Tactical Doc's M923 fuel preservative choice

[TacticalDoc]

M923 fuel preservative choice

Which is best and which do you use for fuel, oil and trans fluid?

I edited this post in light of my research regarding trans fluid in 5 tons here and speaking to others

Looked up a lot of old posts and just called 2 Allison Trans Service shops. spoke to them about the MT654CR which is not electric. Both recommended that 10w40 should be fine and they wouldn't change it to Dex3. One said Dex 3 is no longer recommended in Allison trans because it does something to the seals. and the other also did not recommend Dex 3. The difference is that the 10w40 is thicker and doesn't have the additives.

My solution is to use 10w40 for everything (steering, trans and motor... except axles) and add a preservative like lucas or Sea Foam to it. As they both said the military have been using it for years on non electronic transmissions with success and that's what I'm going to do.

So, the question is what additive do you use for your fuel and oil/trans

1. injector cleaner/fuel efficiency
2. algae/water control
3. cleaning oil deposits in the trans

What say you...

Sea Foam
Stanadyne
Diesel Kleen or Bio Kleen
StaBil
Lucas
Sea Foam
Red Line
STP


EDIT after some more research was done:::

Fuel tank;
Keep tank full to decrease water build up
Diesel Kleen with every tank full (approx. 8ml/gal) This is to clean the injectors and give you better gas mileage.
Clear Diesel (approx. 10ml/gal) Add to tank once a year to clean out sludge in your tank.

Storage of fuel;
Bio Kleen (approx.. 1ml/2gal) Add to storage tank once a year to keep fungus from growing.
PRI-D (D=diesel, approx 2ml/gal) Add to storage tank once a year to stabilize fuel. This is better than StaBil because you can treat the fuel every year for 5 years. StaBil can only be used for 1 year.

From the research I did it doesn't seem oil needs to be treated. But if you do this is what I would use

Trans and Motor;
Rotella 10w40
Add STP treatment at under 12 dollars a gallon (Lucas heavy duty oil stabilizer (10002) costs $25 per gallon). Add in a 1:5 ratio (1 gallon of STP oil treatment to 5 gal of oil

Axle and Transfer case;
80w90 gear lube
may add STP treatment at 1:5 ratio ?

 

[Jeepsinker]

I like Lucas for performance and CRC products for algae and stuff

 

[GHall]

http://opti-lube.com/xpd-diesel-fuel-improver-product.html

 

[doghead]

You know you can post a poll, right?

 

[Scar59]

Diesel Kleen products for cleaner fuel systems.

 

[M925]

Sea-Foam.....

 

[Moto2four]

I use diesel Kleen and two stroke premix, 1 oz per gallon.

 

[Captaincarrier]

If you can find Sentry Diesel Plus, use it. We carry it in 5 gallon pails in our service trucks.

 

[TacticalDoc]

If you can find Sentry Diesel Plus, use it. We carry it in 5 gallon pails in our service trucks.

they sell it on ebay in 5 gal buckets

 

[TacticalDoc]

My current thought is...

Fuel tank;
kept full to decrease water build up
Diesel Kleen with every tank full
Bio Kleen on occasion or if stored for a long time (EDIT along with PRI maybe)

Trans and Motor;
Rotella 10w40
Lucas heavy duty oil stabilizer (10002)

Axle and Transfer case
80w90 gear lube
Lucas heavy duty oil stablizer

 

[Thunderbird]

I've used Diesel Kleen and Sea Foam both in my 2006 Dodge Ram since it was new (not at the same time). Cracked a fuel line last year and wanted to play, so pulled an injector to look at it. Looked virtually new. Truck still runs great and if anything my mpg has steadily increased over the years (I keep a spreadsheet of the miles and fuel everytime I fill up. I've got 8 years of data I can plot, so I can see the trends).

I also add Lucas to the engine oil in my skid-steers and excavators. Don't know if it really does anything, but I perceive them to be a little quieter with the Lucas. Maybe it's just my wanting them to be quieter because I think I'm doing something good. I don't put Lucas in the Dodge; don't ask why, I don't have a reason.

 

[joesco]

PRI-D works great but a bit pricey.

 

[TacticalDoc]

PRI-D works great but a bit pricey.

Never heard of the stuff. But, reading the reviews it seems great. I do store fuel for a year at a time and then cycle it every year with stabil in it. The good thing about this is that you can store fuel for up to 5 years but u have to add more every year. That cant be done with Stabil.

You guys don't use a biocide for diesel fuel when storing it a long time?

 

[TacticalDoc]

Did some more research and this is what I came up with;

Fuel tank;
Keep tank full to decrease water build up
Diesel Kleen with every tank full (approx. 8ml/gal) This is to clean the injectors and give you better gas mileage.
Clear Diesel (approx. 10ml/gal) Add to tank once a year to clean out sludge in your tank.

Storage of fuel
Bio Kleen (approx.. 1ml/2gal) Add to storage tank once a year to keep fungus from growing.
PRI-D (D=diesel, approx 2ml/gal) Add to storage tank once a year to stabilize fuel. This is better than StaBil because you can treat the fuel every year for 5 years. StaBil can only be used for 1 year.

