Biodiesel in a FR TDi (PD)? anyone running it?

[ressull]

A friend(who is a mechanic) recommended a biodiesel supplier to me the other day to run in my Ibiza FR TDi, he is using it in his car and is having no problems at all, however its not a VAG car and was just wondering if anyone is running it on a PD engine?

I've emailed seat a few days ago enquiring where they stand on biodiesel but they havent got back to me. I've also done a search and found plenty of threads but they all seem pretty dated so was just wondering if anyone has any currenty info.

Thanks

 

[Leigh15]

Its written all over the manual and inside the filler cap (IIRC) that biodiesel is not to be used in the Ibiza

 

[ressull]

I did read that on an old thread about the fuel cap sign but i've also read in other websites that VAG have now approved the use of biodiesel in 90% of their deisel engines but cant seem to get that confirmed.

Thanks for the info tho

 

[Leigh15]

IIRC the issue with the PD engines is that the fuel is used as a lubricant in the pump injectors - so there's the opportunity for wear/damage to occur if the biofuel used doesn't have the same properties as the diesel

 

[ressull]

Just got an email back from Seat asking for my Reg & chassis number for them to give a final answer so will keep you posted although it sounds like you know what your talking about with the PD engines so i'm thinking they might be an exception

 

[Hudson]

I've ran a vectra 2.2 DTI on bio when it wasnt recommended (as a test) burnt the injectors out after 18 months... .

Just a warning there... save a couple of quid on fuel to find ur forking out on higher servicing costs and tbh 55mpg is plenty even with a little horse play.

H

 

[Nath.]

ran cooking oil straight out of tesco into the tank of an astra DTI 16v and it went all ok for about 25k miles in the warmer months

changed the astra for a newer one "CDTI" and it ran well lumpy with half and half

BIO is thinner than cooking oil so I may give it a go if I see any for sale

 

[frenchy]

We had a Audi A6 2.5tdi in our Audi garage. The owner actully ran his own bio-diesel company.

The car ended up having a new pump, and rubber fuel pipe, we think due to the bio-diesel he was running.

 

[muddyboots]

Oddly enough, VW/Seat used to say it was fine to use Biodiesel (up to 100% IIRC) in the PDs. In fact, it said so in the handbook of my 2003 Mk3 Ibiza TDI Sport.
However they subsequently changed their minds.
And I did hear mention a while back on one of the biodiesel forums of a "Bio" kit from VW, which changed certain parts to enable it's use in PDs - but at the time nobody could find any more info about it.

I suppose it depends what percentage Bio you're talking of using.
If it's the usual 5% or 10% stuff that you can get from a handful of filling stations, I suspect you'll be fine. In fact, I'm sure I heard that in France, most "normal" pump diesel contains a small percentage of Bio anyway.

 

[Nath.]

^^^ I thought that most of the supermarket diesel had a small % of bio in it over here too

 

[ressull]

Spoke to someone at SEAT today and gave him my reg and chassis number. He's gonna look into it for me and get back to me so hopefully i'l be able to confirm where bio can be used in the PD engine.

cheers

 

[ressull]

Got a phone call from Seat this morning so this should clear things up.

VAG approve the use of 5% biodiesel in all their diesel engines and they approve the use of 100% biodiesel in some of thier engines. The way to check is to look at your data sticker (in the boot, spare wheel compartment) and check whether you have the code '2G0' under optional equipment at the bottom of the sticker. If you have this code then your car has been modified to use bio, if not you can only use 95%.

Unfortunately mines doesnt have this code so 95p per litre it is

 

[rob1]

www.dieselveg.com might be interested in that mate...

 

[joonspoon]

Got a phone call from Seat this morning so this should clear things up.

VAG approve the use of 5% biodiesel in all their diesel engines and they approve the use of 100% biodiesel in some of thier engines. The way to check is to look at your data sticker (in the boot, spare wheel compartment) and check whether you have the code '2G0' under optional equipment at the bottom of the sticker. If you have this code then your car has been modified to use bio, if not you can only use 95%.

Unfortunately mines doesnt have this code so 95p per litre it is

I had pretty much the same experience when I bought my car in June 2006.
Phoned the dealer who admitted they ought to know more about Bio-diesel as it's an "up and coming fuel" and then referred me to Seat UK.

The SEAT UK response (just over 12 months ago) was that the PD engine could not be run on Bio-Diesel ever.

Interestingly I was not offered the option of having the 2G0 thingy fitted as an extra when I bought the car and apparently it cannot be retro fitted.

Does anyone know what it is or if it's available in the UK?

Regards Guy.

 

[rob1]

no suprise the UK government dont want anything being known about it when we got one of the highest rates of duty on fuel, i suspect their permission to allow the use of veg oil upto 2500 litres a year has only made it through due to high demand from consumers and more work for them pen pushers ! not to mention it means we get to produce less nasty emissions as veg doesnt give of anything bad - apart from a smell from high mixtures... take aways everywhere these days so not an issue !

most garages been using at least a 5% mix for a while now so seat got no choice but to agree to it as thats the way of the future, good or bad ? i head the ultra low sulpher diesel itself is crap for your engine, but hey nevermind not like we can demand change?!

 

[joonspoon]

most garages been using at least a 5% mix for a while now

Nothing personal mate but do you have anything to back this up?
If this is the case surely it would have made the papers.

Regards Guy

 

[muddyboots]

I know on the continent at least, most diesel has contained a small %age of bio for some time.

 

[muddyboots]

Also I think it's worth pointing out that veg oil and biodiesel are completely different.
Not sure everyone is fully aware of this as the two terms often seem to be used in the same discussions


Also one might suspect the manufacturers don't warrant the use of BD in their engines, because there is such a variation in fuel quality that they don't want to be honouring lots of warranty claims from people who've used badly made fuel.
If you read all the info on making your own BD (see the journeytoforever website, got tonnes of info) you'll realise it's very easy to make fuel that's got too many chemicals, residues or too much water left in it.
So while the main supply of BD still comes from small outfits and home producers, there is no real consistent guarantee of quality, and could cost the manufacturers dearly in warranty claims - so the easy route out is to say it's use is not approved at all.

That's my guess anyway

 

[rob1]

Nothing personal mate but do you have anything to back this up?
If this is the case surely it would have made the papers.

Regards Guy

not a problem mate take a look at their own website, i was the same as you when i found out http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/briefs/excise-duty/brief4307.htm

i know there is a difference between bio and veg oil but some people have been running on it for years. dieselveg.com are also able convert your car, but i dont thinki could afford a conversion.

my mates been putting in veg oil with a mix of diesel in his mk4 golf now and not noticed any problems, he dont have a PD diesel and i understand that the technology there is different and he also has his egr valve unplugged.

its one of those things that if you got a new car it scares you !

what you really want i suppose is a banger to play around with, if it dies then its not an issue and chances are it wouldnt die right away so you would have gained anything you lose from the cost of the vehicle

 

[muddyboots]

i know there is a difference between bio and veg oil but some people have been running on it for years.

Running on which though ?

Dieselveg.com provide conversions to run on raw veg oil.
Veg oil needs heating to get to a suitable viscosity, and requires purging from fuel lines before engine switch off. How well the PD injectors cope with veg oil is open to debate.

Biodiesel requires processing with chemicals to produce, but then should generally require no engine conversion.

I might sound pedantic but it's important to understand that veg oil and biodiesel are completely different fuels.
When people start mixing the two terms up, others might read comments like "biodiesel is OK in PD engines" and mistakenly think "ah great, I'll nip down Tesco's and buy a load of veg oil to put in the tank). Which would not be good

Not having a go, just trying to make things clear