Fuel restoration?

8 years ago, I filled the tanks on my 92 F-350 7.3 diesel, thinking then that the storage would only be for a few months or so. One thing led to another, and the storage time became much longer than expected due to work assignments outside of the US.

I will be returning to the States next month, and was planning on making my truck roadworthy again. I will most likely have to replace the tires from sitting so long, replace the batteries even though they were on tenders, change lubricants, etc.

What I am not sure how to take care of is the diesel fuel short of dropping the tanks and disposing of the fuel. Would rather not do that as it is about 100 gallons of fuel, and the logistics of disposing of that much fuel would be a nightmare, not to mention the cost.

The truck has been stored inside in Santa Fe where the humidity is very low most of time.

I have read about products like PRI-D that will restore old diesel fuel, and I was wondering if anyone had any experience with these sort of products or had any experience/advice to share.

Thanks in advance for any assistance.

From your description of storage, fuel is probably fine. I have a tank of off road that is twice that age and have no problems. Diesel will last much longer than gas in storage, and yours was inside in a low humidity environment so it is unlikely to have water in it.
My experiences from reviving old diesels is that you need to make sure there was not water (water can lead to bacteria in the fuel) and then burn it up. It will likely smoke more until that fuel is burned through.

I agree with the shadetree. The main thing that happens to diesel in storage is condensation and/or algae growth. In dry NM, neither of those are likely. My advice is to take a fuel sample and if it looks ok, just run it. Keep adding fresh fuel when it gets to 1/4 tank. The Pri-D is a stabilizer more than a restorer. It can slow down the effects of aging but can't turn old fuel into new. I don't thing there is anything that can. I have used the Sta-Bil diesel with good results for our farm fuel, which often sits the better part of a season before use. Anyway, I wouldn't assume the fuel is unusable. It may not be optimal but it's usable IMO.

I saw oil analysis taken from a tractor in Texas that had sat 30 years. The oil in it was perfectly fine to use and it was for a short while. I have seen many samples of oil over 10 years that was safe to use. When stored in a dry, temperature-stable environment, oil doesn't age much. This is especially true if the oil was fresh when it was stored.

Please report on the state of the batteries. It isn't a given they are bad if the charge has been maintained, but that depends on the batteries. I just am curious about that most of all. The Yellowtop Optimas in my '86 were installed in 1997 (I can prove it!) and they are still going strong. I had a set of Trojan deep cycles in our old camper that lasted 10 years. If the state of charge is maintained, sulfation is minimized.

my peterbilt sat 20 yrs unran and unused.it started and drove with just new batteries.insides of the fuel tanks were fine. diesel does not turn to tar like gasoline.

Thanks to everyone for their answers. There seems to be a consensus that the fuel shouldn't be a problem. One less thing to have to deal with after 8 years of being away. I will keep a couple of spare fuel filters on hand just in case.

PwrSmoke: I will let you know how I make out with the batteries. Would be a nice surprise, but I am not holding my breath however.

Not much hope on the tires after sitting in one place all this time.

One thing that I am glad that I did was to install a pre/post run lube oil pump. It will let me pressurize the oil system prior to ever turning the engine over. This should prevent rotating the crank on a dry bearing, possibly wiping a bearing.

About the tires. The worst thing is the Sun on tires, stored inside like you said, I would bet that they are OK, maybe a flat spot if the truck was not jacked up to take the weight off them. A flat spot will soon round itself out. Tires are made with UV deterent, but have to be run to constantly bring it to the surface, according to manufactures.

Diesel fuel. Not long ago I helped a guy get a Greyhound bus started after setting for 12 years, the fuel in it was just fine. Yours being stored inside, you don't get the heat then cold to cause condensation like it would being outside in the Sun. Wouldn't be concerned at all with it. The Bus was stored in a metal barn.

What kind of tires are on the truck. If they are steel belted radials the steel belts start to separate from the tire after about 5 to 7 years. I have seen several Good Year trailer tire spares blow in the racks on trailers with never rolling a mile. A bias belted tire is much different and forgiving. The tires on my 1937 Cord have been holding air since 1961 with little or no air added. The car was taken off the roads in 1949 so the tires are at least that old and still holding air and the weight of the car. Something can be said for old bias ply tires compared to steel belted tires.

