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Understanding The Fuel Injection Components of Your Diesel Engine

24 October 2018

Gladys Carter

A diesel engine is the very heart of a vehicle and should be treated as such. As it is a complicated device with many different functions, there are also many things that could cause it to malfunction or fail. A very common reason for malfunction in diesel engines is contaminated fuel. Making sure you're following recommended procedures when providing your engine with fuel and maintaining the parts in that are responsible for handling the fuel can lengthen the life of your engine as well as your car.

Changing the filters

The most important thing when it comes to handling diesel engines properly is to make sure the engine or the diesel pump gets contaminated by dirt or materials other than pure diesel. The easiest way to do this is to change all the filters in the engine regularly. This should be done about every 5000 km that the car runs. If you're operating with recommended filters, they should be able to pick up even particles of dirt that could mix with your fuel and cause wear to the injection pump. 

It's important that you actually change the filters and not just clean them. Cleaned filters might help for a little bit, but as you won't be able to get all the dirt out of it, you will be operating with a dirty filter that can let dirt through way easier than a new, clean filter would.

Don't use the last amount of fuel in a barrel

To make sure you don't get any dirty diesel into the pump in your diesel engine, it's important to know the source of the fuel. If you are stocking fuel in barrels in your home, you should make sure never to use the last fuel that is left in the barrel. This might have been contaminated with dust and moisture that has accumulated in the barrel while standing. Moisture is a particular problem, as this won't be filtered out in the engine while you're driving. If you have too much water mixed with your fuel, this could cause your diesel engine to malfunction.

Draining the filter bowl

You should drain the filter bowl regularly to empty it of dirt and water that has been filtered out. You should do this every time you've been driving in heavy rain or very dusty conditions. If water and dirt are allowed to build up, the fuel efficiency could go down as the diesel pump needs to work harder to be allowed access to the fuel. Unscrew the airtight seal at the bottom of the bowl and empty it, but make sure not to put the filter out of place, as this could allow the dirt into the pump.

For more information on where to buy fuel injection parts, contact your local auto parts store. 

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