P38A Anyone know if the M52 in the p38 will run on veg oil (SVO)?

This site contains affiliate links for which LandyZone may be compensated if you make a purchase.
300bhp/ton

300bhp/ton

Well-Known Member
Posts
4,713
Location
Near MK
I've run Tdi's on veg oil in the past no probs. But I'm also aware that the older 19J and newer TD5's don't like veg oil much.

Just wondering how the BMW M51 holds up to running on it? Any pitfalls or issues?

With the Tdi's I've run mild mixes up to 100% veg oil in warmer months. Generally the engines ran smoother with less smoke and better mpg on it.
 
Last edited:
Yes it will run very well on svo, you can mix 5% unleaded to thin and winterise it. My local cash n carry I think is doing 20litre for £19.95.

The bosch ve injection pump and injectors handle it great.
 
300bhp/ton said:
I've run Tdi's on veg oil in the past no probs. But I'm also aware that the older 19J and newer TD5's don't like veg oil much.

Just wondering how the BMW M51 holds up to running on it? Any pitfalls or issues?

With the Tdi's I've run mild mixes up to 100% veg oil in warmer months. Generally the engines ran smoother with less smoke and better mpg on it.
Click to expand...

Look at @JohnnyCrash 's threads as he used to use some witch's brew of SVO and something. It f*cked the FIP every so often but the mileage he was doing was worth the expense (£650 for recon punp from Diesel Jones). It also causes a build up of brown stuff on the injectors over time unless you blast it off once in a while. In the end I decided not to risk it but I might go biodiesel. Unfortunately at that stage the Council decided to get all the waste chip shop oil for their own biodiesel for buses so the project went out the window. You can get reactors that cook it all up in the for you. Pretty much plug'n'play or plug'n'pump, perhaps.
 
Veg oil can be refined at home to remove the glycerine. Without doing that, on an infrequently used car, you risk gumming up the FIP.
Illegal here in France.
 
Just looked at HMRC website, and it's mostly about sellers & producers. Duty is payable if it's sold or used as vehicle fuel, but hard to find the rules on what duty is payable for private individuals buying regular veg oil & then using it. Seller is not liable because they didn't sell it for vehicle use.

Is there any truth about used oil making the car smell like a chip shop ?
 
pwood999 said:
Just looked at HMRC website, and it's mostly about sellers & producers. Duty is payable if it's sold or used as vehicle fuel, but hard to find the rules on what duty is payable for private individuals buying regular veg oil & then using it. Seller is not liable because they didn't sell it for vehicle use.

Is there any truth about used oil making the car smell like a chip shop ?
Click to expand...
I think, but do not know for certain, that any fuel used in a road going vehicle is subject to duty. But I also believe that there is an allowance below which no duty is payable for private use.
Yes, old chip oil does have a distinctive smell.
 
You can make 2500 litres of bio at home before duty has to be payed, and yes you motor smells like a mobile chippy, i tried mine on fresh veg oil and it seamed to run quieter and smoother
 
pwood999 said:
Isn't it slightly not legal unless you pay some fuel duty ?
Click to expand...
No there is an allowance that you can make/use x amount. Which would likely be plenty tbh.

Really just thinking out loud on options. I have a 200Tdi. But it’s in a rather modified 88 pickup used for trials events. Not really an ideal road car.

But with diesel locally at almost £2/litre and predictions of it becoming £3/litre. I wondered what options might present themselves to running veg oil which is currently about £1/litre. My p38 is a V8 though. But for the sake of cheap motoring I’d certainly consider a manual diesel one!
 
