Australia’s Dirty Fuel Problem (2026): What It Means for Your Engine Most people don’t think much about the quality of their fuel. You pull up, fill up, and drive away. But right now in Australia, there’s a growing issue that could be costing you more than you realise. Fuel quality has been temporarily...
Australia’s Dirty Fuel Problem: What Lower Fuel Standards Mean for Modern Engines How temporary fuel standard changes highlight the importance of combustion cleanliness and soot control in modern engines. Recent news about Australia temporarily allowing slightly lower petrol quality to ease fuel supply pressures has raised questions about how modern engines respond...
Real-world lessons from the road High kilometre diesel maintenance isn’t about luck. It’s about consistency, monitoring, and preventing problems before they turn into downtime. Over the past 27 years, professional road pilot Paul Mason has travelled more than 2,000,000 kilometres across Australia in demanding conditions where reliability is non-negotiable. For the past 15...
Why Use a Fuel Additive in a New Common Rail Diesel? Cost Effective Maintenance is regularly asked by customers, "Why use CRD Fuel Enhancer in new, or low kilometer common rail diesels?" Many owners already know the answer to this question, having experienced some very expensive problems. Here’s a great example of...
Diesel Catch Can Comparison When it comes to protecting modern diesel engines, installing a quality catch can kit is one of the most effective preventative upgrades you can make. Two of the most popular and proven options available in Australia are the Western Filters Catch Can Kit and the Direction Plus...
PMX 145 How It Works to Protect Diesel and Biodiesel Tanks Microbial contamination is one of the most common (and most expensive) issues in diesel and biodiesel storage. If you’ve ever dealt with blocked filters, sludge build-up, corrosion, or unexplained fuel system failures, there’s a good chance microorganisms were quietly growing...
In Australian road transport, there’s something unreal about an older rig that still works hard every day. Modern trucks might be packed with tech, but a well-kept classic earns respect — especially when it’s hauling freight all week and turning heads at a drag event on the weekend. That’s exactly what...
XTROLL Chassis Guard – Your Complete Application & Care Guide If you love off-roading, beach trips, or coastal adventures, protecting your vehicle’s underbody is essential. XTROLL Chassis Guard forms a tough, self-healing clear coating that shields metal surfaces from rust caused by salt, sand, and moisture. Here’s how to get the...
In 2023, Cost Effective Maintenance relocated into a larger manufacturing warehouse to help with the surge in DPF-related enquiries. More and more fleet operators are searching for low-cost, low-downtime solutions to avoid the hassle and expense of replacing or manually cleaning diesel particulate filters (DPFs). DPF Cleaning Additive That’s Saving Drivers...
There is no shortage of off-the-shelf fuel additives available these days, but what are you really putting in your tank? With so many products out there, it's hard to know what or why you should be using them at all. CRD Fuel Enhancer is a concentrated diesel fuel additive designed to: Restore...
If your engine oil goes black quickly after an oil change it's time to ask why. Why is the new oil already dirty? If your new oil is already black then the engine oil has already started to degrade. Now this is not a serious issue, but over time it...
Family-owned and backed by over 20 years of experience, Tas Petroleum is now the official distributor of Cost Effective Maintenance products in Tasmania. As demand for high-quality aftermarket fuel and oil additives continues to grow, Cost Effective Maintenance has partnered with Tas Petroleum to bring premium fuel solutions and advanced additive...
Cost Effective Maintenance (CEM) has been helping operators run their vehicles and machinery more efficiently for the past 40 years, thanks to its range of locally produced high performance lubricants and fuel additive chemicals. It was started by Brid Walker, whose career began in the research field, working with CSIRO. However...
Driving in Australian conditions can take its toll on vehicles. Whether it's traveling out in the bush, exploring beaches, or just daily driving, the diverse terrains and environments pose unique challenges. One crucial aspect of vehicle maintenance is ensuring that your vehicle's injectors are operating effectively. Poor injector performance can...
What is FTC Decarbonizer? FTC Decarbonizer is a combustion enhancer that readily disperses fuel to play a catalytic role during the combustion process. As scientifically accepted, some elements act as catalysts and help promote combustion. FTC Decarbonizer contains Ferrous Picrate, which produces Fe++ions, which are proven to be one of the...
Getting your 4WD prepared for beach driving does not need to be a complicated process. For most 4WD owners beach driving is an awesome experience, although for those who have never adventured onto our beautiful beaches, it could be a daunting experience. There are some pretty in-depth checklists available on how...
Chassis Guard is part of the Xtroll Rust Conqueror range and has outstanding rust prevention and rust stopping properties. Once applied the specifically designed formula will not only penetrate and encapsulate existing rust, but it will bond back to metal surfaces, creating an impervious barrier for the underside of your...
How to check the fuel economy of your vehicle with a fuel calculator. Has your fuel economy gradually declined? You’re no longer getting the travel distance you used to get when you vehicle was new? Or maybe you just don’t know how economical your vehicle really is? Sometimes just relying on the dashboard...
Once a vehicle has been affected by flood waters many people believe they have no other options than to write the vehicle off and start again. However, if your vehicle was parked and not running when it was submerged the damage may not be as bad and the vehicle could...
How to spot a fake Provent 200 filter. When it comes time to replace your Provent 200 Filter, be aware of the damage these non-genuine knock off filters can cause… As you know, Catch Cans (or oil separators) are designed to filter fine oil droplets or crank case fumes from entering the...