From the research I did it doesn't seem oil needs to be treated. But if you do this is what I would use

Trans and Motor;
Rotella 10w40
Add STP treatment at under 12 dollars a gallon (Lucas heavy duty oil stabilizer (10002) costs $25 per gallon). Add in a 1:5 ratio (1 gallon of STP oil treatment to 5 gal of oil

Axle and Transfer case
80w90 gear lube
may add STP treatment at 1:5 ratio

 

[5tonman1971]

I use 15-40 in all my Diesel engines religiously nothing less. 10-40 is good for the trans. The fuel system I use power service/ diesel Kleen then add motorkote low sulfur lube but what I normally do in the summer is just add 1 gallon on any new transmission fluid to a full 78 gallons of diesel fuel this is the best option if you ask me

 

[TacticalDoc]

I use 15-40 in all my Diesel engines religiously nothing less. 10-40 is good for the trans. The fuel system I use power service/ diesel Kleen then add motorkote low sulfur lube but what I normally do in the summer is just add 1 gallon on any new transmission fluid to a full 78 gallons of diesel fuel this is the best option if you ask me

I called 2 Allison trans service mechanics and they said 15w40 is fine and would leave it because the trans is not electric. I'm not sure why everyone puts Dex3 in it. They said DEX3 is no longer recommended in Allison transmissions because it does something to the seals.

1 gal of motor kote is 25 bucks which is as much as lucas. STP oil treatment is just as good and costs 12 bucks per gal

I read this from of one of the reviews about Motor Kote;

This is one tremendous ripoff. I am a 30 year truck driver. I have had my Hazardous Material Certificate since it's inception. All chemicals have a data sheet for emergencies and such. I just happened to look up Motor Kote one evening while resetting hours at truck stop. It is MINERAL OIL. I repeat MOTOR KOTE IS NOTHING BUT MINERAL OIL !!! Do not believe me. Please check it out for yourself. If you want to put MINERAL OIL in your engines at least don't get screwed for $99 a gallon. You have been warned. Drive safely.

 

[Triple C]

I think it depends a lot on how often you drive and how much fuel you burn vs. let sit in your tank as well as weather conditions. As I understand it, there are four basic things one needs to address, lubricity for injectors, water in fuel, fuel gelling in cold weather and algae. If you run through your fuel pretty regularly, you probably don't need to worry about algae (I never had a problem in 15 years when I was on the road) but most of our truck sit more than move so a good algaecide is probably a good idea. Most anti-gel products don't disperse water but envelope it so I use FPPF which does a great job of dispersing water. There are lots of good anti-gelling products, I have used Lucas for years with good experience and I have also used Diesel Kleen. Both lube the injectors well in my opinion so they serve two purposes, anti-gelling and lubricity for the injectors. Probably the best practice is to buy good fuel to start with. That's my two cents.

 

[TacticalDoc]

I think it depends a lot on how often you drive and how much fuel you burn vs. let sit in your tank as well as weather conditions. As I understand it, there are four basic things one needs to address, lubricity for injectors, water in fuel, fuel gelling in cold weather and algae. If you run through your fuel pretty regularly, you probably don't need to worry about algae (I never had a problem in 15 years when I was on the road) but most of our truck sit more than move so a good algaecide is probably a good idea. Most anti-gel products don't disperse water but envelope it so I use FPPF which does a great job of dispersing water. There are lots of good anti-gelling products, I have used Lucas for years with good experience and I have also used Diesel Kleen. Both lube the injectors well in my opinion so they serve two purposes, anti-gelling and lubricity for the injectors. Probably the best practice is to buy good fuel to start with. That's my two cents.

good points that's why I have 2 sections...fuel storage (or if you're not using your truck much) and the fuel you use. but the best thing is to keep good fuel in it and keep the tank full as you said

 

[swbradley1]

EDIT after some more research was done:::

Fuel tank;
Keep tank full to decrease water build up
Diesel Kleen with every tank full (approx. 8ml/gal) This is to clean the injectors and give you better gas mileage.
Clear Diesel (approx. 10ml/gal) Add to tank once a year to clean out sludge in your tank.

Storage of fuel;
Bio Kleen (approx.. 1ml/2gal) Add to storage tank once a year to keep fungus from growing.
PRI-D (D=diesel, approx 2ml/gal) Add to storage tank once a year to stabilize fuel. This is better than StaBil because you can treat the fuel every year for 5 years. StaBil can only be used for 1 year.

I think the term is better fuel economy. I rarely get very good gas mileage on any of my diesels.

Your mileage may vary

 

[commandojeff]

"If it's good enough for the military, it's good enough for me." I pretty much live by this. I put diesel in it, flip some switches, and she starts. Sometimes I will add some of the Diesel Kleen stuff if I feel like it. I have found my urine to work even better in a pinch though... But seriously, it's just a truck, not a drag car. Any time I drive it, I'm usually not concerned with fuel mileage.