Allowance is 2500ltrs a year, duty to be paid on all that you use over that limit INCLUDING the 2500.no duty due if usage under 2500. Paperwork must be in place for collecting used oil, milage covered for every ltr etc. If you get investigated by HMRC, plenty do, I have, you can get massive fines and your vehicle's seized.
Veg oil has no glycine in it, that is a by product of making biodiesel which uses veg oil,methanol and lye. Biodiesel can be made at home but it can be very dangerous, explosions and chemical burns, even eventually death from the fumes from the meth/lye mix(methoxide). New veg just tip it in the tank on a suitable car, lots of cars need a twin tank set up, most cars with common rail systems or any other FIP other than a Bosch won't last long on it and bills are expensive. A lot more cars will run biodiesel but not all.
Used veg oil needs settling, heating up to rid it of moisture and fine filtering but lots of extra caution because of different gel points.
I could go on and on but best to join biopowered and take what some say on the Facebook pages with a pinch of salt. Some on there are using used engine oil and kerosene and laughing about it.
 
Last edited:
Flossie said:
Allowance is 2500ltrs a year, duty to be paid on all that you use over that limit INCLUDING the 2500.no duty due if usage under 2500. Paperwork must be in place for collecting used oil, milage covered for every ltr etc. If you get investigated by HMRC, plenty do, I have, you can get massive fines and your vehicle's seized.
Veg oil has no glycine in it, that is a by product of making biodiesel which uses veg oil,methanol and lye. Biodiesel can be made at home but it can be very dangerous, explosions and chemical burns, even eventually death from the fumes from the meth/lye mix(methoxide). New veg just tip it in the tank on a suitable car, lots of cars need a twin tank set up, most cars with common rail systems or any other FIP other than a Bosch won't last long on it and bills are expensive. A lot more cars will run biodiesel but not all.
Used veg oil needs settling, heating up to rid it of moisture and fine filtering but lots of extra caution because of different gel points.
I could go on and on but best to join biopowered and take what some say on the Facebook pages with a pinch of salt. Some on there are using used engine oil and kerosene and laughing about it.
Click to expand...
Thanks. I have read up on biodiesel and WVO in the past. But tbh I’d only be interested in buying SVO, such as from a super market etc.
 
300bhp/ton said:
Thanks. I have read up on biodiesel and WVO in the past. But tbh I’d only be interested in buying SVO, such as from a super market etc.
Click to expand...

In a 200Tdi you'd probably be able to mix it in when filling up and get away with it. Might make ot go a bit further but probably not worth it unless you do high miles.
 
I had a 2006 VW Transporter that happily ran on neat veg oil....until it got really cold, then I ran 50/50 with white diesel.
When I traded up to a DAILY IVECO, it ONLY ran on 50/50 irrespective of ambient temperature. Far more electrickery and
sensors on top of sensors stopped it digesting 100% veg oil. Did nearly 250k miles in that rascal...best van I'd ever had.
 
Honestly just use svo thinned at 5% with petrol mix it, shake it leave it a couple of days giving it a shake and just poor it in.
We ran a terrano 2.7tdi for years on the stuff.

Remember my injector pump refurb well that came about when they started selling us low sulphur derv it dried all the seals out causing the leaks.

I resealed our pump and started using svo I did go down the home brew bio route but in the end nice new clean svo was so much easier and cheap.

Same pump, same injectors and remember the fuel return pipe back to the tank within 15 mins or so the fuel in the tank is warm so thinning the fuel out even more.

No road duty to pay unless you use more than 2500 litres per year you don't need to keep records as they know they can't police it basically saying use as much as you like.

You can add some 2 stroke to a tank full every now and again for top end lubrication if your worried and or maybe just run half a tank or derv to every half dozen full tanks of svo.

Good luck
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Karrier-Bag
Td5 fuel filter / pump and veg oil
Replies
19
Views
2K
Karrier-Bag
Karrier-Bag
T
Does anyone know if veg oil mixed with derv will damage TD5
Replies
4
Views
925
blue beasty
blue beasty
MikeV8SE
Can a DSE or 300TDi run on veggie oil?
2 3
Replies
48
Views
12K
peatin
P
barmatt
The Waste Veg Oil Fred
Replies
4
Views
1K
everlatesparky
everlatesparky
S
Newby: Moving from Old Merc's to LR - Info re: running on veg oil gratefully received
Replies
6
Views
2K
scotlandtim
S
Back
Top