Biodiesel

[twindecks]

can i use Biodiesel on a seat alhamba 19dti PD115 2000 plate

[insider]

I think the general consensus is not on a PD engine. The older Mk1 TDI could tolerate it though.

[junglejim]

can i use Biodiesel on a seat alhamba 19dti PD115 2000 plate

 

I have a 2001 Galaxy with the same engine. I used Biodiesel for months without any problem. the car ran fine and returned reasonable mpg.

 

I stopped using it about 2 years ago when I come to use the car on a cold January morning. It ran well for about 1 mile then wouldn't pull. It was the first day of a new job and I had a 15mile journey on the M1/M18. It was an absolute pig! It wouldn't go above 60 mph and that was a struggle.

 

I managed to get to work but it was worse on the way home. It broke down 3 times and I finally had to have it towed.

 

It took me ages to diagnose the fault but I finally found that the filter in the tank was blocked with a jelly like substance. I eventually found out the the biodiesel supplier had a bad batch of used oil that contained palm oil. It turns out the palm oil starts to solidify at about 15deg and I'd got a tank full of lard!

 

Fortunately, it cost me nothing to repair and the suppliers cleaned my tank and gave me the money I had spent on the diesel.

 

I think I posted my problems at the time it happened

 

All the info I found suggested that it could run on biodiesel as they do it Germany(apparently). The question is, do you want to run the risk of a bad batch - it certainly put me off!