Picked up a Volvo diesel from a field, has low miles and in good shape... Slight problem is it sat untounched for 12 years with 3/4 full tank! Thanks!

Do you realize how cheap it was to put that 15 gallons or so in that Volvo 12 years ago. Probably little more then $10.00. And it probably is still good, though it might be contaminated with algae that can live in diesel. At the same time, it might not be contaminated. Drain a little out and I think you can tell easy enough if it is clean enough to run. Hope you can get it started!

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Junqueyardjim
Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important. C.S. Lewis



1983 Mercedes W123 240D 4 Speed 285,000 on the road with a 617 turbo, beautiful butter yellow, license plate # 83 240D INDIANA

2003 Jaguar Type X, AWD. beautiful, good mileage,
Mom's car, but I won't let her drive it!

Well, even though fuels degrade with the years, there should be no major issue burning that fuel if the water contamination is not too high...

Once I saw a guy start an old Caterpillar bulldozer that had 15+ years sitting. He just got there, installed a new electric stater (the thing had a little gas engine as a starter) with jumper cables connected to a pair of huge batteries, primed the IP, sprayed some starting fluid in the intake, and after a 30 sec glow cycle, he fired if...

The things started without a hassle. At the beginning there was some blue smoke, maybe stuck rings. But after 10 mins or so, there was no smoke and the things was running perfectly...

Please note he just got there and started it. No fresh fuel or oils added to the dozer.

I know some might say this is because its a Cat, but come on, Volvo are one hell of a piece of engineering as well...

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1982 W123 300D NA Euro, 300K Miles, 4-speed manual, 3.46 rear diff, early W126 front brakes, Penta rims with 205/60R15 FH900's, custom fitted (by me) audio system, more to come into the money pit... Soon to be installed: Bilstein HD, R107 front discs and 4-piston calipers, HD Suspension springs, wagon front swaybar.

But never use glow plugs along with starting fluid. Great way to wreck stuff. But it is not even possible on a "cat" engine, as they don't use glow plugs.

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Junqueyardjim
Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important. C.S. Lewis



1983 Mercedes W123 240D 4 Speed 285,000 on the road with a 617 turbo, beautiful butter yellow, license plate # 83 240D INDIANA

2003 Jaguar Type X, AWD. beautiful, good mileage,
Mom's car, but I won't let her drive it!

I've heard starting fluid is no good under any circumstance. Its more like a quick once in a lifetime solution for an emergency.

If they don't have glow plugs, how come you need to "glow" them for about 30 seconds? It was an early 70's D6C bulldozer

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1982 W123 300D NA Euro, 300K Miles, 4-speed manual, 3.46 rear diff, early W126 front brakes, Penta rims with 205/60R15 FH900's, custom fitted (by me) audio system, more to come into the money pit... Soon to be installed: Bilstein HD, R107 front discs and 4-piston calipers, HD Suspension springs, wagon front swaybar.

They did have a glow procedure Juan, but not with glow plugs. Glowing meant you fired up the gas pony engine and glowed that exhaust into the intake manifold. Then when they were running good, the pony that is, you pulled the choke back on it and pull in a batch of raw gasoline, another aid too starting those old beasts on a cold, cold morning.

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Junqueyardjim
Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important. C.S. Lewis



1983 Mercedes W123 240D 4 Speed 285,000 on the road with a 617 turbo, beautiful butter yellow, license plate # 83 240D INDIANA

2003 Jaguar Type X, AWD. beautiful, good mileage,
Mom's car, but I won't let her drive it!

Wow, great piece of info! I'm not surprised the guy almost emptied the starting fluid bottle in the intake manifold Thanks for sharing the knowledge!

So, how long do you think diesel can sit?

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1982 W123 300D NA Euro, 300K Miles, 4-speed manual, 3.46 rear diff, early W126 front brakes, Penta rims with 205/60R15 FH900's, custom fitted (by me) audio system, more to come into the money pit... Soon to be installed: Bilstein HD, R107 front discs and 4-piston calipers, HD Suspension springs, wagon front swaybar.

correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the volvo diesel of the 80's a 6cyl version of the 4cyl VW diesel?

