Diesel Hits new Highs

I'm now over $5 / Gallon for diesel. American Public radio's Market Place did a piece on the high price of diesel. Ouch, Sure wish I could drive on the SVO more than I do. Some folks do the Biodiesel thing in the diesel tank but I figure that I am taxing the engine enough with the SVO so i best give it a rest when I can.

New York Times article about new clean diesels coming soon

The New York Times has an article about the impending invasion of clean diesels into the US starting this summer. Unfortunately with diesel fuel at record highs ($4.65/G for me) it isn't as great a deal as it used to be. Still a really good article.

Engine oil analysis

Just got back my engine oil report. I wasn't looking forward to it because I was afraid of the results based on what might be the case with this whole veggie conversion thing - switching over too early, forgetting to purge, etc.

I don't know too much about the history of the car other than the previous owner told me he used synthetic oil. Ever since I bought the car I have been taking it to a local quick lube place to have the oil changed (every 3000 miles or so - in 2 years I have only put on approx 12k) Although they use Mobil One synthetic I am not sure which one they use I took a guess that it was Mobil One for Diesel Trucks, I will find out.
Update: I stop by my oil place and they use Mobil One Delvac for synthetic diesel applications

Looks as though it is good news as there looks to be no problems. Importantly the aluminum, and iron metals look normal. High metal numbers indicate oil / engine problems. The calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, & zinc are additives and vary from manufacturer to manufactuerer:

From Black Stone Lab's FAQ:

Why are my molybdenum, boron, calcium, phosphorus, and zinc levels different from universal averages?

We do not separate out the various oil brands and grades when we calculate universal averages, so in effect, the universal averages are a mix of all different types of oil out there. Therefore, the additives that are present in your sample will not match those in the universal averages column. Click here to see what all the elements mean and where they come from.

So Far, So Good

They have the mileage numbers mixed up and I will correct on next sample. Conversion was done @ 126k with a total of 137.5 K. Approx 11.5k since conversion.

More about Taxes . . .

Saw this article in the LA Times about California Veggie burners and there ignorance of the hauling & tax laws. Nothing new other than the Govenator is in the same boat and hopefully it will be changed. I wasn't aware that they raised the hauling license fee to $300 from $75 - Ouch!

Oil Change - 137, 755

Changed the oil this weekend. I believe synthetic oil is recommended for most VW TDI's. The 2002 that I drive requires an oil with the 505.00 spec. I have been having getting the oil changed at the local quick lube every 3,000 miles or so. Although they use a Mobil synthetic I'm not sure it is the Mobil 1 Turbo Diesel. I think the oil is good for up to 10,000 miles but with the veggie thing I figured I would keep it at 3,000 like I did on my gasoline Passat. It usually takes me over 6 months to achieve 3,000 miles .

I decided to purchase the oil & filter over the net and do it myself. It ended up saving about $10 and got to make sure the correct oil was used, though I did have to spend $20 on the correct oil filter wrench because I couldn't find one locally that would fit. Part of the wrench issue was because of the conversion as the 3 port valves wouldn't let me get the wrench in.