Old timer at the local diesel shop told me to quit using ATF in my fuel

I've been putting a little automatic transmission fluid in my diesel fuel for years, figured it helped with the injectors. An old mechanic named Dave over at Bob's Truck Repair told me it was just gumming things up on modern common rail systems. I ignored him for about 6 months until I had to pull my injectors on my 2012 Ford 6.7 and found them caked with varnish. Cost me $340 to have them cleaned and now I just use a proper additive. Anybody else get bad advice from an old timer that ended up costing you?

3 comments

3 Comments

craig.olivia2d ago

Buddy of mine ran Marvel Mystery Oil in his Cummins and paid way worse.

kevinw942d ago

340 bucks for a lesson most of us learn the hard way.

finley_smith2d ago

@kevinw94 I gotta push back a little here. I paid $340 for a parking ticket once in downtown Austin and that taught me way less than any actual life lesson. The hard way is how most of us learn but that doesn't mean every expensive mistake is worthless. Sometimes you need to drop cash to really feel the weight of a decision and make sure it sticks. Other times you just got unlucky or someone took advantage of you and no amount of money changes that. Just saying not every pricey lesson is the same.