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Acetone Woes?
Old 06-07-2007, 03:10 PM   #1 (permalink)
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Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Scottsville, VA
Posts: 187
Acetone Woes?

HI,
I added acetone to my 1989 D250 yesterday....Added 1 oz per 10 gallons....My truck typically smokes at idle (not sure why....I may try turning down the fuel screw.....Not sure what the previous owner did with the truck modification wise...he said nothing but he only owned it for 6 months).

I typically tow a 18' tandem landscape trailer with lawn equipment (total towed weight approx 3300 lbs). On my usual route to Richmond and back (Mostly highway....some city)...I typically averaged 14.3 MPG at 60 MPH with the AC on low.

On my first trip with Acetone in the tank, I at first noticed a marked decrease in the exhaust smoke at idle when at a stop light....I was hopeful that either the acetone cleaned up whatever was causing my truck to smoke or it was truly actually acting as a catalyst and causing he diesel to burn more completely. Anyways, the smoke free idling lasted most of the day....The trip to Richmond was uneventful.....When we got to Richmond traffic
stopped on the Highway (big accident closed 64 for a long time)....I idled seemingly forever and was disgusted because I knew my mileage test was now messed up).....Anyways...After much idling and slow creeping on the highway I decided to try my luck by getting off at an exit and trying to get to my destination via regular streets (of course it was now rush hour so more slow driving but at least moving faster than the highway).

As luck would have it, I realized I was now lost and to make matters worse the truck was idling roughly and was pouring out LOTS of smoke at idle and part throttle (smoke color was hard to describe but to did lay down a smoke screen....Hard to describe the color other than kinda dark with what I thought were wisps of white or gray)....I pulled over and decided to let the truck sit a bit while I checked the fluids (oil) and for any leaks....I found nothing out of the ordinary so I decided to restart and push on....At first there was alot of smoke out the exhaust again but it cleared up within 1/4 mile....and never came back (well at least so far....120 miles)....The truck has gone back to smoking its normal smoke at idle as of the end of my trip....170 total miles traveled BUT with alot of slow city driving and stop and go on the highway....
Despite all the slow going and stops.... when I filled up I was pleased to come up with 13.9 MPG .....I can't help but think the Acetone would have increased my mileage had the trip conditions been similar....

I will service the Richmond properties in 2 weeks and will try the test again....Hopefully this time no accidents to ruin the regular driving conditions....I have to admit tho that I am a little scared because of the stint of roughness I experienced and the large amounts of smoke that happened for awhile....Anybody have any ideas what the smoke and roughness was about?
(Maybe just the acetone cleaning stuff out?....I think I may change the fuel filter just in case....Just curious but could a clogged fuel filter cause smoke at idle?

Any other people have positive or negative experiences using acetone....How many ounces per gallon do you use?

Andrew

PS - I started and drove the truck a little this morning and it seems to have a miss / stumble when accelerating from a stop.....Could this have been cause by the acetone messing something up?....Never had any of these problems until I used the acetone yesterday....still haven't changed the fuel filter tho but I did fill it up yesterday night so and did not add any extra acetone so the acetone should be pretty well diluted....Is it possible that acetone is a solvent and since usld has less lubrication properties someting got messed up from lack of lube....I hope not.
__________________
1993 W250, Banks Turbo, DTT 89 , Shift Kit, B&M trans pan, 3.55, 4" exhaust w/ 4" downpipe, Muffler Deleted, Gauges, 168 K miles.

1989 D250, Diesel, Auto with DTT 91

1991 D250, Diesel, Auto, stock truck. KDP fixed

1997 Dodge 3500 Ext Cab. Diesel, 4x4, 5 Sp, 4.10, 152K miles. Stock.
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