No, not really. Yes they are a 6 cly version of the VW 1.6 NA, and a real PITA. Not in the same league with Mercedes, or , for that matter, the VW 4 banger (which ain't anything special). I mean, how good can a looong alloy head be?

And what's so good about having a timing belt up against the firewall?

Rick

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80 300SD (129k mi) 82 240D stick (193k mi)77 240D auto - stick to be (153k mi) 85 380SL (145k mi) 89 BMW 535i 82 Diesel Rabbit Pickup (374k mi) 91 Jetta IDI Diesel (155k mi) 81 VW Rabbit Convertible Diesel 70 Triumph Spitfire Mk III (63kmi)66 Triumph TR4a IRS (90k mi)67 Ford F-100 (??)

I found 2500 gallons....yes, I am not kidding....of heating oil in a tank in the basement of my office building. I assumed and the previous owner assumed the tank was empty, but it was full!

So I wanted only to get the tank out of my building so I could rent the space for storage.

So I called the fuel sales places and asked if they wanted to buy it. They asked how long it had set and I said....as near as i can tell maybe 40 years. When they stopped laughing they said I needed to call a service that takes away dangerous liquids.

I said.....&*%$@#* That.

After doing some basic research I found the the difference between #1 heating oil and diesel is about nil.

So we took a sample off the bottom and found it clear. (Cloudy appearance means the presence of bacteria). So next thing was to find a way to pump it out and burn it in my truck and three diesel cars!

HOT DAMN!

A demolition contractor friend offered a fuel pump (marked farm bureau co op), I paid a handy man to hook it up and sit it out in the alley next to my buidling, I rigged up a double filter and soon I had pulled up the 91 sdl and filled the tank. I took a trip on the fuel and the car never missed a beat!

Visions of three years supply of cheap (free) fuel floated above my head....Man, I am in heaven!.....I must be the luckiest SOB alive (I thought).

The next morning as I was coming in to work I discovered a small crowd outside my building looking at my pump......the city engineer, the fire inspector, and the federal marshalls who guard the federal court building next door.

Heee hee!

It turns out the marshalls smelled the fuel oil and immediately assumed it was a terrorist threat. (A few years before someone, still at large, had tried to blow up our courthouse which is located on the other side of my building with a pickup truck loaded with fertilizer and, you guessed it, fuel oil)

So the next day I get a terse letter from the city engineer ordering me to have the pump, the tank and the fuel all out in three days! (Never mind that that was completely impossible). So I asked her for a little more time and she gave me ten days on the fuel and pump and 45 days on the tank, IIRC.

&*%$#@!!! Drat, my cheap fuel plan is up in smoke!

So my contractor friend (the one who loaned me the pump) bought the fuel for $.75 /gallon (at that time the price was 'bout $2 at the pump).

And that was about enough to pay a contractor to come and cut up the tank and remove it, so I guess it didn't work out all that bad in the end.

Damnnn, though, three years worth of free fuel would have been sweet!

(I would still be using it!)

Tom W

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

Thanks, is there a way to test for alge? or just pump some out and look?

Yeah this Volvo has a 2.4L inline 6 from VW, It's A LOT different from the MB's. The engineers at Benz seriously need to pat themselves on the back!

I'd drain the fuel out of the tank. The main concern you have now is getting the car started. I'd recommend changing all the fluids (fuel, oil, trans fluid, diff oil, coolant ect).
Also, when a gas engine has set for a while, it's a good idea the pull the plugs and squirt some Marvel Mystery Oil or transmission fluid into the cylinders to make sure the pistons are free. I don't know if that is recommended for Diesel engines. Maybe someone else can chime in.

A more direct answer to your question, as Diesel Fuel ages:
1. Water can get into the tank from condensation
2. The lighter hydrocarbons can evaporate and make starting harder and gum up the works.
3. As mentioned above, bugs can grow in Diesel Fuel. If growth is prevent, the fuel will be cloudy.
On a final note, all diesel fuel is really old. Like dinosaur old, lol. Had to through that in.

Who the hell told you that?!! All sorts of cat engines use glowplugs and the pony motor was used to rotate the crankshaft and thats it! I'm told by an old Cat mechanic I work with in really cold climates they used to pull the compression release and let the pony motor crank the engine over for a while before letting it start.