Accidentally topped up with gas/petrol, drove 90miles.

Trumpton111

New member
Thanks to everyone sharing their experiences and tips! It definitely makes me feel like less of an idiot knowing I'm not the only person who's done this!
 

lindenengineering

Well-known member
Actually in the realm of things its just life !
On a slightly different twist when on the road and looking for food, hospitality and fueling services across the country, my often statement is Crap Food, Crap Wine, Crap Cheese and Crap fuel.

The latter risk is more about how much water is in the fuel and in the West, how much windswept dust is in the fuel storage tanks being pumped into your van.
If you can overlook the tarted up frozen TV dinners dished up by supposed high end Darden Restaurant chains nationwide and poor old Applebee's concoctions,. then the water & dust combo in the dispensed fuel will, silently do your engine in, especially if you follows MB's filter directives of 20,000 miles.
All the best & don't forget your Alka-Seltzer! :devilish:
'Dennis
 
Last edited:

99sport

Well-known member
Actually in the realm of things its just life !
On a slightly different twist when on the road and looking for food, hospitality and fueling services across the country, my often statement is Crap Food, Crap Wine, Crap Cheese and Crap fuel.

The latter risk is more about how much water is in the fuel and in the West, how much windswept dust is in the fuel storage tanks being pumped into your van.
If you can overlook the tarted up frozen TV dinners dished up by supposed high end Darden Restaurant chains nationwide and poor old Applebee's concoctions,. then the water & dust combo in the dispensed fuel will, silently do your engine in, especially if you follows MB's filter directives of 20,000 miles.
All the best & don't forget your Alka-Seltzer! :devilish:
'Dennis
How often would you recommend a fuel filter change? Say for a T1N?
 

220629

Well-known member
!0, 000 under normal circumstances.
Dennis
What is !0,000? Add whatever numeral in front that we want? :tongue:

So 10,000 miles for a T1N? Why doesn't the upgraded 20,000 mile interval apply to T1N's? Why did MB change up to a 20,000 mile interval? The filter sizes on the newer models didn't get physically bigger. I'm thinking that MB research showed that the 10,000 mile interval was conservative.

My filter change schedule is every other oil change. OCI is typically 14,000 miles using ASSYST. No problems so far. Admittedly my experience based upon running 2 ea. T1N's does not a study make.

:2cents: vic
 

lindenengineering

Well-known member
Frankly I don't give a $chit what MB states .
Here in the high plains dusty desert like conditions of Colorado & the West, airborne dust entering the fuel in the gas station tank at below forecourt level storage and when you open the filler cap, a small but inevitable quantity of dust will enter the tank & its fuel contents.
Add nationwide rain water, tank internal condensation & variation of fuel quality all play their part, when taking into account that ALL Sprinters DO NOT have pre-filter conditioning.

Remember the MB diesel, uses a full flow system from tank back to tank, therefore the system is subjected to high flow rate conditions.
I revert to tech course many years ago run by Carter & Napa.
Cited was a petrol Landrover Discovery 1 and a Chevrolet PU which both share the same basic line filter & in tank pump, being full flow, the system starts to restrict here in the West with dust @ 25 microns after about 90 days of use, & it is totally restricting the fuel flow to the common rail at 2,2 bar within12 months .
Both Chevrolet & Landrover manuals stated change every year. Follow that wisdom and you will have a fuel pump failure.
I will cite further .
Most truck and bus makers state that at 90 days to changing fuel filters in dusty arid or very damp tropical conditions.
Those dumb Iraqis know thing or two and have them changed @ 21 day intervals, if you don't want dead buses on the highways & those so called socialist Venezuelans always have a pump water & filter separator in the truck/ bus shop to exchange the fuel contents while it gets an oil change in the rainy season to get expansive FIE damaging water droplets out of the fuel.
Essentially everyone should alter their filtration and oil changing regimens to suit their operating conditions and not be held formerly when arduous potentially damaging to expensive engine parts life is at stake.
Dennis
 

220629

Well-known member
Frankly I don't give a $chit what MB states .
...
Well ok then.

Remember the MB diesel, uses a full flow system from tank back to tank, therefore the system is subjected to high flow rate conditions.
...
What about high flow rates that return to the tank?

The volume of new, potentially contaminated fuel doesn't change no matter how many times you pass it around within the basically closed system/fuel tank. The amount of outside contamination remains the same.

...
Essentially everyone should alter their filtration and oil changing regimens to suit their operating conditions and not be held formerly when arduous potentially damaging to expensive engine parts life is at stake.
Dennis
Not everyone has dusty conditions. We have road salt, but not much dust. I'll keep doing what I've done.

Thanks for the reply as always.

:cheers: vic
 

lindenengineering

Well-known member
For info.
On a gasoline engines post those two 1996 examples now being ancient, the system was changed technically to just supply enough fuel for power demand, with no return line.
Pioneered originally by Honda just about every modern gasoline car these days is directly controlled by the ECM to supply just the right amount of fuel for power demand.
The Sprinter not having a pre -filter like many domestic & Asian light & medium duty application relies solely upon one filter.

Being a full flow system currently as in old gasoline cars, the successive filling of the tank over a 10,000 mile lapsed period is likely to be in the order of 500 gallons .
Since the filter is subjected to a full flow condition it means that the element will have to absorb 500 gallons worth of contamination within the 10,000 mile service period.
So here in the West a high concentration of fine dust entering the fuel is commonplace.
In more damper climates water, including condensation, and rock salt mixed with sand play its parts as well.
Now add the asphaltines created by fuel flowing through injectors at high pressures & heat, This is high flow capacity system and then running back to the tank to be re-circulated back again. The filter is doing overtime after 10,000 miles if the base fuel, was high in some of the aromatics & bitumen's during formulation. Ever wondered why the filter element is black sometimes--asphaltines staring you in the face saying "Hi Alphie the Asphaltine here , gimme me a kiss !
All things to take into account when servicing your van
Dennis.
.
 

