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How long can diesel fuel sit before it should be disposed of?

doughboy18718

doughboy18718

Diesel Retard!
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The Burg, VA
Here's my scenario. The yukon that i just acquired has been sitting for roughly a year withought being started. I am in the process of changing the flywheel so i can get it started (that was the problem when it was parked). Is the fuel in the tank still good, or is there an additive that would help? I don't want to get it back together and try and start it only to send nasty sludge through the motor. I am willing to drop the tank and clean it (or replace it) and to go as far as to blow the lines out just to clean them out if i have to.

Thanks for your help guys!
 
If it was me I would get one of those cheapy drill pumps & pump as much out of the tank as you can through the filler neck, fill it with new diesel, change the fuel filter. Take the fuel line off where it goes onto the IP, put it into a container of some kind & jump the LP to flush the fuel lines. Put fuel line back on IP & see what happens. If you have fuel delivery problems then I would drop the tank. I wouldn't drop the tank unless I had to. Too much work.
 
Mine sat in a garage for three years while I lived in Japan. IIRC, my mileage sucked but she sucked it all down with no problems. If it were gasoline, I'd be troubled.

I'm curious what the harm would be of opening the petcock, jumping your lift pump and just letting it pump out your tank.
 
When I purchased my truck it had sat for over two years. It started right up after the fuel filter was installed properly. It has ran good ever since except, for some noise it is making.
 
Fuel can sit for long time, think winter overs in a home heating oil system (Nr2 fuel), although long term stored fuel creates multiple burner tip cleanings or filter changes.

If you want to be absolutely sure it is safe to use, get one of those pumps as stated above, put a cheap filter on it put in 5gal cans, add 5 gal at time to clean fuel with fuel treatment in it. When you get to bottom of the tank you can jumper the lift pump to run, or even use the lift itself for whole job but remember only (28 gph) if healthy, and drop tank and make sure inside tank is clean.

My concern is that Diesel has a propensity to collect moisture from air rather than evaporate, water(condensation) plus diesel lets algae grow in the fuel, that stays on bottom of your tank, which then can "snot yout sock" or becomes the starter colony to attack new fuel you add to your tank, you can kill it with fuel treatment, but dead algea clogs your filter, if you dont pump & clean, you need to be prepared for that; have a spare or 2 handy until you've gone thru a few tanks of belended "suspect" fuel/refills.

You could just run as is and treat, but you are more at risk to have frequent filter changes, fuel issues overall if you don't "polish the fuel" which is what we used to do in the USN for aviation (JP-5) & propulsion turbine fuels (F-76/Nr 2 Diesel), polish it thru recirc over filters to get as much crud out of it as we could, before refilling helo tanks or propulsion ready for service tanks.
 
I got an old Cat, been sitting for 10 yrs with full tank of fuel without running. last fall i fired up and it ran like it had ran the day before.
my 98 had not not run since 2004, had a full tank of fuel in it. last week i fired it up for first time since i rebuild the engine. he fired up instantly, did'nt even smoke on that old fuel.

Only thing i would do is drain the water off if there is any. But then, i live in a cool climate and never had a problem with algea
 
Alot of it depends on temp also I have a friend who had some for over 10 years with it still being just fine. I don't know much about algea never seen it here must grow better in warm temps.
 
just run it out.I've run a lot of 2 yr old fuel from my farm tanks.Dilute it if you want with some fresh, change filter soon.
 
Need some help now!

I added some fresh fuel to the tank, and she fired up last night. She ran for a few seconds, causing alot of white smoke, then died. Now I can't get her to fire at all! She will turn over, but thats it. I am not sure that I hear the pump coming on either. Could i have merely blown a fuse? Or did I actually do some damage somewhere?
 
I'd open the water drain petcock, see if the lift pump is pumping fuel first. If the lift pump isn't pumping, fix that and go from there. (See lift pump diagnostics/troubleshooting in the sitckys) If it is, have a look at the fuel filer - maybe change that. When i bought mine, it sat for about 18 months with approx 1/4 tank of LSD in it. I got it running on that fuel (although it smoked like it was on fire), then immediatly filled the tank to the brim with new fuel. I had No problems with running that, although i did change the gunky fuel filter right after that tank, and again about 2 months later. Good luck
Don
 
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As long as water doesnt get to it, Diesel can sit for a number of years without issue. We had an OTR tractor at school that sat for 6 years and ran fine with the fuel that was in it.
 
merlin5577 said:
As long as water doesnt get to it, Diesel can sit for a number of years without issue. We had an OTR tractor at school that sat for 6 years and ran fine with the fuel that was in it.
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Yep, and moisture and condensation is water picked up through the air, The level the tank sat at probably makes a huge difference, a full tank will self-preserve alot better than a 1/4 full tank. Summer heat, winter colds... those crazy days that start at 10 and go up to 60..

Climate controlled storage at full level would last for years and years.

BTW, oil is said to wax from sitting along time outside due to the heat cycles. Thats why they usually say change every 3000 miles or 6 months.
 
Matt Bachand said:
Yep, and moisture and condensation is water picked up through the air, The level the tank sat at probably makes a huge difference, a full tank will self-preserve alot better than a 1/4 full tank. Summer heat, winter colds... those crazy days that start at 10 and go up to 60..

Climate controlled storage at full level would last for years and years.

BTW, oil is said to wax from sitting along time outside due to the heat cycles. Thats why they usually say change every 3000 miles or 6 months.
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Never heard of waxing engine oil, yes on fuel but only at temp <60F, bulk/stored fuel always supposed to be stored with tank on incline so water collects at end of tank with drain petcock so one can open the valve and drain off water first before taking suction/or supply from it.
 
daustin said:
I'd open the water drain petcock, see if the lift pump is pumping fuel first. If the lift pump isn't pumping, fix that and go from there. (See lift pump diagnostics/troubleshooting in the sitckys) If it is, have a look at the fuel filer - maybe change that. When i bought mine, it sat for about 18 months with approx 1/4 tank of LSD in it. I got it running on that fuel (although it smoked like it was on fire), then immediatly filled the tank to the brim with new fuel. I had No problems with running that, although i did change the gunky fuel filter right after that tank, and again about 2 months later. Good luck
Don
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X2 make sure the fuel filter is fully primed as well, if air was trapped in the filter housing that would have shut it down and make it a hard starter, use jumpers to force the lift to run with vent on top of the filter open until you get solid fuel.
 
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Ok, I just want to be clear, I am an idiot!

I tried changing the fuel filter to see if that helped, but it doesn't seem like i can get it to seat properly, not to mention it doesn't seem like the plastic ring will go on straight. Am I not doing something right?

I try to read up on things before i post, but with all of the terminology thats used, i get lost. With all of the above posts, i've gone cross eyed more than once. Does any one have any pictures that I can go off of? I am a visual learner, and those would help tremendously!
 
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The filter will only go into the filter manager one way. Look at the tabs on the top of the Filter Manager and the slots at the top of the filter. Also make sure the screen around the center of the shaft in the FM didn't pull up some when you removed the old filter.
 
I press down slightly on mine while turning it. It finds its 'keyway' and goes down the other 1/2 inch or so.
 
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Sometimes the old gasket will stick on the filter housing and the new filter will either leak or the screw on retainer won't go on straight or at all.
Don
 
Ok guys, thanks for all the help on this one! She is now running, and pretty well i might add. I know i still have things to do, and i will continue to poll the the guru's of DTR, but i really wanted to say thanks to everyone who chimed in to help.
 
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