A friend of mine has been running home-brewed biodiesel in his 2006 VW Jetta TDI. His engine is ruined, potentially due to the biodiesel. Friends of his, who race TDI's, say biodiesel is a no-no. Don't know why. Any feedback?

Henry

Obviously here on this forum we don't say biodiesel is a no-no.
Please ask his friends why they say that and get back to us with the reasons.
Also what is meant by "his engine is ruined".
Details please. There are many ways an engine can be 'ruined' and very few are 'potentially due to the biodiesel'.
We would love to hear detail of how an engine can be ruined due to biodiesel.
Very much more common IMO would be engine ruined by poor quality or contaminated commercially available distillate.
IMO well made 'home-brewed' biodiesel is a superior fuel. Far superior to anything commercially available.
"

Another sad case of ignorance being pushed as fact - engine ruined by biodiesel.

Buddy, as Troopy says, let us know the following:
1) what the exact damages are.
2) let us know where he bought the fuel or if he made it himself.
3) If he made it himself was it quality fully converted clean fuel.
4) How many miles had the engine done on (a) dinodiesel and (b) on biodiesel.
5) Was the fuel 100% Bd or was it blended - what percentage blend.
6) What was your "friend" doing when the engine was "ruined".

Lets get the facts then decide what damaged the engine.

__________________
Slippery
Small steps taken one at a time.

I have a 2005 TDI Audi 2L TDI - runs 50-80% BD and runs like a dream - 45K km and not a problem

I make & wash and I am totally responsible for my own quality control.

One batch of water from any fuel can undo an engine - al ot more data is required before pointing the bone.

When all the manufacturers say no BD it is the fault of people who make or buy crap fuel - it happens - goto TDI club - heaps of data there. Guys who blend petrol and vegie oil and call it bio fuel & heaps more!!!

New engines are sophisticated and require quality fuels which meet certain specs. When in doubt, buy and old Merc or indirect toyota - they burn almost anything!

Cheers,

__________________
Paul
Brisbane
80 series TDi with 80K on B100
2005 Audi A3 TDi B20-B50 30K on BD
1993 Daihatsu Rocky - B100 10K on BD - all good!

I have a 2003 VW TDi T4 Transporter Van with a 2.5l 5 Cyl engine which has run on BioDiesel for about 20,000 kms with no issues. In fact it seems to run quieter, with no black smoke on hard uphill acceleration. I buy my fuel from Enffue outlets with SA (formerly SAFF).