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From: balfanz@ihlpg.UUCP (Balfanz)
Newsgroups: net.auto.tech,net.auto
Subject: Diesel-powered Cars - My dollars worth
Message-ID: <1553@ihlpg.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 13-Jan-86 10:08:01 EST
Article-I.D.: ihlpg.1553
Posted: Mon Jan 13 10:08:01 1986
Date-Received: Tue, 14-Jan-86 05:26:23 EST
Distribution: net
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories
Lines: 61
Xref: watmath net.auto.tech:584 net.auto:9069

I've heard a lot of discussion and complaints about diesel-powered
cars, well, here's my dollars worth:

We own a 1981 Oldsmobile 98 diesel-powered car.  My husband and I
have both been brought up around diesel-powered construction and farm
equipment, but this is our first diesel car.  Below is some history
of the car:

   - We are the second owners (it was previous ownered by a salesman
     friend of ours)

   - The car now has about 125,000 miles on it

   - The car got a new transmission at about 75,000 miles (the
     original transmission was the same as my brother-in-law had in
     his Pontiac Astre; why they stuck it in a full-sized car behind a
     diesel, I'll never understand; maybe they thought the engine
     wouldn't last longer than the transmission)

   - At 100,000 miles, it was given a valve job (which it did need and
     really wasn't that unusual)

   - The car has one new injection pump, one new set of injectors and
     three new glow plugs

We haven't had any serious problems like I've heard from other
Oldsmobile or Cadillac diesel owners!

Some of the people I've talked with don't realized that diesel-powered
engines are different from gasoline-powered engines.  And I don't mean
their operation, but their maintenance and the level of "abuse" they
take.

   - Our Owner's Manual recommends that the oil be changed every
     7,000 miles (by the way it says the same if the engine is
     gasoline), but a diesel engine gets dirtier internally and should
     be changed more often than a gasoline engine!

   - You have to be fussier about fuel!  If you get water in your fuel
     or if you don't get a good winter-blended fuel, you're going to
     have problems!  Diesel engines can't handle "junky" fuel like a
     gasoline engine.

     Also, I'd like to add that diesel fuel is an oil.  Don't try to
     thin your diesel fuel with gasoline in the winter!  The first
     choice should be No. 1 diesel fuel.  If that isn't available, there
     are some good anti-gel agents on the market that can be added to
     your tank.  And, as a last resort you could use a little kerosene.
     But, don't use gasoline unless it's a very, very last resort, and
     even then, be careful to not use too much!

   - A diesel engine doesn't handle the "abuse" of short-trip driving as
     well as gasoline engine does.  A diesel engine needs long trips
     that heat up the engine and burn out impurities more than gasoline
     engines do.

   - Because of how a diesel engine operates, it gets "hot spots".  So,
     if the engine has been working hard (e.g., you've been doing 55 MPH
     down the highway for the past hour), then you should let the engine
     idle for a few minutes when you stop (before you turn it off) to
     let the engine temperature even out.