Using Other Fuels in a Ram Diesel
For the "inline" P7100 pump ('94 to 98.5 12 Valve engines). P7100 pumps are internally lubricated by engine oil.
These fuels are "OK": #1 & #2 Diesel, 1K & 2K Kerosene, Jet-A, Jet A-1, JP-5, and JP-8.

NOT OK under any circumstances: Jet-B, JP-4, and Cite


The "rotary" VE pump (pre '94) and electronic VP-44 (98.5+ 24 valve) VE and VP-44 pumps are fuel lubricated.
#1-D Diesel or #2 Fuel Oil (diesel) only

Alternate fuels listed for the P7100 pump may be used in the VE pump if if 5% lube oil is added.


The P7100 inline pump is internally lubricated by engine oil, while the VE and VP-44 pumps are fuel lubricated. The "lighter" fuels, such as Kerosene, Jet-A, and JP-5/8, don't lubricate enough.

Note: there have been some reports of sticking plungers in some early P7100 pumps. There are many commercial fuel additives which contain a pump lube - to avoid plunger trouble, consider using an additive when the engine is running on an alternate fuel.

Fuel Tidbits from the Bradley Bits - a news bulletin for Bradley Fighting Vehicles

JET A-1 fuel is essentially identical to JP-8 except it does not have three additives required in JP-8: a fuel system icing inhibitor, a corrosion inhibitor, and a static dissipater additive. Hot JP-8 fuel reduces the life of fuel pumps on some diesel engines, so avoid using JP-8 or Jet A-1 extensively in hot heather, and keep the fuel tank as full as possible to reduce fuel temperature.
Diesel fuel #2 and water separate completely; JP-8 fuel and water do not. JP-8 becomes cloudy when contaminated with water; and the cloudier the fuel, the more severe the contamination. The Ram fuel/water separator will not be able to remove suspended water from JP-8 or Jet A-1.



Some Questions answered by Josh Berman of Cummins:

> Dodge says to run #2 diesel under most conditions. In "arctic" conditions (<10 °F), others
> recommend 50% #2, and 50% K1 OR #1 diesel. Is the 1st statement true? I know the second
> is because its in the owners & service manuals.

Blending is better than running on fully on #1 or K1, because it will keep your power output closer to that of running on #2 Diesel.

> What if any problems will be caused by extended operation on other than #2
> diesel? I'm more concerned about short duration needs... ie out in a rural
> area and unable to find diesel, but can find a K1 pump.

If you have a '94 to '98.5 12 Valve truck, then you should have no problems running a tank of K1 (2K Kerosene, Jet-A, Jet A-1, JP-5, or JP-8) through your truck. You might find that it performs differently (ie: #1 Diesel gives lower power than #2 Diesel), but it should not cause any damage to your engine. (Note: Jet-B, JP-4, and Gasoline are NOT to be used in any models. Dave)

However, if you have a 1989 to 1993 Ram or a 1998 and up 24 valve engine, then we DO NOT recommend using any fuel other than #1 or #2 Diesel. In an emergency, you can use 1K or 2K Kerosene, Jet-A, Jet A-1, JP-5, or JP-8 ONLY IF YOU BLEND 5% NEW LUBE OIL with the fuels (ie: 20 gallon fill-up, add 1 gallon new lube oil). Adding the lube oil is VERY IMPORTANT, as running on the lighter fuels without additional lubrication will cause excessive wear in your fuel pump, which is not a warrantable repair.
CAUTION: Running fuel other than #1 or #2 diesel w/5% lube oil should only be done if there is ABSOLUTELY NO OTHER CHOICE. Fuel pump damage due to inadequate fuel lubrication IS NOT COVERED BY WARRANTY, we don't recommend "lighter fuels + 5% lube oil" unless you're in a really desperate situation.

 

I didnt know that. Thanks FB! [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

Your Welcome. =]

 

If you do a search on AV gas, there have been multiple discussions on this topic. There are the scientific reasons why it won't work well like it is formulated for a constant 2500 rpm at 14,000 ft elevation. Then there are the seat of the pants testimonials about it working just great. Both sound pretty valid to me. I won't use it because I want to go with whats proven for my setup............Sunoco 110. At 10 gallons per month, I go through $720 per year in race fuel. I would spend about $500 on AV gas here in my area. $220 bucks a year? Not worth the risk of losing performance for that.

My $0.02

 

Good Point, In my pulling truck I used it mainly for what it was intended for "a slow burn for more torque" was as close as you could get to running a diesel with out running a diesel. =]

Plus our trick for the truck was to cover the radiator so the truck started overheating, soon as the flag dropped my buddy would pull the cover and I would stomp the throttle. The truck would drop down to the optimum temperature faster than it would warm up to the optimum temperature. Make sence. lol. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-confused.gif[/img]

I edited it to state that: my truck was set up for Max traction and not Max rpm's.

 

You seem to be quite an expert on fuels. Interesting. But it seems you still prefer the smell of Klotz 118 octane to the extreme of putting it in your signature, "Nothing like the smell of Klotz 118 Octane racing fuel. ".


"Make sence. lol. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-confused.gif[/img] "

 

Like I said in a previous post ystreak.
"lmfao, OK you win, you have more than proved to me that I cannot compete with your kind of stupidity."

 

I was researching AV gas and this came up , in fact I found a few articles that read the same FYIAV Gas vs Race Gas

If I remember when I used to use AV gas I had to richen the heck out of the carb, so money saved per gal might not be worth the extra fuel you have to burn for jetting, meaning a wash out on cost.

 

Good find Erbed, another good read. Thanks. =]

 

I've been using AV Gas, 100LL, for over 18 years. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

I have used it in: Yamaha Banshee, Honda Pilot, Honda CR500, Kawasaki 500, KTM 550, Turboed Bombardier DS650, Turboed VW 1915 sandrail, Turboed Yamaha RX1 powered sandrail, and various small generators.

All my bike were jetted properly for the AV Gas and elevation. Most of my bikes, except the motorcycles, were/are worked on and have higher compression. I mainly Dune ride, which uses a lot of power and high RPMs. I do drag NOT race or hill race, but I spend a lot of time dune riding.

I have NEVER had an engine problem that was attributed to AV Gas use!!!

The most important issue is to make sure you use the proper octane requirements for the compression range the engine is built for and proper jetting. My engines are built, but not extreme, as I want durability with performance. On my turbo engines, I run under 10 pounds of boost.

Most of the people I Dune with use AV Gas too, with no problems.