Veggie 300SD

In April, my good long friend Bovie turned me on to a new idea that is making a movement into becoming free from the oil economy we're living in--Waste Vegetable Oil (WVO) in cars. I vowed to never pay over $2.00/gal for gas back in 2003, and had to reclutantly eat my words. Well I said it again for $3.00/gal back in Sept 2005, managing to pay 2.72 at the highest peak. Well this time, no Katrina, no opec, just the plain facts that as long as people demand oil, the companies providing it will jack up thier prices. In April I noticed that 3.00/gal was coming back soon, and I really did not want to eat my words again. So Thanks to bovie, and the guys over at http://www.greaseon.com/ , I started the search.

Choosing your Diesel

So I knew I wanted a mercedes. Why? well first, Kent Bergsma, the mechanic who helped convert bovie's 240D, said that he has only converted mercedes cars, and although it can be done to any diesel, it wouldn't be as easy. I had a bias already agains Volkswagons because I've had not one, but two roomates that have had Jetta's die on them. So it looked like an older VW was out of the picture. Didn't want a truck, and an old rare diesel caddy didn't look like a good idea either. So off to ebay and craigslist.

Craigslist and Ebay

I started looking through these sites to see what I could find. Most newer models, 1995 and above were WELL over 8000k, unless they had some major problems with them. Craigslist vehicles were even more expensive. I called a guy in Portland regarding a 1995 S350 Diesel. Its a nice car, but he wanted 11,200 for it. He suggested that if I'm just starting out, that I should go for an older model, and referenced me to an older 1983 300SD Turbo diesel. So I took the train down and looked at it. The car didn't look in that bad of shape, and it only (yes only) had 186,000 miles on it. So despite is 'issues' I bought it off him, $2600.

The car

So the car is a 1983 Mercedes 300SD Turbo Diesel. It rides fairly well, and was a perfect candidate for conversion. Actually looking back, buying this car instead of the newer W140 or W210 models was actually a good idea. The 300SD is based on a w126 chasis, which use very little electronics to make the car run. Kent advised me that the best models are the w123, w124, and the w126. the w140s had some pretty major electrical issues, I guess spawning some recalls in 1995. The best model he suggested would be a 90-93 300D, 2.5 diesel. They're built on the w124 chasis. Perhaps that will be my next car. This car is getting from 27-30mpg on diesel, and I filled it up with Biodiesel at Laurelhurst Oil in the U-District in Seattle.

The Fuel

Secure your fuel source BEFORE BUYING A CONVERSION KIT! I put this here because its great to buy a mercedes and run it on biodiesel. However, before you decide to convert it to run 100% WVO, you need to find a place to give you oil, or else you've just spent $1000 to heat up already thin bio-diesel.

Difference between Biodiesel and WVO

• Biodisel is thin, WVO is thick, very thick


• WVO can be put into a converted vehicle just by filtering out the crud, Biodiesel must be refined


• WVO needs to be heated up to ~150F in order for it to not f&&K up your injectors. You can run your car at a lower temp, but it'll mess it up. without any heat, your car won't start.


• Biodiesel runs without any conversion, although its best to get your fuel hoses replaced and your tank cleaned

When you hear people say they are using vegetable oil for biodiesel, that could very well be true. However, since biodiesel requires other ingredients to make it work, you'll end up paying per gallon, while WVO, after the initial costs, will virtually be free, not counting hours to pick the stuff up.

Converting the car

We'll get into some nitty gritty stuff here, hopefully by the end of this post, you'll have a good idea what it means to convert a car to run on WVO.

First: Choosing a kit

At first, bovie told me to go with Kent's system. I looked around like a savvy shopper for other systems, noticing that other systems are cheaper and 'looked' like they could do the same thing for me. However, don't be fooled. Systems from greasecar, frybrid, and greasel can be nice, however the 'econo-systems' lack some very important parts, which can usually result in reduced performance. The other thing to note is that the greaseon kit took Bovie and I about 18 hours to install. Bovie used a combo of greasecar and greasel systems, which took weeks. Since greasecar assembles its own brackets for both the front and rear of your car, you just need to hook it up, and not assemble it (for the most part). So once I purchased the SVC-1500, from greaseon, I awaited the boxes to start working on it.
(note: I must admit that we were able to use Kent's lift for all of our underbody work, which we couldn't have done otherwise. Also we had his ear whenever we hit a bump, which clarified issues that might not have been as easy on our own. However, this reason alone was not why I choose greaseon over other systems)

Second: Reading DIRECTIONS!!!

So I must admit, we somewhat learned this the hard way. Another advantage of the greaseon system is its quite verbose documentation. If you're a good reader, this documentation will result in a flawless installation. However, if you have CRS (Can't remember shit) and don't do good studying, you can end up borking some parts.
At this point I should note that you should also keep the parts in boxes that come with the system separate. We sorta poured everything together, which, without Kent's help would have been disasterous. The lines are cut for specific uses, but if you blend them, it can be hard for the novice to know what goes where. That said, onto the installation....

Third: Assembling the fuel lines

There is one thing you must asemble yourself, the fuel lines from the rear to the front of the car. This is because if Kent did it, the shipping costs would be out the window. Plus, with a second person, its pretty easy to asemble. We had it done within an episode of the simpsons.

Make sure you get the tape tightly around the hoses, and make sure to read the directions about wire alignment!!! IF you don't, you'll end up with some wires that are WAY too long on one end, while other hoses aren't long enough. We had to do some splicing after missing this little, but important detail.

Fourth: Asembling the FSB

After the fuel lines are in the system, you'll want to mount the FSB to the back, in my w126, it fit nicely next to the spare tire, just like it was designed to. Try to dril the hose line going to your fuel line before you get your FSB mounted, that way its not as hard to drill. Also make sure you have ample clearance between the pump and the top of the spare tire well.

