Fuel additive

Hi Rob

Any idea what it is supposed to do, we have a turbo diesel 100 series & was advised not to use additives.

If you want to increase the performance get a chip, there was a post some time back from a Toowoomba Bogger which was interesting.

Regards Stan

Rob,
The advice to NOT use additives in your fuel is correct and should be heeded. With your particular vehicle there is no proprietary fuel additive that will help minimise wear, all your wear protection is derived from the oil wetted side of the engine, including ring and liner wear protection.
There is one particular issue that you need to guard against as far as the fuel system is concerned and that is the effect of moisture in both the tanks and the fuel delivery system. Distillate carries with it a small amount of dispersed moisture, usually around 50 parts per million. Not much really but just enough to enable bacteria to live and grow in the fuel. When these bacteria die their decomposition results in the formation of a gel material that accumulates in your tank and sometimes (relatively often in northern Australia) can block the pickup in the tank.
You generally experience this when the tank is contaminated and the contents get down to about quarter full. Fuel starvation occurs, and if enough gel material is present it will block the fuel flow.
The other by-product of the bacteria death is an acidic fuel, which is very corrosive to your tank, fuel lines, and pump and metering equipment.
The only product, which will effectively stop this problem, is called Fuel Doctor. This particular product is slightly different from just about all the diesel fuel additives sold today. It is used solely to prevent this bacteria problem in storage tanks and vehicle (and marine) fuel systems. Claims about cleaning the fuel system are genuine up to the combustion chamber. Injector cleanliness claims are made but this depends on a number of factors some of which related to engine load over time so I would exercise caution with these.
This product is not an antiwear, nor a fuel booster (read cetane improver).

If you ask about this issue at any Toyota dealership I think you may find they will endorse the use of these “fuel additives” to protect the system from the effects of moisture.
Graeme

Somewhere in the distant past Steve posted a large discussion about additives and I raised the question about Pro Mar because I used it for years in my boat. As I recall Steve suggested a different product and provided detailed reasons.

Jay