the toes you step on today, as they may be connected to the ass you have to kiss tomorrow. anonymous

“Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter, and those who matter won’t mind.” Dr. Seuss

Judging by what you have written, especially in response to d.delano's helpful comments, you seem completely oblivious to the vast difference between SVO and biodiesel. Yes SVO requires a dual-tank setup, a major conversion. But as has been already stated many times here, biodiesel requires no conversion! Get that out of your head once and for all. You're like one of the many Ebay sellers who keep touting their cars as "candidates for biodiesel conversion". Again, there's no such thing! (unless you consider the occasional fuel hose/filter replacement as a conversion but I wouldn't call it that).

__________________
2004 VW Jetta TDI (manual)

Past MB's: '96 E300D, '83 240D, '82 300D, '87 300D, '87 420SEL

DieselAddict:
Biodiesel=methanol essentially produced with renewable sources SVO=straight vegetable oil
WVO= waste vegetable oil

Hope this clarifies what I've been seeking advice and experience about. I'm more interested in the possibility of running a late model MB with SVO. Doesn't have anything to do with EBay nor have I purchased a E320CDI, E300TD or S350TD yet.

If you are truly interested in the original question, perhaps you might read the following article and make some insightful and thoughtful comments:
http://journeytoforever.org/biodiesel_TDI.html

journeytoforever's info has been long outdated. Dont read their info, its very biased towards wvo and not alot of real world experiances in testing.

Try reading more in the frybrid and infopop forum for better info. Stay away from the greasecar forum, to many nutcases and porn spammers.

__________________
Current:
05 E320 CDI
07 GL320 CDI
08 Sprinter
05 Dodge Cummins
01 Dodge Cummins

Previous
2004 E55 AMG
2002 C32 AMG (#2)
1995 E300
1978 300D
1987 300D
2002 C32 AMG(blown motor :[
1981 300SD
1983 300SD
1987 300SDL
2002 Jetta TDI
1996 S420
1995 S500
1993 190E 2.6
1992 190E 2.3
1985 190E 2.3 5-Speed

GreasyBenz:
Thanks for the update. Journey to Forever is based in Japan so hard to assess how recent their info is. I'll take a look at the sites that you've mentioned!

wrong again Doctor

Biodiesel is not Methanol
Methanol is an alcohol, specifically wood alcohol
diesel cars do not burn alcohols; they burn oils

Biodiesel is a methyl ester
Produced by mixing methanol and lye(methoxide) and introducing into oil and heating- ergo TRANSESTERIFICATION

I can tell from your brilliance that you are an engineer so consider this. CDI injection systems operate at above 20,000psi internal pressure. SVO is not stable enough to hold together at the molecular level at these pressures. It's a $50,000 car. Why don't you ask Mercedes what they think? Even B100 in a CDI will polymerize at those pressures if it is not absolutely pure. There is a white paper floating around the net somewhere that explains this.

Eco-illogical adventuring and over-enthusiastic bandwagoneering can get you into some real financial trouble if you don't know what you're doing. Seems you're not getting the answers you want here. That's because you are getting the truth.

And FYI about your Bush/global warming comment- I ride my bicycle to work every day(except today) and use public transport to get about(especially today). In what regard do you do your part for the planet?

Bagging on somebody else who knows what they are talking about because you don't like what they have to say is not very bright.

__________________
'02 BMW 325i
'85 300D 450k
'93 190E 2.6 170k(killed by tree)
'08 Ducati Hypermotard 1100S 6k
'06 Ducati S2R800 14k(sold)

DD:
You're correct about biodiesel and methanol. Just wanted to see if you are paying attention. Your points would be a lot more convincing without the personal insults. No, I'm not an engineer. Yes, there are differing opinions on this topic. This what science is all about and how great advances are made; through intelligent discussion of new possibilities. It is never black and white as you seem to insist. There is much more gray and complexity in the world around us that takes keen observation and understanding to appreciate.