I thought I'd start this thread seeing as how there's been a bit of discussion of biodiesel in a thread I had originally started on a different topic, and the "First fill of biodiesel" thread is getting a bit long.

Hi HF. My, you were burning the midnight oil last night! To respond to your post, TD stands for turbo-diesel. The fact that yours is a D rather than a TD just means that your diesel engine isn't turbocharged. In simple terms, turbocharging means that the exhaust gases from burning the fuel are used to make the engine go faster. That fact that your car is 11 years old doesn't mean it can't use biodiesel, just that it probably has fuel lines and seals made of natural rubber, which can be corroded by biodiesel. However, at this age the rubber is very likely to be so vulcanised (hardened) by now as to be impervious to a nuclear bomb.

The thing is, ULSD (ultra-low sulphur diesel) has exactly the same corroding effect on natural rubber. Its introduction in the mid-90s meant that all the manufacturers started using synthetic rubber for the lines and seals in diesel engines. That's why I said that if your car can take ULSD without any ill-effects, it should be able to take biodiesel as well. Also, it's not expensive to replace fuel lines with newer synthetic ones should this ever start to happen, whatever you're fuelling your car on.

There are actually a number of sources of biodiesel around the mainland. Have a look at these two sites to see if there are any near you:
www.biofuels.fsnet.co.uk/biobiz.htm
www.biodieselfillingstations.co.uk/outlets.htm
The type of biodiesel can vary between them - some sell a blend of 5% biodiesel and 95% ordinary diesel, which is just like what is sold in every filling station in France. Some is biodiesel which has been produced in the same way as mine is, ie by reacting used filtered cooking oil with methanol and lye, which takes out all the waxes, tallows and lacquers that can sometimes gum up injectors. Some is even a mix of filtered fresh vegetable oil and diesel, although this isn't technically biodiesel and may go under a different name. If there is someone near you who can supply it, then you can ask them what kind of fuel they make.

Your fuel injector pump could be a rotary pump, but is more likely to be an inline pump. Can anyone confirm the kind of fuel pump a 1992 Vauxhall Astra with the Isuzu diesel engine has?

You're very welcome, by the way - I like to share what knowledge I have because I also get a lot more than I provide, here and elsewhere.

Bazza - as far as I remember, ULSD was actually introduced about nine years ago under EU legislation. You're right that there were concerns over the reduction in sulphur leading to additional wear of injection pumps, which has been addressed here by adding other chemicals as lubricants. As you say, the French decided to put around 5% biodiesel into their ULSD specifically for the purposes of lubrication, which has the additional benefit of supporting their domestic agricultural sector. Now why can't that be done here, I wonder. Ah yes - the government couldn't find its rear end with both hands and a flashlight.

The thing is, a bottle of cooking oil would be a lot to put in your tank as a lubricant and would more than likely cause your injectors to clog up over time, as well as putting more strain on your fuel pump due to increased viscosity of the fuel. Cooking oil/vegetable oil is not the same as biodiesel, which is physically and chemically altered to become a different substance. It is possible to adapt your engine to run on neat vegetable oil by installing a pre-heating system with a second small fuel tank of derv or biodiesel for start-up and switch-off, but the fact that you can put biodiesel straight in without making any such alterations means that it's probably the best compromise for now.

It's not actually illegal to run on cooking oil, whatever the quantity - it's just that you have to register with C&E to pay the fuel duty on the cooking oil you use as fuel. If you pay 35p a litre for the oil and 28p a litre for the fuel duty, then you can still save a lot of money. Read more

Anyone got any words of wisdom on afterfit remote locking systems? I'm now the proud owner of a 1996 A6 Avant SE. Super car but no remote CL (nor incidentally is there a Haynes for this model - v annoying, but probably best in the long run for my quality of life) Any info gratefully accepted. Read more

Today I decided to replace the spark plugs on my mothers three year old Ford Ka as they had never been renewed. One gentle turn of the socket and snap!-one sheared plug.
It appears now that I will have to remove the cylinder head to remove all four spark plugs which appear to have welded themselves to the head.(After a bit of research this seems to be a common problem as a Ford design fault)
Does anyone have any experience of how best to remove the sheared plug and the other three without snapping them too.

All comments appreciated. Read more

Hi to group - My wifes fiesta 1.8D has had poor starting since the first frost. The car eventually starts after a lot of cranking then runs fine all day long, until the next frost - so I replaced the glow plugs. No improvement. I changed the fuel filter. No improvement - in fact the problem has recently got worse and the car now fails to start completely. I have tried bleeding air from filter unit bleedscrew but when turning the engine over there is no fuel coming out (although I can get fuel at the injector unions!). The hand primer button freely moves in and out but despite continued pumping by hand or by key no pressure is built up. I have searched previous posts and the filter housing/seals seem to a prob with this engine but I have no fuel leaks. Can anybody please offer advice - the car is in autotrader as my wife can\'t trust it anymore and has bought a replacement!. Thanks in advance. Read more

Until recently I was provided with an Mreg cavalier for work. I noticed that the offside (drivers) rear wheel arch was rusting badly (so much so that when my boss asked me why i hadn't washed the car I explained that I thought that it was the mud and dirt that was holding the thing together!)

Anyhow, I've noticed that most cavaliers I've seen on the roads seem to rust on this particular area, i.e. not the nearside wheel arch.

Why's that then? Read more