[Windwalker]

Originally Posted by Rev.Vassago

Now the story changes, and Colt's and my assessment stands. :roll:

:dung:

To be quite honest, it is possible that the fuel was already gelling up. My brother was going across NE a few years back. Temp was -30 F, and he was looking at the fuel gauge. 3/4 tank, and it wasn't going down. He was thinking that he was getting fantastic fuel mileage. Then the truck died. The fuel gauge was on the left tank, and the right tank was the one that was empty. The left tank, with the wind from the left was SOLID. And, that was on a truck that had been running and warm. Not sure exactly how cold -40 C is, but I'll bet that if you spit, it'll CRACKLE before it hits the ground.

My mistake... -40 F... At that temp, I KNOW IT WILL CRACKLE BEFORE IT HITS THE GROUND.

[MedicineMan]

Originally Posted by Rev.Vassago

I agree, that is a pile of BS. Fuel would not gel in 5 minutes on a hot truck, and the batteries failing were certainly not caused by the weather. :roll:

there is nothing "hot" about a truck when it's40 below. It is all it can do to kep itself warm enough to run.

Thank you medicine man. Rev forgetts I pulled wrenches on these in between driving them. Try getting a cranky 238 Detroit to start in the dead of winter and you have an air starter on it. FUN FUN FUN.

That trip I am talking about my father and I left Beach ND that morning after sitting for the night and it was -44 we had to shut it down cause the road was closed that sucked headed towards Fargo after sitting all night and it took 5 miles BEFORE we could get that tranny to shift into the high side max water temp we were getting was 130 going down the road.

[Rev.Vassago]

Originally Posted by ironeagle2006

max water temp we were getting was 130 going down the road.

That means the engine was hotter than 130 degrees. Fuel does not gel at 130 degrees. :roll:

Originally Posted by Windwalker

My brother was going across NE a few years back. Temp was -30 F, and he was looking at the fuel gauge. 3/4 tank, and it wasn't going down. He was thinking that he was getting fantastic fuel mileage. Then the truck died. The fuel gauge was on the left tank, and the right tank was the one that was empty. The left tank, with the wind from the left was SOLID.

Right side tank is usually the return side, so it's not all that surprising that the left side would gel up. It surprises me that if there was a single gauge, that it wasn't on the return side. One of the reasons why I like my dual fuel gauges.

[Windwalker]

Originally Posted by Rev.Vassago

Right side tank is usually the return side, so it's not all that surprising that the left side would gel up. It surprises me that if there was a single gauge, that it wasn't on the return side. One of the reasons why I like my dual fuel gauges.

What on earth are you talking about? "Return side"???

Since about 2000, most trucks I know have both DRAW and RETURN on BOTH TANKS. That's why, if you run out of fuel, these days, you must add fuel to BOTH tanks in order to get fuel to draw back through the system. If you only add fuel to one tank, you find that you are drawing AIR from the other one. Are you still driving a "relic" with a "CROSS-OVER LINE"? The ones that, if you straddle a gator in the middle of the road, you tear out your cross-over and the fuel from both tanks drains out onto the road? For that matter, one of the other drivers for WH, back in '96, had an International and was going east on I-80. His guage wasn't even bouncing anymore. He got down the ramp for the Flying J at Des Moine, IA, made the corner to the left, and just made it past the overpass. The service truck spent 4 hours trying to prime the engine before they found out it didn't have a cross-over and had to have fuel added to both tanks to get it to draw fuel.

As a matter of fact, a '96 Kenworth I drove had a "PROPORTIONING MODULE" in the return line that would divide the fuel evenly between BOTH tanks. If you were nearly out of fuel, and only added fuel to one tank, you could run out of fuel 20 miles down the road in the tank you didn't fuel. If you had a quarter tank or more when you fueled, you were reasonably safe to only fuel one side. And, trucks can be ordered with the guage in either side, or both, depending on the desires of who ever is doing the ordering. I don't know if you can even order a truck with a cross-over anymore.

Where did you get this "return side" from?

[Rev.Vassago]

Originally Posted by Windwalker

Since about 2000, most trucks I know have both DRAW and RETURN on BOTH TANKS. That's why, if you run out of fuel, these days, you must add fuel to BOTH tanks in order to get fuel to draw back through the system.

