Damaged Fuel Pump & Injectors @ 25,000klms

JB, I guess you haven't got a sample of the product you had in your tank? You would need that for any sort of recovery from the servo.

I know of a trucking company that had problems with 'bio-diesel' and they were carrying fuel filters for some time after they cleaned their tank out. They even found chop bones in their fuel tanks, obviously the 'bio-??????' was adequately filtered!

I used to see a bit of used cooking oil and the fish and chip proprietors or whoever had the recovery point had no compunction about what they put in the product as it was a liquid receptacle. Some smelt of paint or varnish on occasions, even bitumous smells.

I spoke to a large Toyota dealer service manager after getting a service and he said they've had to do a few tanks , thats is clean them out they were that badly sludged. It seems if you are unlucky enough to get crappy fuel a few times this can happen. Not sure what you can do about it, I am also noticing a huge difference in fuel ecomony between tanks, the only thing that changes if where I fill up.

Hi JB,
I'm not sure if I would blame the bio diesel. I make my own at home and have had not any problems using same since xmas, but I have put on an additional filter as it has a tendency to clean and remove deposits from inside fuel tank. Bio also has better burning than ordinary diesel. Some of mine has smelt like varnish and had me worried, but goes great. The diesel engine when first invented by Rudolf Diesel was first using straight "peanut oi" until oil companies discovered they now have a use for petrol's by product.
Your problem might have been dirty fuel? But wow not much fun to have to spend $2.5k. Goodluck in your endevours.
regards Ric

Hi John,
Still got a sample in a jar in the garage. I think it's growing!!

JB, Why didn't you take the vehicle back to the dealer under warranty..? May have been crappy fuel but may not.? 25,000kms is a brand new rig, tack it back and complain.

It is not only cars and fwd diesel's that are having problems.
I recently had the injector pump reco'd on my newish John deere tractor.Damage caused by contaminated fuel.I got out of it pretty light at around $3500,because I checked it out early.The specialist repair business said they get more injector pump repair work than they can poke a stick at,they where working late and starting early and it still took 3 + weeks .
They claim the biggest problem is the filter systems are very basic ,yet the new diesel engines are running much higher injector pressures.
I spent a little extra and put in a large water trap and extra filter and positioned it to be easily viewed when entering the cab.No fancy stuff just a nice "kiss"set up so you can see any contamination in the glass bowl and drain it out before any damage done.
some ppl have had to reco there pumps after only a few 100hrs from new at around $5000 and because they haven't checked the filter set up find its stuffed after only one tank of fuel,yep unbelievable but true another $5000 and to make it worse guess what no parts in aus yet again have to fly them in .
It is worse for tractors etc I guess many are refueled from containers or on farm tanks.
Even a small amount of water or contamination can quickly cause these high pressure pumps thousands of dollars damage,you cannot guarantee any fuel is not contaminated,and unfortunatley niether can you rely on the original filtration setup
giving adequate warning .Naturally the vehicle maker say the onus is on the owner to supply the correct fuel.None of the electronic warning systems is fail safe.I have heard of a mercedes car warning not working because the system was full of water but in that instance I believe the fuel supplier (service station)was deemed liable,due to selling the grossly contaminated fuel.
Buying shares in a diesel pump repair business may be a good idea.

Lucky you don't own a Jackaroo TD, or it would have cost you triple that!

The diesel Coaster bus that I drive at work with a 1HZ motor has just had an injector and injection pump rebuild after one tank of dirty fuel from the garage I fill it at twice a week. A shell outlet and my employer is now chasing them for the cost of the repair, about $4k plus the hire of another bus for a fortnight.
We do have a sample of the fuel and also letters from repairers.
The servo's diesel tank had just been refilled so obviously the crap hadn't settled out.

Sorry to hear about your plight JB. I never have, and never will buy from those independents. Not saying all independents are the same, but Sydney residents should remember the ones targeted by the tabloid current affairs programs a couple of years back (centred around a radius of several kilometres from Bankstown). It was the only credible story I've seen for years!

I remember the shonks were cutting petrol with toluene (thinners) as a way of avoiding excise. Perhaps a similar thing has occured with your diesel. Toluene is a pretty strong solvent if used in large quantities. I'd hate to find out how it or similar solvents would act on the fuel system.....

Either way, I hope you kept a sample and follow up with Fair Trading. Toyota should be able to give you expert written opinion if they avoid the warranty issue.

Good luck!

I hope you took it to Toyota first? how many times have we heard 3 litre Nissan catastrophic failures blamed on fuel etc etc etc, everything but poor design or mechanical failure. Once someone else pulls it apart its 10 times harder to get anything out of a manufacturer

I got some deisel in Port Hedland(I think) in my new Patrol. I just made it back to Paraburdoo with it coughing and spluttering. I changed the Fuel filter and drained the fuel and it was black as the ace of spades. My filter was the same colour so I don't know what the hell was in the fuel. I only had 15000k on the clock. All good now though.

Hi there JB,

You said:

"The diesel I had brought smelt like paint varnish" - this is unlikely for Biodiesel which will smell more like fish and chips than paint varnish - perhaps the Biodiesel was tainted? If it was Biodiesel it would have to comply (AND BE TESTED) with the Australian standards for Biodiesel in order to get the 38c a litre rebate.

"and was dark yellow to brown in colour, like frying oil after 6 month of cooking fish chips and battered sav's" - the colour is one thing that doesn't really make a difference. Biodiesel is usally dark yellow to brown perhaps golden depending on what it is made from. This could be canola oil, through to waste vegetable oil and pork fat.

"The Federal Gov't is still sitting on it's hands in relation to fuel standards in this country." - Nope - they're not. They are sitting on their hands on lots of fuel related things, but fuel standards they are no.

"I'm going to be about 2.5k out of pocket, the servo claims it's Biodiesel" - in which case they would not have been advertising it as Diesel. Perhaps it is 20% Biodiesel.

"... however didn't know it at time of fuelling as it was night time and there is a sign at knee height on the bowser advising they sell Biodiesel which meets Aussie Standards. Clearly not in a conspicuous position that one would see!!" - This of itself should be no dramas at all - Biodiesel is unlikely to cause the smoking you mention. Quite the opposite really.

Biodiesel might block up your fuel filter, but will have no effect on fuel pump or injectors.

"What recourse action is available. Maybe a class action??" - first you have to point the finger. Get the fuel tested - it is not that expensive.

If it was 25K's I would leave all the responsibility with Toyota under warranty and see what they could come up with - they are unlikely to blame biodiesel or even know about it unless you tell them that that is the problem.

There may have been crud in the tanks the Biodiesel came from. There may have been water in it. There may have been algae in your tank that it washed out, and which overloaded the filter.

But the whole story seems very strange for a 25,000 k's 2005 vehicle.

Ciao for now
Andrew.

I tried a 10% bio diesel in my 2004 Pajero. On a regular trip that consumes 23 to 24 litres the half tank of bio diesel added made the consumption 32 litres. Got some way back to "normal" after a few fills. Was advised to service the pump but put some Bitron fuel aditive in the tank and now back to normal. $2 iinvestment is better (cheaper) than a pump service.

Some people swear by bio diesel but there needs more info on what vehicals are suitable or if there is something in some bio diesel that it can't cope with the higher injection pressure. Might be something akin to the waxing of diesel in low temperatures.

Hi JB, This happened to me about 18 months ago at a BP servo in the Southern Highlands. Fortunately for me i could prove that i bought it there and BP were great. $800 to remove the takks and flush the lines. BP were wonderful, paid the bill, followed up to make sure i was happy with their service. The vehicle suffered no othere damage. All these servos have liability insurance and they can claim.. Someone is responsible for the damage. you handed over your cash for a product that was NOT suitable for the purpose, bio or normal fuel, it makes no difference. Take your sample back to the servo and tell him that someone is responsible, either him or the supplier or the manufacturer. Tell them you drove in with a perfectly good and running vehicle and drove out with a problem that came from their premises. Dont be put off by their lack of regard for a problem that was caused by their product. Regards Michael

This is well after the 'horse has bolted' so to speak and won't fix your immediate problem, however may be helpfull in the future.

On having an after market turbo fitted, the pump was removed, serviced etc etc and new injectors fitted.

On being queried by myself, the pump shop owner/tech advised that it was a good idea to use fuel from only BP, Shell or Caltex servos with BP as first choice for the following reasons

(1) Best chance of getting fuel at stated production standard/blend.

(2) If there is a problem, then these companies will pay for the damage done if proven to be attributed to their fuel.

Since that time I have used BP whenever I can which is nearly always every time and I have never had a problem.

Yes it costs a bit more , but trouble free fuel is worth it.

Also I removed the OEM fuel filter system and replaced it with a CAV system which allows me to inspect it.

Pics of same : Site Link

Regards

Ken Robinson

Here's something else JB.

Contact Michael Ward, assistant director, clean fuels and vehicles, DEH email Michael.Ward@deh.gov.au

They are responsible for fuel standards, testing and control.

Tell him you have a sample and the rest of the details. He may even be able to test it.

I would be pleased to hear how you go.

There would be nothing worse for the existing reputable and high quality biodiesel suppliers to have somebody doing shonky business ... let's get the rug pulled out from under them ASAP.

Ciao for now
Andrew who smells like Biodiesel (fish and chips NOT paint thinners)

Thanks everyone for yr responses, except for Doug (WA) who thought it funny to comment about it being stolen. Toyota is very specific re warranty work caused by bad/contaminated fuel. They warrant the mechanicals against faulty workmanship, not damage caused by crook diesel. Therefore situation would be no different to current.

Thanks Andrew,
I had already spoken to DEH last week who was very helpful, however they asked me to lodge with Dept fair-trading that I had done. They made contact with me today and even asked my permission to pass on to the Minister as he has asked for details lodged via the Dept in relation to Diesel Fuel complaints/issues. This I have of course agreed to.
Dept fair-trading doesn’t have the ability to test the fuel and asked me to contact DEH again to see if they can test. The cost of this is $2500, apparently they have a company Intertech do this within the Clyde refinery. Then the battle goes on from there. I will be getting my Prado back in the morning all fixed, over 3K in repairs.
Will keep you posted on outcomes. Leaving next Wednesday for the Centre and are not going to let this spoil my trip and will deal with it further when I get back.
It's going to be a process that could take some time.
JB