How Can You Ensure Your Diesel Vehicle Is Both Fuel-Efficient And "Green"?

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If you drive a diesel passenger vehicle, you may have been dismayed at recent reports of manufacturers falsifying emissions data to help certain diesel vehicles appear more environmentally-friendly than they were. You could be concerned about the potential impact this news could have on your own vehicle, or worried that you'll begin noticing higher emissions levels or a decreased fuel efficiency over time. Fortunately, by engaging in a few preventive maintenance tasks, you'll be able to ensure that your vehicle remains just as efficient and green as always. Read on to learn more about the things you can do to ensure that your diesel vehicle is running in the most fuel efficient and eco-friendly way.

Check, clean, and replace your filter

Your diesel particulate filter (DPF) is one of the most important components of your diesel engine. This filter is responsible for removing the soot and other potentially harmful particles created by diesel combustion, rendering your emissions clean and harmless. While this DPF can tackle a wide variety of emissions and has a self-cleaning mechanism, over time these particles will build up into a sticky paste on the inside of the DPF and lead to lower fuel economy and reduced engine performance.

While engine performance can be returned to normal simply by removing the DPF, doing so will likely place your vehicle in violation of federal and state emissions standards, and could subject you to a hefty fine. In addition, in states that require vehicles to pass an annual inspection in order to receive registration sticker, removing the DPF will cause you to fail your inspection and be unable to register and insure your vehicle.

Therefore, it's important to have your DPF periodically professionally cleaned or replaced (through a place like Williams Oil Filter Service Co.) with a new filter to ensure your engine continues to perform at peak condition. This cleaning is generally accomplished by heating the DPF to ultra-high temperatures in a contained environment. This is similar to the self-cleaning process the DPF can use while you're driving, but because the temperatures are much higher, this cleaning is more effective at removing and burning down even the most stubborn and stickiest particles into a fine gray ash. Once your DPF has been thoroughly cleaned, it should function and even look like a brand new one.

If you live in an area where DPF cleaning is a difficult (or expensive) service to find, you may opt to replace the DPF once it's become hopelessly clogged. This replacement is a relatively quick process, and will have you back on the road with a brand new filter in no time.

Consider running a biodiesel mix

One way to clean out your engine while recycling old food oil is to begin running your vehicle on a mixture of regular diesel fuel and biodiesel. This clean-burning fuel naturally has much lower emissions levels than regular diesel fuel, and will help clean out any existing engine sludge while ensuring your DPF works less hard and lasts much longer between cleanings. In many areas, you can purchase biodiesel directly at the pump, while in others you may opt to create your own using filtered cooking oil or other waste oil.

Because biodiesel is similar to regular diesel in structure and operation, you shouldn't need to make any modifications to your vehicle's engine in order to begin mixing your fuel. However, biodiesel is also much more corrosive to rubber membranes and tubes than regular diesel, so if your vehicle was manufactured before 1993, you'll likely need to have your rubber fuel tubing replaced. Otherwise, you could find yourself with a leak in your fuel line during the worst possible time. 

6 October 2015