A Diesel Anecdote, Plus a Little Advice from Forrest Gump

No question about it, the film Forrest Gump was a major achievement for Hollywood as well as for its star Tom Hanks. It was one of the most original and memorable films of 1994. 

The story followed the life of Forrest Gump, a slow-witted but kind hearted man whose life intersected with many historical moments in U.S. history. Borrowing a technique employed by Woody Allen in his short feature Zelig, in a number of scenes we see Gump is inserted into real footage from history, interacting with U.S. presidents JFK, LBJ and others. 

Woven throughout the film are various pearls of wisdom delivered by its hero. You've likely heard, "My mama said 'Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get." 

Forrest Gump has a masterful and entertaining way of presenting valuable life lessons. Many of them are delivered as proverbial insights from Forrest's mother (Sally Field) whom he loves to quote. For example, several times in the film Forrest is asked if he were stupid. Gump replies, "My mama says that stupid is as stupid does." What she meant, and we need to learn, is that a person should be judged by his or her actions.

Stupid Is As Stupid Does

The Colonial Pipeline ransomware hack earlier this month hit the Southeast like a jackhammer. In parts of the Southeast 85% of the gas stations were out of gas. The Colonial Pipeline runs from Texas to New Jersey and supplies 45% of the fuel to this region. As of yesterday, two-thirds of all gas stations in Washington D.C. were empty.

Against this backdrop we came across a story that shows how dangerous it is to rely on advice you find on social media. The article appeared in USA Today's Fact Check column. It's titled, Fact Check: Watered-down diesel can't be used in a gas-powered engine.

This attention-grabbing headline implies that someone actually said you can do this. So I read further.

As you can imagine, people were panicking last week because of the fuel shortages. Some of these who looked online for solutions came across a post on Facebook that read, "Remember, if the station is out of gas you can put diesel in your car as long as you water it down."

What!!!?

To make matters worse, the post was shared 1800 times. Perhaps it was shared as a joke, but if someone actually attempted to implement this advice, they would be in a serious quandary. First, the USA Today piece explains, "diesel fuel is thicker than gasoline and can damage components in a gas-powered vehicle. Adding water doesn't help, though, and does its own harm."

No kidding. As the article goes on to note, just as water and oil don't mix, neither does water and diesel fuel. Inside the tank, the water will settle to the bottom and rust your fuel tank.

For the record, gasoline and diesel fuel don't mix either. That is why they have distinct dispensing nozzles and color schemes at the pump.

By the time you reach the end of the article they hardly have to spell it out, but they do. The claim that you can mix oil with diesel fuel is... False. 

* * * 

Related Links

USA Today--Watered-down diesel Fact Check

Washington Post Map of Gasoline Shortages

What Happens if You Put Diesel in a Gasoline Car?

Things You Can Learn from Oil Analysis

The other day I wrote about the 2021 Cummins engine that is going to have a 100,000 mile oil change interval. The caveat is that it is actually an 85,000 mile change interval unless you do routine oil analysis. 

Now the truth is, with the kind of money we spend on a diesel, the cost of oil analysis is just pennies. Why not take care of your equipment and make it last? Oil analysis is one of the best ways to do this. 

You can see rust on a truck body, the visible outer shell of your machine. But what's happening on the inside? Oil analysis uses science to determine the condition of your oil. It will also provide clues as to the condition of your engine, whether you have smooth sailing ahead or macabre mayhem. Dan Arcy, in a 2019 Fleet Equipment story, describes it as an "early warning system." And it is.

In short, what Cummins is saying is that oil analysis has real value. It's a cost effective tool for extending the life of your equipment. 

What a good oil analysis does is identify wear metals in the oil. The experienced lab has vast quantities of historical data which enables them to identify what is going on based on the wear metals in your oil. Arcy notes that high levels of iron might point to cylinder wear. Unusual levels of chromium, aluminum, copper or tin will help identify other problems. 

Some wear is normal. An experienced lab will point out for you what is not normal, and what this means.

Your oil analysis report will also give you insights into the fluid itself. Do you have glycol in the oil? Water? Is your viscosity correct? Have you had fuel dilution? 

Silica is a nasty and unwelcome guest in any engine. You can also find copper, potassium or lead as well. Each item on the lab report is there to teach you something.  

According to Mike Wyant of PetroChoice, the two most common problems are dirt (inadequate or improper filtration) or water (leaking through seals.) Each of these require attention, the sooner the better.

Click here to see a sample of a 2015 report from PetroChoice. 

Photo Credit: Science in HD