PROTECT YA NECK
STEP^1
Before we talk tuning, let’s discuss vital engine protection as a starting point
If you haven’t heard the horror
stories about dirty diesel
causing catastrophic engine
damage – or experienced it
yourself – then you’re one of the
very few. Every year thousands
of 4WDers suffer damage from
dirty diesel, and reports from
diesel workshops around the
country say it’s only getting
worse. Vehicles that quite
literally stop dead, running one
moment, chugging roughly the
next and then coasting to a halt
on the side of the track – the
result of serious fuel system
damage caused by
contaminated fuel that
someone has picked up
somewhere along the line. The
most common cause of diesel
contamination is not actually
dirt, but in fact water.
FUEL SYSTEM
DAMAGE FROM
WATERY DIESEL
“If its water, rusting can occur
really quickly,” says Andrew
Bourne from Diesel Care. “That
can occur in older systems, as
well as the later common-rail
ones. Common rail systems
have very tight tolerances and
very high pressures, so they’re
less tolerant of contaminants
that anything else. Some older
pumps don’t get rebuilt - it’s
not economically viable to do
so, it’s cheaper to buy another
one than try and repair that.
Rust can contaminate and
affect any diesel fuel injection
system, but in the high
pressure common-rail
systems it’s more critical.
Consider that your fuel
pickup is not at the very
bottom of the tank, but close
to the bottom of the tank.
Water is heavier than diesel
so it’ll end up at the bottom
of the tank, so really that
bottom part of the tank is the
danger area. All the diesel
above it is probably clear, but
that half a litre at the bottom is
definitely enough to do damage.
Even less quantities than that -
it doesn’t take much water. If
you get even a tablespoon that
gets through your filters, it’s
going to cause dramas.”AUXILIARY FUEL
FILTER KITS
“We sell a very large quantity of
auxiliary fuelfilters,” says
Andrew Bourne from Diesel
Care. “We didn’t invent fuel
filtration systems, but we
certainly pioneered the
auxiliary fuel filter kit that
makes the whole job easy. Back
when common-rail diesels first
started to emerge on the
market, about 2005, we started
to see vehicles come through
with fuel contamination issues.
We thought ‘we really need to fit
another filter’, it made perfect
sense. Filters are one of the
main things you can do to
protect yourself from
bad fuel. You can fit one
of these auxiliary fuel
filters before the main
filter, or you can fit one
after - there’s no right
or wrong. Some people
prefer a pre-filter, that’s
usually a fairly course
filter, about 30microns.”PRE OR POST
FACTORY
FILTER?
“We tend to prefer a
final filter, becauseit’s really getting
more of the matter out of the
fuel, and it can filter down as
low as two microns”, explains
Andrew. That’s the best
insurance you can give
yourself, to put an auxiliary
fuel filter on your vehicle.
Sometimes by the time the
factory fuel filter light has
come on, it’s too late and
damage has been done. Not
always, but it certainly can be
the case. We’ve experienced
that where the customer has
said the light has only just
come on. Sometimes the light
doesn’t always come on for
some reason, and you end up
with rusty damage in your
fuel. There are other warning
systems - there are systems
out there that don’t filter
anything, but they have a
probe that gives you a warning
when some water comes
through. They’re a good idea
as well. I prefer a filter
because it does two jobs - it
removes water and it filters
the fuel again.”Actual fuel (^) samples t
servo – t aken^ from^ an actual
his (^) is why fuel filters a
re (^) so (^) vital
An aftermarket^ fuel^ filter^
will go^ a^ huge^ way^ towards^
keeping^ your^ engine^ safe
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