What makes Cost Effective Maintenance's diesel injector cleaner—CRD Fuel Enhancer—the best diesel injector cleaner in Australia? Laboratory testing combined with extensive field testing confirms outstanding results on diesel fuel injectors. Even vehicles showing signs of injector wear or out-of-spec readings have returned positive results, while using CRD Fuel Enhancer. CRD Fuel Enhancer...
What to do with a badly blocked DPF filter during Lockdown… So you’re in lockdown and can’t leave home, or you can only drive for essential travel. Make sure your restricted driving isn’t slowly blocking your DPF filter! Or more importantly, what can you do once restrictions are lifted, to ensure your...
Knowing how to remove, prevent and stop rust is a never-ending challenge. Rust is just one of those problems that won’t magically go away by itself, and when its ignored, it slowly turns into a much bigger and more expensive problem. In years gone by, when things started to rust, or...
DPF filters have been around for well over 10 years now in the trucking industry and it’s no secret that the team at Cost Effective Maintenance have saved drivers thousands of dollars in replacements, repairs and downtime. To avoid DPF problems from happening and to help clean a blocked DPF...
Owners of diesel-powered cars, utes and 4x4’s are likely to see a dramatic increase in the need for DPF filter cleaning. This is directly related to travel restrictions enforced by the Coronavirus epidemic, which has seen many vehicles restricted to short drives only… Restricted driving and short trips are just two...
Like all new vehicle dealers, Knight’s Toyota (Leongatha, VIC) service their customers vehicles, but these days, they do something a little different. After first using CEM’s products to successfully address specific problems in this case a Hilux D4D fuel injector problem. They realized that there was an opportunity to improve...
If you’re the owner of a Toyota with a Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF), you’ve probably experienced first-hand some of the issues associated with the less-than-impressive DPF system. Cost Effective Maintenance has helped many Toyota Hilux owners, with out-of-warranty vehicles, rectify their DPF issues by using FTC Decarbonizer. FTC Decarbonizer fixes Toyota...
According to Brid Walker, of Cost Effective Maintenance, “There’s a big window of opportunity on how to fix engine blow-by problems, before serious engine wear occurs. Most drivers can easily tell when things aren’t quite right, for example, the engine is... Getting tired and down on power Starting to breathe heavy Using more oil...
One of the easiest things to do when your noticing signs of overheating is to look at the cooling system. Your radiator and cooling system play a very important role when it comes to keeping vehicle operating temperatures down and so does knowing how to flush a radiator with RMI25 Flushing...
Using the Ezypor measuring device is the easiest and safest way to accurately measure out the FTC Decarbonizer when refueling ... For years customers have been asking for a simple user friendly way to measure out the FTC .... Over the years we tried different bottles, measuring cylinders, measuring containers and...
Climate change, global warming, emissions targets, carbon credits, how to cut emissions faster... the list goes on and on. No matter which way you look at it the talk of fossil fuels and renewable energy sources are getting their fair share of media attention. According to today’s experts there is an...
Cold weather starting becomes increasingly more difficult as engine deposits build up over time. Types of operation, such as excessive idling, short run time, light work and city type driving, all contribute to deposit formation which can result in poor cold start. All these operating conditions do not allow efficient...
These days it’s quite common for people to recommend a catch can, and rightly so! Separating the oil from crank case fumes is a great idea, as it is responsible for a fair share of engine problems. But first, it’s important to understand.... why a catch can could be useful?...
So your car, truck, tractor or earthmover is getting tired, but you’d be stretching the finances to replace it with something newer? How do you make your vehicle last longer? Why not consider rejuvenating your existing machine, by cleaning up and de-stressing the engine and driveline components…the Cost Effective Maintenance...
Toyota Troopy VDJ avoids $7000 Injector bill…with CRD Fuel Enhancer Being quoted around the $7000 mark for a new set of injectors on a Toyota V8 can be a rude shock for most people. In most situations it’s only 2 or 3 injectors causing all the trouble when in actual fact,...
In today’s modern 4wd diesel engines there is no shortage of expensive problems that can occur, and unfortunately this includes vehicles that have been regularly maintained. Many drivers have heard horror stories about how expensive it can be to replace fuel injectors and EGR Valves. Now we have DPF costs...
Provent 200 Catch Cans do a remarkable job of filtering oily crankcase fumes from entering the inlet area. One of the common mistakes people make is not replacing the filter, or not knowing when to change a ProVent filter. Depending on the age and condition of the engine the <a...</a...
As boat owners, you rely on your diesel engine to get you there and back…safely and without incident. But marine life is pretty testing for diesel fuel. Humidity! Salt laden air! It’s a good breeding ground for fuel algae! CEM’s Marine Diesel Fuel Stabilizer is a unique formulation to...
It’s often been said, “If your engine’s oil is changed according to schedule, it should never need a flush!” In a perfect world this might be so, but there are numerous factors which will cause engine sludge to build up, and piston rings to become fouled. With emission control components fitted to...
Regen problems generally arise where city driving, excessive idling or light duty cycles are encountered. Or, if other engine components such as EGR valves, turbochargers, injectors are fouled or not working properly. DPF regeneration cycles then become more frequent, and more prolonged! And…more serious! DPF’s often need replacing at a cost of...
Due to recent increases in Dangerous Goods freight costs, we have temporarily suspended all Xtroll Rust Conqueror deliveries to WA, SA, NT, and TAS.
Unfortunately, Cost Effective Maintenance is no longer able to subsidise these additional costs.
