BajaNomad - low sulfur diesel in Baja

low sulfur diesel in Baja

bayrunner1 - 5-19-2013 at 06:38 AM

Is low sulfur diesel fuel available through out Baja, if so, where? We will be traveling to La Paz from Tecate.

ULSD

bajaguy - 5-19-2013 at 07:03 AM

ULSD (the US type) is available from the border to the Baja Cactus PEMEX at El Rosario..........from there south, I believe just low sulphur...

This has been beat to death on Nomads........you may want to do a search and check out the posts.

chuckie - 5-19-2013 at 07:41 AM

OH no! Not again....

Leo - 5-21-2013 at 09:39 AM

I have been very nervous about this driving a new 3500 mercedes sprint to southern baja for 6 months. I have done it now two years in a row and have NOT encountered any problems with my engine. So relax and enjoy your ride.

DavidE - 5-21-2013 at 10:23 AM

The refineries producing regular diesel are engaged in a program to keep lowering sulfur incrementally. A couple of years ago it was 300 ppm, now it is less than 200 ppm. If I had a sensitive ULSD motor vehicle and LIVED in BCS then I would ponder the significance of feeding it a consistent high sulfur diet. I'd worry more about how to keep the beer cold.

Hook - 5-22-2013 at 09:23 AM

What's your source on this incremental information, Dave?

My truck and boat continue to blow extremely black smoke when I jump on it and the exhausts are extremely black. I think we still have 500ppm diesel over here in Sonora.

Currently in CA for week, and have been burning the ULSD. My tailpipe has gone gray/white after only two tankfuls. Amazing how much lower the sulphur is up here. More engine knock during the morning warm up and when I jump on it.

DavidE - 5-22-2013 at 12:32 PM

I was a guest for 2-days at the Salamanca, Guanajuato refinacion. Engineers. I made a comment at a cafe in Celaya and the engineers overheard me. One thing led to another and before I knew it I was being driven around the refinery. Yes, I warned them that gringos come equipped with diez millon preguntas, they laughed. I've got information stored on my hard drive about delivery routes, pipelines, the Deer Park Houston joint venture refinery (I'm also invited there if I ever get around Houston again), and the entire history of production of "combustibles" in Mexico, right up until the time of Ethyl Corporation's offer of supplying Mexico with Ethyl's manganese gasoline additive. It all stems from an overly curious mind, and years of experience as a refinery process operator. It's fascinating but maybe a little nerdy.

"NEW" Mercedes diesel...?

dave61 - 10-9-2013 at 11:33 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by DavidE
The refineries producing regular diesel are engaged in a program to keep lowering sulfur incrementally. A couple of years ago it was 300 ppm, now it is less than 200 ppm. If I had a sensitive ULSD motor vehicle and LIVED in BCS then I would ponder the significance of feeding it a consistent high sulfur diet. I'd worry more about how to keep the beer cold.

What year Sprinter please...?

tripledigitken - 10-9-2013 at 12:36 PM

Quote:

It's 15ppm in the US.

Leo - 10-9-2013 at 12:48 PM

Dave61, not sure you asking me that question, but my Mercedes Sprinter van is a 2010.
Just make sure you bring some extra DEF liquid, Diesel exhaust fluid? I am not sure if you can get that in Mex.

CortezBlue - 10-9-2013 at 01:39 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Leo
I have been very nervous about this driving a new 3500 mercedes sprint to southern baja for 6 months. I have done it now two years in a row and have NOT encountered any problems with my engine. So relax and enjoy your ride.

Oh, didn't you read the bulletin, it is at month 8 when everything goes to crap!

[Edited on 10-9-2013 by CortezBlue]

Year of Sprinter

dave61 - 10-9-2013 at 02:41 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Leo
Dave61, not sure you asking me that question, but my Mercedes Sprinter van is a 2010.
Just make sure you bring some extra DEF liquid, Diesel exhaust fluid? I am not sure if you can get that in Mex.

Yes, thank you for your quick response... I've never heard of the DEF fluid. I've heard of additives that help stop "waxing" in diesel fuels, but I'll need to Google the DEF.

Thanks for the info..!

Dave

DEF tank...?

dave61 - 10-9-2013 at 02:51 PM

Quote:

Both sources I looked at showed a separate tank that DEF is put in (separate of the fuel tank). Does your 2010 have that as an option or is it regular equipment now...?

Dave

DEF separate tanks: YES

dave61 - 10-10-2013 at 10:28 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by dave61

Quote:

Both sources I looked at showed a separate tank that DEF is put in (separate of the fuel tank). Does your 2010 have that as an option or is it regular equipment now...?