My truck draws off the passenger side only. I can fill only my drivers side tank, and I can watch the fuel go from my driver's side tank to the passenger side tank. It takes about 10-15 minutes or so to even out, even with the truck off.

Are you still driving a "relic" with a "CROSS-OVER LINE"?

Apparently my 2004 379 Pete is a "relic". :roll:

[wildkat]

Originally Posted by Rev.Vassago

My truck draws off the passenger side only. I can fill only my drivers side tank, and I can watch the fuel go from my driver's side tank to the passenger side tank. It takes about 10-15 minutes or so to even out, even with the truck off.

Apparently my 2004 379 Pete is a "relic". :roll:

Not to worry Any Pete I have ever drove is exactly as yours...matter of fact my 2007 uses the same. The problem I have is that stupid little check valve keeps freezing up when it gets really cold then it only draws off one tan, then I have to get out shut off the tank that's nearly empty & run down the road for about 20 minutes till they equalize by the fuel return lines.

The idea being is that if you punch a hole in a tank you can close off that tank without running out of fuel. This so called "new" technology is that they forget that sometimes you need to do just that. Peterbilt, in my experience, tends to rely on proven technology & often, to their detriment, defers to the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it mentality". But, I personally like it just the way it is!

[Windwalker]

Originally Posted by Rev.Vassago

My truck draws off the passenger side only. I can fill only my drivers side tank, and I can watch the fuel go from my driver's side tank to the passenger side tank. It takes about 10-15 minutes or so to even out, even with the truck off.

Apparently my 2004 379 Pete is a "relic". :roll:

May I suggest you go talk to a "GOOD" mechanic? Or better still. take a 5-gallon can of fuel with you, run it out of fuel, then pour the fuel into one tank, either one but just one, and try to prime it. I dare you. If you look in the tank and add it to the one that seems to have just a little more at the bottom, you'll spend the next month trying to prime it, no matter which side that tank is on. Get down and look between the tanks. If you have a cross-over, you will have a hose running from one tank to the other at or about the level of the bottom of the tanks. If you don't have it, how does the fuel get from one tank to another? By osmosis????

The fact that the fuel levels itself out says you have a "T" instead of a proportioning module. But with an '04, you have draw and return in both tanks. If you ever run out of fuel, you will have to add fuel to BOTH tanks to get it to prime.

And, you're best defense against gelling in the tanks is a good "anti-gel" additive. And on a Cat engine, I've even seen a guy pull 3 pairs of wool socks over the filter and cover it with a plastic bag to keep ice crystals from forming against the filter material and plugging it. Also, the idea of adding a gallon of unleaded gas to each tank to keep the fuel flowing is a MYTH. IT DOESN'T WORK.

Engine heat in the return fuel is fine for most for most conditions, but when the temperature conditions go to EXTREME, the reaction of the fuel is also extreme. Two years ago, I gave a guy near Minot, ND a couple of bottle of MELT-DOWN. When we took off his fuel cap and looked into the tank with a flashlight, you could see the same efect as a candle burning the wax around the wick and the outer edges staying up. As he was driving, the fuel started to gel from the outer edges of the tank toward the center, until it stopped flowing. Even after the fuel in the tanks was liquid again, we still had to pour hot water over his filter to get him started again.

Peterbuilt used to have a "HOT-LINE" in the fuel line. An electric fuel heater just before the filter so that it was warm fuel that went through the element. If the engine started sputtering, you threw the switch and got power back almost immediately. Don't know if they have that yet or not.

[wildkat]

Not that I am aware of Windwalker, but mine does have heaters in the tanks, another Arctic necessity I'm afraid

I also use a very good fuel conditioner, made by Kleen Flo, Howes is just garbage IMHO, no good for up here, only good to -40...that's WARM in this neck of the woods!! :lol: :lol:

Seems to me that my Cat has a "primer pump" sort of thing right in front of the main (I have 2) fuel filter. It seems to me that everytime my fuel filters get changed it gets "primed" when you first start it up again.

Also, our winter fuel is, in reality, home heating oil...Diesel 50 we call it, will not gel until 50 below, your premium deisel is our summer fuel...Diesel 20, good to 20 below.

[wildkat]

Originally Posted by roadhog

Fa-fa-fa-fa-fa-fa..kk-kk-kk-kk-kk-kk

Ahh roadhog...come on where's you sense of adventure? :lol: :lol: :lol: