Howes Diesel Defender vs. Diesel Kleen?

[sgharford]

I've been using Diesel Kleen in my tanks for my Cummins 903's for the past 15 years. I ordered a 6 pack of it from Amazon other day and was sent "Howes Diesel Defender" instead. Before I return, I thought I would ask if anybody has used "Howes Diesel Defender" and/or may know how it stacks up against Diesel Kleen? I never heard of it before but then again I was never looking for a replacement.

 

[Avenger]

Sigh.

 

[sgharford]

Sigh.

Well that can't be good. Saying both are snake oil?

 

[whoover]

I used Lucas in my fuel, I found it to feel I little bit more slippery than Diesel Kleen. The Howes product looks new to me.

Walt Hoover

 

[krush]

Worried about lubricity? How about add some 2stroke (chainsaw) oil?

 

[sgharford]

Krush, great to see you back! When checking out Howes for reviews I saw number of contributors do add 2 stroke oil to diesel for lubrication. I recall Skycheney mentioning owe about 15 years ago that he used diesel kleen, so I figured if good for him good enough for me and it’s how I’ve been making my Turkey ever since.

 

[SKYCHENEY]

I did/do use it. The lubricity is low in the ULSD. I did notice some reduction in soot on the transom after a long run. It may be less necessary in modern engines as they should be engineered for the newer fuels. But its relatively cheap and available just about anywhere so I continue to use it. Plus its nice to have a jug on hand to fill filters up during a change. You know it's clean; better than dumping in some diesel out of a can.

Back in the 70's/80's when we ran a bunch of Detroits, we would always fill filters with ATF during a change.

 

[jim rosenthal]

A man who serviced my Mercedes diesel used to fill the fuel filter with ATF on startup. I drove that car a quarter-million miles before giving it to a family member. Maybe the ATF had something to do with that. Of course, I did all the maintenance as scheduled.