[BigFitzy]

Wanted to share my experience. I used to have injector clatter when I got this truck (in sig) a few years ago until I learned about adding 2SO. Diesel Kleen seemed to help too.

Then I started trying the biodiesel as it became available at pumps in my area. I'm in IN, but B11 is sold in IL, and since I'm close to the state line, it is available around here too. Anyway, running B11 seemed to make the Cummins just purr, running smoother than ever. So based on that and the lubricity report, I had quit adding 2SO, but ran Diesel Kleen white bottle in the winter.

A few weeks ago, I noticed the clatter coming back worse than before, even though I was always running B11. I questioned the fuel, so I tried filling up at a couple of different stations. No improvement.

Remembered having read about adding ATF to fuel. Searched and read a lot of posts here - a lot of them by rgsauger. This is a CF member I have come to trust as he has helped me out with a ton of support for my transmission issues.

Got a gallon of plain old cheap ATF from Walmart and dumped a quart into a half tank. That day I was heading out for a 500 mile round trip over the weekend. I made a few stops around town picking up stuff before leaving. In just those first few miles, I noticed the clatter going away. Could not believe how quickly it helped. It kept getting better over that weekend trip. I put another quart in each tank for the next two fillups, and then went to a half quart on this last tank. It is running smooth and quiet again.

The last thing I want is to have to buy injectors for my 'ol truck, so I try to maintain them and the rest of it. This stuff works for me. Thanks rgsauger and others who have shared their helpful info.

How much should I use for maintenance now that it is cleaned up again?

 

[Master_Chase]

I had similar results on a neglected 03 2SO and ATF, my current thinking is to see what happens with straight diesel if it runs good then a quart of 2SO and ATF every now and then (maybe 2-3 times a year) if not and half a quart of 2SO every tank and ATF every now and then.

 

[BigFitzy]

I had similar results on a neglected 03 2SO and ATF, my current thinking is to see what happens with straight diesel if it runs good then a quart of 2SO and ATF every now and then (maybe 2-3 times a year) if not and half a quart of 2SO every tank and ATF every now and then.

Cool. My only thing is that if I run straight #2, the injectors start sounding unhappy. If I run non-bio, I'll add 2SO, but I almost always run the B11 now for the better lubrication.

 

[Master_Chase]

I have no clue what B% I run the place I fill up at (buc-ee's) has a different sticker on almost every pump and the place was just built a year or 2 ago, the 5 stickers I've seen there are up to 2% (this one was replaced a couple month ago with 15 or 20%), 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20% Biodiesel.

EDIT: and I highly doubt they have multiple storage tanks with different blends and there's a fuel tanker there every 2-3 days so it's a very high turn over station.

 

[BigFitzy]

Yeah, I'll go in and ask what they are selling. Sometimes I get a blank stare, but sometimes they know, lol. One time I happened to get the store manager and he showed me the delivery sheet.

 

[dodgetruck2]

I would advise against prolong running of ATF it's a lubricity and cleaning agent yes but it is not designed to burn over time it'll build up unburnt material on your injector tips, no bueno there.

I recommend hotshot, I got a gallon at my local truck stop 1 gallon treats 4 35gal tanks I run a dose every oil change (6000miles bottle recommended) otherwise I run stanadyne lubricity formula. A treat made for fuel systems and designed to burn. Online in bulk it can be had under 40¢ per oz. 8oz per tank every tank unless I have hotshot in it. $3.20 a tank. Cost wise is probably a wash but better in the long run.

I think a almost resurrected my injectors from the dead but I had already ordered new ones so I installed anyway.

 

[steve05ram360]

Rob has over 100k on his injectors after starting to use Dex/Merc ATF... its not a problem when used with bio or 2SO. I had 35~40k on mine since starting to use it. I had what I thought was a stuck closed injector when I started. Cleared everything up except 1 noise I thought was the CP3. Ran awesome afterwards. Had an issue earlier this year with white smoke on startup, thought it was time for injectors, found I had a bad connection on one of the batteries causing a rough idle. fixed it, rough idle went away and most of the smoke. Had injectors checked out, had high return rate so I swapped them. Noise I thought was the CP3 went away... so yeah there was still an injector issue for the last year. Up until that point however it ran better than it had in years, all with atf and 2SO in the tank.

Posted pics of the injector tips, ATF kept the nozzle holes free and clear. Even cleared up areas that were carboned over, clearly visible by the volcano shape on a couple of the nozzle holes. Follow the link in my sig for the thread... its in that post or the newbies thread...

 

[GRUNT 11B]

People will use different amounts for maintenance. I put 16 oz of 2SO and a half qt of ATF in the tank every 2-3 fill ups. Some will use it every fill up. The reason in don't do it every fill up is because i don't put the same amount of fuel in my truck every time. Look at it this way. You add the additives and fill up your truck (i am making up these ratios, but you'll get the point) and it's 10 ppm ATF. Then you go to fill up again and put more ATF in. Now there is 12 ppm ATF because of the ATF that was already in those 8 gallons in the tank when fueling up, make sense? So you would have to put the same amount of fuel in your tank every time to keep the same ratio or run your tank lower then the last fuel up to keep the ratio from getting higher then you want. Granted the ratios aren't gonna get so outta whack that you end up running too much ATF, but that just my thinking and what i do for my truck.

 

[BigFitzy]

Thanks for all the input. I'll probably go with a smaller amount of ATF on a regular basis. I'm curious to see how it will run on the next fillup of just B11.

