Any general stuff I should know?
Your vehicle should be in good mechanical condition prior to conversion. Ideally you should budget to change your lube oil, fuel & oil filter prior to conversion. The fuel filter is especially important; this part is often neglected during normal servicing. If the fuel filter is partially clogged after years of operation on diesel, then invariably attempting to pull higher viscosity veg oil through the filter can result in fuel starvation.
Common-rail engines are increasingly being offered with extended lube oil changes, now often annually. Consistent with recommendations from manufacturers such as Mercedes for operation on 100% biodiesel, Regenatec recommends the lube change interval is reduced to half or one third of the standard interval time for operation on pure vegetable/plant oil.
If the vehicle has been abused or has missed too many regular services, then invariably performance on veg oil will be disappointing – just as it would be on diesel. Ignoring smoky injectors or failing to service or replace a warn part at the recommended service interval, will invariably show up on veg oil. Veg oil shouldn’t be seen as fix-all for an old, abused vehicle!
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