Written by Joel Paynton
Grandpa used to lecture me about the importance of draining the water separator on his farm’s diesel tractor. This man, who wouldn’t hesitate to fix things with haywire or binder twine was, however, a purist when it came to maintenance. Experience had taught him that draining the water separator could mean the difference between a well performing engine and one with problems – or one that didn’t run at all.
The investment required to properly maintain the fuel system meant avoiding the corrosion and scoring caused by water when it runs amok in the fine-tolerance components of a diesel engine.
Duramax engines are significantly more sophisticated than Grandpa’s tractor. One might think that these more sophisticated engines can look after themselves a little better. In a sense that is true: today, we have more feedback than ever coming from our engines. But to think that these engines can handle not being maintained as well as their less sophisticated forerunners is far from the truth. In fact, just the opposite: today’s fuel injectors and other components require much higher tolerances. Consider that a typical conventional diesel fuel system prior to the DMax operated at fuel pressures of 1,200 to 1,500 PSI. Then compare those numbers to the original LB7 fuel injector that operated in the range of 4,500 to 23,200 PSI!
Discover why direct cooling, properly engineered, offers the only solution that can control 1. Oil temperature, 2. Viscosity and 3. Flow rate to design specification limits under high load/high RPM conditions.
In my last column I predicted oil would exceed $100.00 per barrel and unfortunately that prediction has come to fruition. It would be great to say that I had mystical powers of seeing into the future but the prediction was a no brainer. Supply is limited and demand is on the rise: the only possible outcome is increasing prices. So, without fanfare, I now predict oil at $125.00 a barrel by mid summer. World reserves of crude oil are actually higher now than at anytime since the 1974 oil embargo, but as I detailed in Issue One the world oil market is now a commodities market and the price fluctuates with speculation. OPEC is toying with reducing production to insure prices stay high in the event of a worldwide recession. In the end, we here in the USA will see rising prices for everything we buy, not just diesel and gasoline.
