Clearn 7.3L PSD heads

[BigRedWeather]

I have run my 97 F350 for 108k miles on one set of injectors and for 20k on the next set and now my head is gunked up. It needs a thorough cleaning. A clean head would do me no good if I didn't filter my oil better. To that end I have done the following:

OLD AND NEW I only collect oil from the cleanest sources, store it for no more than 1 month during which time it settles in a dark room. I draw oil from 8" above the bottom of the tank and pass it through 2 tube socks to remove particles that would clog up my CF. I have run VegStable at the recommended level in my VO but didn't notice a difference. I did not use VegStable with the first set of injectors and poly did not cause me a problem.

OLD steel storage drums
NEW plastic storage totes

OLD I used to heat my oil in a steel drum to 140F and run it thorugh a
DieselCraft OC20 CF
NEW Now I heat my oil in an aluminum tank to 120k and run it thorugh a DieselCraft OC20 CF

OLD I used to heat all the oil in my 200 gallon holding tank before pumping it through a 10 micron filter into my truck
NEW now I only heat 60 gallons to 120F in an aluminum tank, pump it through a 10 micron filter and into my truck

Does anyone know the best way to clean the fuel galleys in these heads? Obviously I would have to get a new set of injectors.


Thanks,


BigRedWeather

 

[RenoF250]

Does anyone know the best way to clean the fuel galleys in these heads? Obviously I would have to get a new set of injectors.


Thanks,


BigRedWeather

Are the heads coming off? That would make cleaning much easier. I think you will have to leave the old injectors in a flush from front to back through the galleys. With what depends on what the gunk looks like. I would think if you put it through a 10 micron and then the trucks filters it all should have made it through. If it gelled up I have not found a good solvent for that.

 

[BigRedWeather]

Yes, the heads are coming off. The VO was 160F before hitting the engine, and then on shutdown the head was flushed with diesel, so their should be no gelled VO in the head. But, the seconds set of injectors died afte 20k miles. I don't know the shape of the galleys. Could I flush diesel through the gallies and run something through there to clean them out?


BigRedWeather

 

[RenoF250]

So you do not know that there is gunk in the heads, just that the injectors are dead. correct? What do you do to check/correct the pH of the oil? I understand the oil can get acidic and eat injectors quickly, could that be your problem? If so, no need to pull the heads that I can see.

If the is gunk and the diesel did not rinse it before, I doubt it will now. If the heads are off I would have them tanked or perhaps flush with Xylene or Acetone depending on which dissolves the gunk better.

 

[BigRedWeather]

I don't know the Ph of my oil. There are numerous properties fuel (VO) should have before going into an engine. The most fundamental are absence of foreign particles and water, and being 160F. Refineries can afford to spend millions to insure that all properties are correct, but my $2000 oil room can't compete and produce the same quality of fuel. I am continually improving the quality...

Attached are picture of my very nasty injectors after 20k miles. These were put in after the previous set ran for 108k in the same head. My mechanic says the head is all gunked up and needs to be thoroughly cleaned out. We are thinking these injectors were ruined with the gunk left in the head when the first set of injectors were removed.

BigRedWeather

 

[Mutley]

Wow. That much engine/injector work and effort to prepare the fuel can't possibly offset the cost of using pump fuel.....can it?????

 

[RenoF250]

I would scrape some of that black crap into some tuna fish cans and try different solvents and see what breaks it up best. I would guess kerosene will work well.

How is that crap making it through your filters? My only guess would be that there are small starch particles in the oil that are coagulating when they get hot in the head but that black color makes me think it is getting very hot like >300F. That does not see safe for fuel to be that hot.

 

[Diesel_brad]

Looks like your oil is breaking down. What kind of oil do you use? Did you change brands or service intervals?

 

[93turbo_animal]

WOW what are you trying to burn for fuel I ran WVO straight unheated and my injector looked as clean as the ones that only burn #2

 

[BigRedWeather]

WOW what are you trying to burn for fuel I ran WVO straight unheated and my injector looked as clean as the ones that only burn #2

This started out as very clean VO. See my post above for how it is selected and processed. It has been through a centrifuge and it always gets to 160F before it hits the engine. Unfilterd WVO going in at ambient temperature should kill an engine in 5k miles. I may have had some wired stuff going on like Ph or ovreheated fuel. I don't understand how it worked so well for 108k miles. I run with Jason Crawfords V2 Vegistroke kit.

We need a way to thoroughly insure that the VO will run through the engine efficiently. At preset, there is too much guess work, with the above noted side effects.


BigRedWeather

 

[BigRedWeather]

Looks like your oil is breaking down. What kind of oil do you use? Did you change brands or service intervals?

Rotella 15 W 40 every 40k miles.

 

[BigRedWeather]

I would scrape some of that black crap into some tuna fish cans and try different solvents and see what breaks it up best. I would guess kerosene will work well.

How is that crap making it through your filters? My only guess would be that there are small starch particles in the oil that are coagulating when they get hot in the head but that black color makes me think it is getting very hot like >300F. That does not see safe for fuel to be that hot.

I have to think it didn't make it through my filters. From the description of my filtration you can see it goes through two socks, a DieselCraft OC20 centirfuge at 8000 RPM, a 10 micron Donaldson at 120F, into the aluminum tank, through another donaldson 10 micron filter at 160F and into the engine. I wonder if polymerization is killing me after the onboard Donaldson when the VO is hitting the hot head. Any ideas are appreciated.

My understanding is that VO going into an engine at less the 160F can kill the engine and not spray properly through the injectors because the viscosity is wrong.

Can VO be too hot to go through the engine? I also understand that the PSD is especially suited to VO because the common fuel rail insures the fact that the VO will be hot when it hits the cylinders.


BigRedWeather

 

[BigRedWeather]

Wow. That much engine/injector work and effort to prepare the fuel can't possibly offset the cost of using pump fuel.....can it?????

After paying $6000 for my Vegistroke Kit and my filtration equipment, I have saved $16,000 in fuel costs by running VO. Sure a new engine is a big it, but in another year that will be paid for and I will have another set of heads available if they are needed. I am just beginning to hit the real sweet spot of this deal.


BigRedWeather

 

[93turbo_animal]

I have to think it didn't make it through my filters. From the description of my filtration you can see it goes through two socks, a DieselCraft OC20 centirfuge at 8000 RPM, a 10 micron Donaldson at 120F, into the aluminum tank, through another donaldson 10 micron filter at 160F and into the engine. I wonder if polymerization is killing me after the onboard Donaldson when the VO is hitting the hot head. Any ideas are appreciated.

I'm thinking you may have too much heat

My understanding is that VO going into an engine at less the 160F can kill the engine and not spray properly through the injectors because the viscosity is wrong.

This is definatelly not true me and a buddy of mine have been running wvo unheated just filtered with no deaths yet. He drives more then me and has over 340k miles on the stock injectors with almost 200K of that burning unheated SVO.

Can VO be too hot to go through the engine? I also understand that the PSD is especially suited to VO because the common fuel rail insures the fact that the VO will be hot when it hits the cylinders.

I dont know about PSDs but I do know the IDI I was running it in I heated to run year round and I did get to much heat. With all the heat on even when it was below 20 out the truck would surge which I thought was lack of heat till I blew a fuse and the truck ran better with the heat off

 

[Mutley]

Wow...that's some rather awesome savings. Good on ya! *&%$ing diesel fuel is starting to climb up here in the land of Cdn bacon and maple syrup. Can ya post a couple pics of your operation?