When I roll on the power now, it sounds SO much better than before. :thumbsup:

 

[steve05ram360]

People will use different amounts for maintenance. I put 16 oz of 2SO and a half qt of ATF in the tank every 2-3 fill ups. Some will use it every fill up. The reason in don't do it every fill up is because i don't put the same amount of fuel in my truck every time. Look at it this way. You add the additives and fill up your truck (i am making up these ratios, but you'll get the point) and it's 10 ppm ATF. Then you go to fill up again and put more ATF in. Now there is 12 ppm ATF because of the ATF that was already in those 8 gallons in the tank when fueling up, make sense? So you would have to put the same amount of fuel in your tank every time to keep the same ratio or run your tank lower then the last fuel up to keep the ratio from getting higher then you want. Granted the ratios aren't gonna get so outta whack that you end up running too much ATF, but that just my thinking and what i do for my truck.

I think 16oz is way overkill after looking at the injector tips with the scope. I agree with your thinking of the remaining additive in the tank @ fillup, I think if your adding every tank the only way is to calculate how much to add after filling up. I put together a cheat sheet pic for easy reference. I dumped it on my phone to use as needed. This is set for ~20oz of 2SO/25 gallons & 8oz of ATF

I can share the spreadsheet if anyone wants it. You can change the ratios to whatever your preferences are.

 

[steve05ram360]

Thanks for all the input. I'll probably go with a smaller amount of ATF on a regular basis. I'm curious to see how it will run on the next fillup of just B11.

When I roll on the power now, it sounds SO much better than before. :thumbsup:

Pic of one of the tips... clearly the nozzle hole is free of obstruction. I was able to shine a light up into it from the body side and all holes on all injectors that I looked at were clear.

 

[SilverFox66]

People will use different amounts for maintenance. I put 16 oz of 2SO and a half qt of ATF in the tank every 2-3 fill ups. Some will use it every fill up. The reason in don't do it every fill up is because i don't put the same amount of fuel in my truck every time. Look at it this way. You add the additives and fill up your truck (i am making up these ratios, but you'll get the point) and it's 10 ppm ATF. Then you go to fill up again and put more ATF in. Now there is 12 ppm ATF because of the ATF that was already in those 8 gallons in the tank when fueling up, make sense? So you would have to put the same amount of fuel in your tank every time to keep the same ratio or run your tank lower then the last fuel up to keep the ratio from getting higher then you want. Granted the ratios aren't gonna get so outta whack that you end up running too much ATF, but that just my thinking and what i do for my truck.

I think 16oz is way overkill after looking at the injector tips with the scope. I agree with your thinking of the remaining additive in the tank @ fillup, I think if your adding every tank the only way is to calculate how much to add after filling up. I put together a cheat sheet pic for easy reference. I dumped it on my phone to use as needed. This is set for ~20oz of 2SO/25 gallons & 8oz of ATF....

This is good information, that most dont think about. For this reason, and to try to make sure I dont have old fuel in my tank, I run my truck down as close to empty as I feel comfortable.... 3 or 4 times a year. I then only add about 6 gallons of fuel, and run it as low as I can without adding anything to the fuel, and then repeat. Then, I full up and go back to my normal additives. When we fill up constantly, we normally have "X%" of fuel/additives already in the tank. That means there is a certain percentage of old fuel additives in the tank, and no way of knowing how much or how old it is. I like your spreadsheet Steve, you remind me of myself with stuff like that lol. I took the easy way though, as I dont run as much additive as you do. I normally runabout 15oz of 2SO combined with either 2oz of ATF, or 2oz of Howes Meaner Cleaner (17oz total additive) in a full 34gal tank of fuel. That way no matter how much fuel I put in, its easy to figure at .5oz/gal of the mixture :thumbup:

 

[GRUNT 11B]

I think 16oz is way overkill after looking at the injector tips with the scope.

I was wrong, i use the 8oz bottle. I don't know why i was thinking 16oz.

 

[johnpr3]

ATF is "Old School" technology along with using old motor oil. ATF is loaded with ash based detergents which, when burned, do leave hard deposits behind in the fuel and exhaust systems. Not to mention, that if you get caught, they'll lock you up and throw away the key! And, not just here in Kalifornia.

 

[steve05ram360]

ATF is "Old School" technology along with using old motor oil. ATF is loaded with ash based detergents which, when burned, do leave hard deposits behind in the fuel and exhaust systems. Not to mention, that if you get caught, they'll lock you up and throw away the key! And, not just here in Kalifornia.

Atf, the stuff we use is not modern. No deposits were left at the nozzle holes of the injectors i pulled and ran atf on for 35-40k+ miles. On some of the tips it is clear that the atf cleared out deposits that had formed over the previous miles of use and restored performance to a level i bad no idea had passed.

Being new to the forum you missed the conversations on this topic, it has been beat to death. All of us who use it are aware if the pros and cons associated with its use... All i can say beyond that is atf cleared what power service use left behind.

 

[smelonas]

FWIW, Ill run 16 oz of atf every 3 or 4 tanks. The rest of the time, I use a quart of 2SO every tank. I got a record 17.2 city mpg last tank with nothing more than just 2SO and diesel in the tank. I think as my overall oil content goes up I am seeing better economy from the FCA and injectors metering fuel more accurately. Thats probably a really good lie I am telling myself, buts what im going with.

Went drag racing on this current tank... That made it run much better as well. lol

 

[liska]

Any recommendation on the brand DEX/MERC ATF that should be used?
I read absolutely no synthetic, is that correct, only use conventional.
Not sure if any ATF on the has no synthetic anymore.

 

[KR1991]

So ATF really helps?


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[steve05ram360]

Supertech at walmart... Under $3/qt

 

[smelonas]

Super tech Dex and TCW3 2SO. Cheapest and it works..

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