220629

Well-known member
... Ever wondered why the filter element is black sometimes--asphaltines staring you in the face saying "Hi Alphie the Asphaltine here , gimme me a kiss !
All things to take into account when servicing your van
Dennis.
.
Sounds good.

"Do you see black specs floating in your fuel? Does your diesel fuel appear discolored and darker than normal or are your fuel filters black? Do you notice you are losing MPG? Asphaltene might be your problem!
...

Fuel Scorching Leads to Asphaltene Buildup

Simply put, the injector operates with a large amount of pressure and at a very high temperature and unfortunately it can scorch the fuel. This burning can create a black asphaltene buildup. The small pieces of asphaltenes, which contain carbon, group together forming larger clusters that can even plug the fuel filters and lead to a shorter filter life. This can cause lost MPG in your vehicle and that means you are wasting money and not getting the most out of your fuel.

Asphaltenes can be present any time of year and is all too common so be on the lookout! You should know that if you have asphaltenes, they won’t go away on their own and need to be treated by a fuel professional. If you believe you may be experiencing this issue, contact us today so that we inspect your equipment and properly treat your problem."

.

Thanks for the heads up about asphaltenes.

:cheers: vic

Evidence of asphaltene being trapped?

A black fuel filter after 50,000 miles.
 
Last edited:

lindenengineering

Well-known member
How about oil and oil filter changes? My T1N engine source was adamant about 5000 mile oil change intervals, but it seems like 10000 is more common, so do you do the fuel filter at the same time as oil and filter?
Using Rotella T6 in normal operating circumstances seems fine.
Its our preferred fill for about four T1N customers per day.
Dennis
 

glasseye

Well-known member
Dennis, would a clogged (or becoming clogged) fuel filter show up in mpg calculations?

Frito has been remarkably consistent over 160K miles, seldom varying more than 1 mpg either side of the 24 mpg mark. Weather and operator inputs seem to be the only controlling variables.

Would it be correct to assume that a consistent drop of, say 2 mpg would be a wakeup call for a fuel filter change?
 

lindenengineering

Well-known member
Dennis, would a clogged (or becoming clogged) fuel filter show up in mpg calculations?

Frito has been remarkably consistent over 160K miles, seldom varying more than 1 mpg either side of the 24 mpg mark. Weather and operator inputs seem to be the only controlling variables.

Would it be correct to assume that a consistent drop of, say 2 mpg would be a wakeup call for a fuel filter change?
Well on a service test, both pre and post test run, we/you check the fuel rail pressures. Sometimes you can get a detective fuel filter that will throw the figures out the window. More prevalent by the way on 906 Sprinters a fuel rail pressure off by about 10 bar will seriously affect how the Sprinter works. The fuel filter is often the culprit
Obviously the pre service test run allows us to record the fuel rail pressures before & after a B service . Then after the filter change etc etc look for the improvement if any over the original .
Just basic service PM stuff really .
Dennis
 

CJPJ

2008 3500 170 EXTD 3.0 V6 OM642.993 4.182
I'm not Dennis but I'll suggest that a diesel restricted fuel filter; will be like limiting the travel of the throttle, and reduce maximum power. Surmising .. A reduced Wide Open Throttle condition, the limiting of max power will increase mpg in a WOT circumstance.
Dennis, would a clogged (or becoming clogged) fuel filter show up in mpg calculations?

Frito has been remarkably consistent over 160K miles, seldom varying more than 1 mpg either side of the 24 mpg mark. Weather and operator inputs seem to be the only controlling variables.

Would it be correct to assume that a consistent drop of, say 2 mpg would be a wakeup call for a fuel filter change?
 

220629

Well-known member
... Ever wondered why the filter element is black sometimes--asphaltines staring you in the face saying "Hi Alphie the Asphaltine here , gimme me a kiss !
All things to take into account when servicing your van
Dennis.
.
There is photographic evidence that asphaltenes may build up on the T1N fuel filter.

A cut open filter is shown in this thread. Thanks goes to Glasseye. :thumbup:

The black color after 100,000+ miles of service is likely related to asphaltenes.


vic
 

glasseye

Well-known member
The black color after 100,000+ miles of service is likely related to asphaltenes.
Hmmm. In retrospect (and now that I know that there are such things as asphaltenes) that explains the discolouration and lack of any other debris.

No change in Frito's mpg data before or since the extended fuel filter change interval.

I won't be so neglectful in the future. I promise. :hide:
 

Kajtek1

2015 3500 X long limo RV
I'm not Dennis but I'll suggest that a diesel restricted fuel filter; will be like limiting the travel of the throttle, and reduce maximum power. Surmising .. A reduced Wide Open Throttle condition, the limiting of max power will increase mpg in a WOT circumstance.
I did have clog fuel filters on diesels - mostly on Fords where not only main filter was fast to clog, but also plastic strainer on pickup tube was developing varnishes on the screens.
They symptoms always were not enough power for hill climbing. On some instances I could drive over 20 miles with it, so usually it gives you some warning.
I record mpg at each fill up and never noticed any mpg difference.
 

220629

Well-known member
...

No change in Frito's mpg data before or since the extended fuel filter change interval.

I won't be so neglectful in the future. I promise. :hide:
Rats. I was kinda depending on you for another data point for maybe 120,000 miles next time. I won't ever hit that with my 2004. The body will rust away before then.

:cheers: vic
 

Top Bottom