The tires are Goodyear Wrangler radials. I had one throw the rubber and the steel belt quite a few years ago, and the Goodyear people said that it was due of the age of the tire. This is why I was asking the question.

Probably the safer bet would be to go ahead and replace the tires. On the previous failure, the steel belt wrapped itself around the axle and it was a real problem to get off, especially as it was on I-25 halfway between Albuquerque and Santa Fe.

icanfixall said:

What kind of tires are on the truck. If they are steel belted radials the steel belts start to separate from the tire after about 5 to 7 years. I have seen several Good Year trailer tire spares blow in the racks on trailers with never rolling a mile. A bias belted tire is much different and forgiving. The tires on my 1937 Cord have been holding air since 1961 with little or no air added. The car was taken off the roads in 1949 so the tires are at least that old and still holding air and the weight of the car. Something can be said for old bias ply tires compared to steel belted tires.

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The DOT and the Tire & Rim Association officially give tires a 6 year lifetime... whether they are in use or not. That doesn't necessarily mean they turn to powder in 6 years, but after that time, they think enough deterioration has occurred to make a tire unsafe. It's basically the truth, though perhaps they are being a bit overcautious sometimes. There is probably enough safety factor to eke a couple more safe years, especially if the tires were stored out of direct sunlight. There are anecdotal stories on both sides of the question and no sure way to tell if an old tire is safe or not. The deterioration occurs inside the carcass. Anyway, it's just a call the owner has to make because he is going to experience the results... good or bad. There are states who have, or will be enacting, laws to prevent tires that are older than six years to be sold used. Every tire is stamped with a date code and have been since the '80s.

A related topic is a tire warehouse near here that was being sold in an estate sale a few years back. The owner had been in business since the '50s and had died. He was "less than organized" shall we say and in the ****** of the warehouse were piles (hundreds if not thousands) of unused tires of all types and sizes going back to the '60s at least. Some were the type the muscle car collector guys will kill for. The estate lawyers wouldn't allow any of them to be sold because of worries over liability. The local car collecting crowd was apoplectic... all restored cars owners would love to have period correct tires on their babies for shows. I heard a few tires snuck out (I know one of the sneakers) but most went to a recycler.

Nice to see another member in my neck of the woods, I go to school in Albuquerque right now!

Robt.Webster said:

8 years ago, I filled the tanks on my 92 F-350 7.3 diesel, thinking then that the storage would only be for a few months or so. One thing led to another, and the storage time became much longer than expected due to work assignments outside of the US.

I will be returning to the States next month, and was planning on making my truck roadworthy again. I will most likely have to replace the tires from sitting so long, replace the batteries even though they were on tenders, change lubricants, etc.

What I am not sure how to take care of is the diesel fuel short of dropping the tanks and disposing of the fuel. Would rather not do that as it is about 100 gallons of fuel, and the logistics of disposing of that much fuel would be a nightmare, not to mention the cost.

The truck has been stored inside in Santa Fe where the humidity is very low most of time.

I have read about products like PRI-D that will restore old diesel fuel, and I was wondering if anyone had any experience with these sort of products or had any experience/advice to share.

Thanks in advance for any assistance.

Click to expand...

Albuquerque checking in...

My IDIs (5) sat for around a year in ABQ. Three had fuel systems completely packed with algae, that was near impossible to clean out. It was easier to replace components. It was an extremely strong adhesive, and any small amounts that resisted cleaning would glue parts back together overnight, like the injection pumps and injectors.

One had minor algae and one was cleaned up with just doses of DieselKleen. These two had only a few gallons of diesel in them when they were parked.

You may be in for a mechanic's nightmare. DieselKleen killed all my algae, but all that sludge and slime still had to be cleaned out.

Let me know if you need advice or parts. I'll be selling off my IDIs and spare parts soon. May cut loose my filtering systems too.

Ouch!

After all the positive answers indicating that I shouldn't have any problems, your message was a bit of a shock.

Hope that your experience was an exception. Otherwise, I may be contacting you. Thanks for the offer.

Robert

i have heard about fuel getting bugs but ive never seen it myself.my boss resurrected his motorhome after 7 yrs parked without any problems.that was about 5 yrs ago.he uses it often now.

Here's another opinion about your tires. If doing much highway driving, I'd replace them. If you're mostly city driving at slower speeds, you could probably run them as long as you want to.