CASADT
Penticton, BC
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Does anyone have some personal experience with travelling into Mexico, other than just the border towns and being able to by ULSD in Mexico. We have a 2008 duramax diesel truck and are worried about travelling to Mexico and destroying the diesel particulate filter (DSP) and other components of the emmission system through using low sulfur diesel (500ppm) as opposed to ULSD (15ppm).
Any info would be great,as we want to visit Baja and then go down as far as Zihautenejo.
Cheers
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The Texan
Summer: A Cool Climate Winter: A Warm Climate
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There is NO ULSD available in Mexico at this time and there will be none available until at least 2010 and possibly longer. We spend the winter in Mexico and I talked to several PEMEX owners/managers from Nuevo Leon to the Guadalajara area and then up the west coast to Kino Bay and that was their information. Mexico does not require their diesel engines to be ULSD compliant and could really care less of your need for ULSD. I feel that PEMEX might start converting to ULSD along the border in 2010 but really don't look for the interior to start converting until 2012 or later.
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Supercharged
Az.
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I would buy all the diesel fuel I could in the border towns for years. 9 cents per gal. But then that was 1970. I think it went up some.
2005 Chev 5.3 Supercharged 395HP 425 T hp. Two wheels on front, 2 on back. one seat, tint windows. front and rear bumpers, headlights, windows. Door on each side. Heater, floor mats, junk behind seats, some dirt. Pulls so hard.
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Mr Brew-Ski
Southern California
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Ditto The Texan. No ULSD in Mexico period, zilch, nada!
My 2 cents is that a few thousand miles of running LSD in your Duramax is not going to cause long term problems. But then again I am not the who would have to explain to your GM dealer any LSD related problems. Your new truck warranty is quite clear on this issue. Because of the low cost Mexican diesel fuel I've been running my Duramax LMM with one tankful of Mexican LSD & one tankful of US ULSD for awhile with no problems yet. I realize I am rolling the dice.
Good luck & enjoy tour trip.
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robatthelake
Vancouver Island
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We kept seeing New Diesel's pulling 5ers and Trailers down there All Last Winter and a few New Motor Homes as well. None of the Owners that we talked to seemed concerned. Maybe they had more $ than common sense!
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CASADT
Penticton, BC
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thanks for the feedback Mr Brew-ski. Have you noticed any more frequent regeneration cycles going on when running the Mex diesel?
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CASADT
Penticton, BC
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It is good to hear guys are running their rigs in Mexico. Everything I am reading says that the regeneration cycles to burn the DPF filters can't keep up with the higher particulate load of the sulfur diesel.
I kno what you are saying about $ and common sense. I always try to err on the side of common sense as the $ are usually harder to come by.
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almcc
Ontario, Canada
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We saw a few new diesels south of Mazatlan last winter (some of those were the folks that couldn't understand why their 15 amp breaker on the power pedestal was blowing when using the microwave and toaster at the same time!), we can confirm there is no ULSD available down there.
I'm keeping my older Ford diesel until Mexico catches up, I wouldn't want a new diesel warranty voided because of the use of LSD!
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Mr Brew-Ski
Southern California
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CASADT,
Yes, the DPF seems to fire up more frequently. I assume the DPF has to regenerate more often in order to burn the excess sulfur/particulates in the LSD. For now a good freeway run seems to do the trick. You'll be surprised how many newer diesels you'll see SOB. Don't know if its throwing caution to the wind or the $2.20 gallon diesel that draws them. In Baja, never let your fuel get below 1/4 of a tank. I'll assume you don't have one of those miniscule factory 26 gallon tanks.
Again don't let the LDS keep you SOB.
Enjoy!
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CASADT
Penticton, BC
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Mr Brew-Ski:
Thanks for the feedback. Did you happen to notice if the newer units you observed in Mexico had aftermarket exhausts.
All of my research to date seams to point to:
If you do have problems with running LSD then prety much your only option is to change out the exhaust to remove the DPF and CAT converter and then rechip the rig so that the regenerate DPF signal is ignored.
This seems like a really bad scenario as I always keep my vehicles as stock because I think they are built a way for a reason, usually a reasonable balance of performance to ensure long life. Apparent rumour has it that FORD has an aftermarket solution for the vehicles sold in Mexico, but GM does not as they have no plans to sell the Duramax trucks in Mexico. But have no idea if this is true.
I also love the fact the exhaust runs so totally clean with the new vehicle setups from factory.
I did speak to a performance diesel shop in Calgary, Alberta and they say they are doing about 4 exhaust exchanges and rechips a week, as they have all the guys working in the oil patch. These guys do a lot of idling especially in the winter due to the cold. He said many owners find that their vehicle almost always remain in regen mode resulting in poor fuel mileage.
I have also read post elsewhere from people who tow. They seem to have fewer regens as I guess the higher temps. achieved in the exhaust burns off some of the particles.
I also have spoken to a couple of guys who take RV caravans south from San Diego to Cabo San Lucas and they report no problems with the 3 x 2007.5-2008 trucks they have taken down and back. They report the run down (1000miles) uses 2 tanks of diesel, one tank for driving around down there and another 2 tanks for the return trip for a total of 5 tanks.
CASADT
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