Black diesel smoke causes wear

Black Diesel Smoke Causes Engine Wear

That’s because the same abrasive soot particles that make up black diesel smoke also get into the oil, where they act as a grinding paste — slowly but insidiously wearing away metal from every lubricated part of the engine. But just by using FTC Decarbonizer in the fuel, both diesel smoke and wear are dramatically reduced. In fact, engines typically last a good 25% longer — and in severe cases, where some engines had suffered extremely shortened life, FTC has doubled, tripled and even quadrupled service life.

Short answer: black diesel smoke is unburnt soot — and those abrasive particles get into the oil and act like a grinding paste, wearing out the engine. Reduce the soot (with FTC Decarbonizer) and you reduce the wear, typically extending engine life by around 25% or more.

Did You Know Black Diesel Smoke Causes Engine Wear?

In 1991, Cost Effective Maintenance observed that the average soot particle diameter in lube oil was reduced to one-third when FTC Decarbonizer was used continually in the fuel, compared with non-treated fuel. This evidence supported field observations of longer engine life and reduced component wear.

The mechanism behind this reduction in wear was also backed up by findings from the University of WA in 2012, which noted that diesel exhaust soot particles were fewer and much smaller when the fuel was treated with FTC Decarbonizer, as you can see from their magnifications below:

Untreated fuel

FTC-treated fuel

University of WA (2012): soot particles are fewer and much smaller when the fuel is treated with FTC Decarbonizer.

Komatsu 630E Dump Truck: 23,000+ Hours on FTC-Treated Fuel

This engine came from a Komatsu 630E dump truck at a Rio Tinto mine site in Queensland, which had operated its whole life (over 23,000 hours) on FTC Decarbonizer-treated fuel. While the service hours were well above average, what was really impressive was the actual condition of the engine. The almost complete lack of wear suggested it could have been capable of 50,000 hours before a full rebuild was required.

What the Teardown Found

• Almost totally free of hard carbon
• Only minor ash build-up on the piston crowns
• Crankcase free of sludge
• All piston rings free in their grooves
• All pistons reusable (minor buffing of one piston skirt required)
• Piston rings serviceable (80% of the piston face showed no wear)
• Big end bearings serviceable
• Main bearings serviceable
• Crankshaft reusable
• Camshaft good (slight case-hardening loss on the #4 big end journal)

FTC Decarbonizer is truly unique, but it’s just one way to extend engine life — see also how FTC Decarbonizer works. Not sure what your exhaust is telling you? Our guide on what diesel smoke colours mean explains black, blue and white smoke. To see the Komatsu 630E’s cylinder and piston in detail, watch our video explaining black diesel smoke and how to correct it:

For more information on reducing black diesel smoke and engine wear, give the team at Cost Effective Maintenance a call on 07 3376 6188.

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