Month: May 2012

One of the main things would be to make sure the engine will start cold, this is better to test in the winter when the temperature is cooler. You are looking for the engine to start the first time, unless it is below 40 then it may take the second crank if it is a higher mileage engine. This is testing multiple things, if the injectors have wear it will take longer to crank, also the glow plug system (if the engine is equipped with one) You want to check by opening the hood and touching the coolant hose to test if the vehicle is cold and has not be started that day or has been sitting for at least 4 + hrs.

There are other things to look at and we do test on diesels for you so you have more of an idea of what you are buying.

No, not with ultra low sulfur diesel, it lowers the cetane ratings in our test. The cetane rating is already lower in low sulfur diesel compared to older diesel fuel which had a higher cetane rating which was ok to ad transmission fluid.

All diesel fuel is now ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel, if you engine was build before the mid 2000s then you need diesel fuel additive to add some of the lubricity back to you fuel system, to protect the injectors and pump.

All oils have additive packages in them from the oil company. The additive companies do not know what oil you are using, and then you are adding additives that can sometimes counteract and have a reaction. If you are going to use oil additives or any extended oil service we recommend an oil sample. See a sample of our same day (if dropped off by 9 am) oil sample report by clicking here.