Dave

Went down to the local Cummins shop and found out you need a separate tank for the DEF (DEF cannot be added to the fuel tank) :light:

DavidE - 10-10-2013 at 02:20 PM

It's a UREA additive that is injected only during the "regen" cycle. Urea, huh? Sounds kinda funny until a person learns that Chevron's TECHRON and Shell Oil Co's NITROGEN ADDITIVE are both urea based.

Early Mexican diesel up until the late eighties and early nineties was really yellow. I called it "Number 3 diesel". Unbelievably good fuel mileage. Now the fuel is a lot less yellow.

Just because a fuel has less sulfur that does not prevent it from causing black smoke at the tailpipe. Diesel is a formulation and the olefins that are normally extracted out of USA fuel for plastics are left in, in Mexico. The fuel also has more heavy ends in the blend. The 15 ppm figure is thrown around to indicate diesel that sure as hell has been modified a lot more than mere extraction of sulfur. I noticed at the Martinez refinery a couple of years ago (I worked there while going to college) that Shell had installed a Coker Plant. The new fuel has much lower boiling points. The end boiling point is ahundred degrees lower than it used to be. I believe the goal was to reduce particulate emissions and not just arbitrarily reduce sulfur. Lowered sulfur content and less particulate matter are related but it's only part of the story. Carry a wide-mouth one liter clear GLASS jar, and sample fuel in Baja California, then again in Baja California Sur. You can see the difference.

Sulfur is one reason why I choose to burn PREMIUM fuel rather than MAGNA in BCS. Sulfur is b-a-d juju for gasoline engines. Premium is Super Shell. I average anywhere from .7% to as much as 22% better mileage depending how long the Mitsubishi V6 has been slurping mainland MAGNA*. There is a tremendous difference between BC and MCS Magna. BCS Magna is refined in Mexico. It has a whale of a lot more sulfur in it than refined in USA gasoline.

*The difference isn't imaginary. Seventy thousand Mexican miles on the engine allowed me enough time to figure out that the start-stall-start-stall, 20% less mileage, and idle so rough it about rips out the motor mounts is not a fluke. I just did not know the Mitsubishi V6 engines were that touchy. There are lots of online forums about the sensitivity of this engine. This is the 1st time I have found Magna, "not good enough". I wish I could get away using regular Magna.

ulsd fuel and sprinter vans

surfhat - 10-10-2013 at 05:18 PM

Leo and Dave you are playing with fire with your sprinter vans if you run them on anything other than ULSD for any models from 07up. My 06 is the newest year you can run LSD. I suggest you go on the sprinter van forum site and find out what you are doing or are considering doing to your 6 cylinder NCV vans [07 up] Leo you may have gotten away with your 2010 model so far but you are damaging several systems that are very expensive to repair. There might be a way around some of this damage but it makes your van illegal in the states if you are found out. I am speaking of by passing egr, deleting the regen of the urea Blue Tec system. To be able to do this by-passing the computers associated with monitoring these, if it is even possible, would require some doing by a master tech. There are troubles up ahead and limp home mode is not a breeze anywhere, but in Baja, even worse. Please consult the sprinter forum for all that can result from using other than ULSD. This is precisely why I bought my 06. The answers to Dave's question can be found there. And Leo, please check it out too. Your egr should probably be cleaned and it is easy to do yourself. At the least, carry a spare. Please check the sprinter forum site and all questions can be answered. Thanks to all here and there for their generous contributions daily.

Leo - 10-11-2013 at 11:57 AM

Surfhat, what stands egr for?
I appreciate your concern, but I found answers on sprint forums that were not as concerning as you make it sound. I will check again.
The blue liquid, DEF is a pain. You can't check what's left in it and takes about 2-3 gallons to fill lasting about 5,000 miles.

DavidE - 10-11-2013 at 02:50 PM

E xhaust

G as

R ecirculation

Been on gasoline passenger cars since the 70's. It recirculates exhaust gas back into the intake system. A valve and control circuit.

I agree wholeheartedly with surfhat. It pays to be totally informed when a lot of money and frustration is at stake. There is nothing like comments from a lot of savvy owners to offer "is's rather than ought-to-be's".

Even in my little crapbox 19 year old car, limp-home-mode sucks. The car loses 4th gear, torque converter lockup and the injection system starts speaking Arabic. Highway gas mileage drops from 26 to 20.

New cars can be awful. I've heard stories about new Fords. Disconnect or drain the battery and the check engine light comes on and will not go off, period. Car goes into limp-home-mode. Only Ford dealers have the electronic gizmo that makes things right...after an appointment, an all day visit and a hundred dollars of your money. A standard OBD-2 code reader cannot deal with this problem. it is a freaking gimmick.