Mexican Diesel Fuel/Sulfur Effects Update
Much to my distress I just learned here in the Southern Baja that the owner of a late model GM diesel pickup paid almost $3,000 to ship his truck back to the USA when it went into limp mode (5 mph) in...
Forum Discussion
I did as much research as I could prior to purchasing my 2009 Bus. Do to the fact we travel into Mexico almost every year. My engine was actually manufactured Dec. 2007 You can find 2008 models with 2006 engines so you need to research that also.
We decided to go with the 09 because of options we could not get in the older models.
(lay men terms)
Now with that in mind I researched the DPF and DEF in the newer models. DEF was not required until 2010.
From my research Brian you pretty much have nailed the issue. More sulfur in the fuel the more soot produced. The DPF is what absorbs the soot and when necessary regens to burn it off. Only certain applications have a manual regen according to Cummins and they do not instal them in Motor Homes. So when the ECM sees that the DPF is starting to clog the ECM tells it to regen. Now with the Mexican fuel that will happen more often. But not necessarily will clean it out completely, leading to having to remove and clean DPF. There is a way to have it cleaned commercially but that will not happen in Mexico. So in having talked to local diesel mechanics the next best thing is to remove it and blow it out. I have heard that even some truck drivers make a big hole through their DPF so it will not set off the ECM. From what I have learned is that the ECM cannot tell you on any sort of reading that high sulfur fuel was used.
When I first purchased the Bus I considered having the ECM modified and removing the DPF and installing a standard muffler. Over $2000.00 to do so. There still are companies that will do that, but not in California. Illegal!
But after lots of conversations with mechanics and Cummins I have decided to run down to Mexico and see what happens. I will closely monitor the system.
I hope someday Mexico has ULSD but I am not holding my breath.
We decided to go with the 09 because of options we could not get in the older models.
(lay men terms)
Now with that in mind I researched the DPF and DEF in the newer models. DEF was not required until 2010.
From my research Brian you pretty much have nailed the issue. More sulfur in the fuel the more soot produced. The DPF is what absorbs the soot and when necessary regens to burn it off. Only certain applications have a manual regen according to Cummins and they do not instal them in Motor Homes. So when the ECM sees that the DPF is starting to clog the ECM tells it to regen. Now with the Mexican fuel that will happen more often. But not necessarily will clean it out completely, leading to having to remove and clean DPF. There is a way to have it cleaned commercially but that will not happen in Mexico. So in having talked to local diesel mechanics the next best thing is to remove it and blow it out. I have heard that even some truck drivers make a big hole through their DPF so it will not set off the ECM. From what I have learned is that the ECM cannot tell you on any sort of reading that high sulfur fuel was used.
When I first purchased the Bus I considered having the ECM modified and removing the DPF and installing a standard muffler. Over $2000.00 to do so. There still are companies that will do that, but not in California. Illegal!
But after lots of conversations with mechanics and Cummins I have decided to run down to Mexico and see what happens. I will closely monitor the system.
I hope someday Mexico has ULSD but I am not holding my breath.
