What did I get myself into - Power Service
 

Used to enjoy driving my 81 300SD with just plain diesel. Decided to try diesel Power Service cetane boost (gray bottle). Car was more responsive and less to no smoke if I floored it but I did not think the difference was that much. Well, the big gray bottle ran out and I decided not to replace it. Bad move, the car is definitely grouchy and slow. Works a lot harder to get up to speed. Sounds like I will be using PS for the rest of my diesel life. Anyone else experienced such a big difference in performance?

I would change the fuel filters and maybe do a Diesel Purge and see if it's any better.
-Joe

You have discovered that most of the diesel sold is about 40 cetane. The equivalent of cat pee. You can occasionally find 42 or 45 cetane, "premium diesel" and you likely will pay more. I think the minimum cetane MB recommended was 45. Sure, they will run the cat pee but not near as well as on good fuel. The Power Service makes up the difference. I have found that some stations have better fuel than others even though the pumps are not marked any different. You can try different stations, premium diesel or just keep using PS. There are other good additives out there too. Stanadyne Performance Formula, Howes Lubricator Diesel Kleen, Redline Diesel Catalyst, Amsoil, etc. I can prove a 1/2mpg to 1mpg increase on my work truck using an additive so I feel it is worth my effort and money. RT

I use Power Service in every tank on the 603. 12 oz. to 20 gallons. Gives a 6 point cetane increase.

I definitely notice the difference with it as compared to the regular "cat pee". :D

me likey PS
 

I use it liberally, I also ended up w/ a free case of ATF, so I've been runnin that too. 2 people so far have commented to me, 'your diesel doesn't smoke much'

There's the change the fuel filters miracle cure again. What a load of BS.

P E H

I have used ps in almost every tank since I got my car. It seems to like it and the one time I tried atf I could feel it draging.

I've used the Power Service and currently use the Redline. I love the redline. Needs less additive to get the same affect, and I believe that the Redline will take care of any water in the system as the PowerService doesn't?

Either way adding a good additive will help the car in keeping overall wear on a reduced level to the fuel system. It just might make the car run a bit nicer as well. :indian_ch

Your car should run fine on diesel with no additives. Read about tuning.

How much PS do you add per tankful. I believe my wagon has a 15 gallon tank and I have been using about 8 oz. of PS silver.

Make your own diesel additive -- biodiesel. Just a liter or so every tank. Might be cheaper than PS even if buying new vegetable oil. Use Heet and Red Devil, dump the glycerine.

I don't mean to hi-jack this, but I was wondering how much my wagon's tank holds. I think the book said it holds 17 plus one gallon for reserve. Then again mine is a 83.....I don't know if that makes any difference.

Before we go on with your penny squeezing techniques of MB maintainence of not replacing fuel filters as preventative maintainence because supposedly a dirty filter actually filters better than a clean one (yes I researched your posts), the guy ran Power Service through his fuel system, which has detergent like properties. I'm thinking perhaps the additive stirred up some dirt, giving the fuel system a rather good cleanout and possibly clogging the fuel filters causing power loss and rough running. It's not a load of BS as you say. If he took my advice to change the fuel filters, he would probably check the filters first before working to see whether or not they actually need replacing. If they didn't need replacing, he could just simply keep the others as spares.
-Joe

If there is reason to be suspicious of a fuel filter, take it off and dump the contents into a container. A bowl or something will be fine. You will be able to easily see if the filter has sediment or water and judge if it needs replacing or not. I no krud is found, fill it with fresh fuel and put it back on

Edit: Another thing.... Additives that remove water.... Where do you suppose the water ends up?? Hint: I'm getting to be an expert on this from dealing with the fuel tank problems on my 240D.

Sorry for late reply. Bought the car about 8K miles ago. Used Stanadyne Performance Formula immediately after purchase and eliminated smoking especially if I floor it on take off. I honestly did not think the performance difference was that much. Well, may be that was because of the dirty filters I had because I had to change filters about 4k miles ago, including air filter when I started having performance problems (lack of acceleration). That's when I also switched to PS because it's easier to find. Car was faster than it was when I bought it but I thought that was because of the cleaner filters.

I am not talking of a big problem here but I can tell the engine is working harder and rougher than before.