Fifth: Replacing the Fuel tank fitting

This is where a lift comes in REALLY handy. I'm not sure how many more hours it would have taken otherwise. the tank outlet is located near the rear-right wheel well, you'll notice two lines, one for output, and one for return. Its useful to have a near empty tank when performing this procedure, because you need to empty your tank and dry off the fitting. Let the tank drain out. Once completed, you'll need to use a vise or other tool over the fitting to get it off. Since we're replacing the smaller fitting with a larger one, you'll need to unscrew the nipple part from the tank part, which will break the seal. Install the new fitting and put some provided epoxy. Or if you're like us, get some quick setting 30min epoxy and you're on your way.

Sometimes it can be difficult putting the fitting back on because you'll need to tighten down the black fitting, which might be butted up next to the fuel tank lip, making it impossible for a ratchet to get in there. We had to use a hammer and punch to get it tighened.

Sixth: Install the fuel line

You'll most definitely need a good drill for this process. Also is nice to have a lift. Drill a pilot hole where you want the line to go. It should be coming through the left side of the spare tire wheel-well. Once that is all drilled through, bring the fuel lines through and match the individual ends up to where the fsb is. If you did this right (We did not), you'll have a coolant line that is long enough to go around the outside of the well, and the other lines go through the inside, including wiring.
Next, take the fuel line and start tie wrapping it next to the old fuel metal lines on the car. you don't want to tighten them quite yet because you might need to move the lines one way or another. Once the lines are fitted to the back, you can start bringing them to the front. Again, a lift is highly recommended. Push the fuel lines near the steering column. You'll want to try to get it tied off so as it comes into the engine compartment, it doesn't rub on anything.

Seven: Install the VFM

Here are the nuts and bolts of the system, sorta. The VFM is the brain of the electronics, switching the system via the switches in the car (later), providing the last fuel filter before the oil hits the injection system, and lastly the veg-therm. Some other kits have a hot veg-therm, and if you don't use greaseon, make sure the other kit provides you with one. This is what provides the magic at startup so you don't have to use Diesel to get the car running. It also will lengthen the life of your injectors because the oil is really hot so it won't gum them up. In theory you could just use the coolant (which I used once, when a relay died on me) being supplied to the back of the car, which is warm enough to heat the oil in the front, but you will damage your car after prolonged use without the veg-therm.

Seven a: Mounting the VFM

In my w126 there was a wierd bracket in our mounting way, so we just removed it.
if you don't have this thing, then just mount it down, drill through and tighten.

Seven b: Wiring the VFM

If you have two people, tell the second person to move to the next part. In our case, Bovie did the hose plumbing and I did the wiring. Match the colors suggested in the book, there will be an extra wire that could be used in the future.

You'll probably be perplexed as to why the fitting on your fuse isn't the same as the fuse box. Take some vises or needle nose pliers and bend open the fitting to fit over the fuses. If you're lucky like me and have a fuse key, find the wipers and put it over that fuse.

Seven c: Plumbing the VFM

IMPORTANT: Follow instructions VERY carefully here! You'll be cutting hoses to length, and if you mess up, it can be difficult to recover without many splices! Also, have a spill container below your car, or else you'll have a nasty coolant and fuel spill to clean up afterwards.. and note to the note: get extra coolant if you're picky like that. If you're like us, you'll end up loosing half of it
First, find your coolant lines, they will be up near the wheelbox and down in the front--just on top of the alternator. You'll use the big 'T' connectors and cut a splice. Both of these are a bitch to splice because its hard to get to them and they don't give you much slack.

Also, make sure you put your front coolant line behind the air intake and tie it off to the engine block. It only took 5 days for my coolant line to get cut by the fan! Once those wires are spliced, start going for the fuel pump.

Seven d: Plumbing the VFM: Fuel Lines

If you're using a one tank system, you will just be plugging the outlet line into the one bi-valve included with the kit. For two tank systems, like mine, you'll have two bi-valves.

Since the fuel intake line isn't being used anymore, we can use that for our second tank, otherwise it won't be used at all. The outlet line will always be going into the main tank, so if you have a Second tank, MAKE SURE YOU DON'T HAVE RETURN FUEL SWITCH ON!!!! or else your aux tank will be gone in a matter of minutes! Back to the single tank instalation.
For a one tank system, our new fuel line will go right into our fuel filter. the aux fuel system does it a different way, mentioned below. Make sure that the fuel filter has the supplied O-ring on it:

Mine didn't come with one, and when we turned the system on, veggie went squirting everywhere, causing me to have to replace my belts because they became greasy.
The filter will go into the veg-therm, the veg-therm into the fuel Bosch pump, then straight into the Injector. The outlet of the injector goes back into our loop, and is repeated over again. With a 2 tank system, the aux tank will use the regular fuel filter that we just bypassed with the veggie wires.

now this may seem very confusing, any perhaps you just skipped over the previous paragraph--read the book--it'll describe it better.

Once plumbing is done, good--the hard part is over.

Seven e: Installing the Fuse in the VFM

The 3 wires coming into and going out of the VFM can be somewhat tight, make sure you have the groove right (read manual) and you should get a good fit. Don't install the fuse quite yet, but first make sure you have the black 12gauge wire going to your battery. (which feeds from the bottom of the fuse, the 3 wires are on top). ITs recommended to get an Optima battery, I purchased a yellow top one for $85 on craigslist.

Eight: Wiring switches

If you have a one tank fuel system, you'll only have one switch--this is the return fuel switch. Which, unless you need to purge the system, you'll never use this switch. And like I mentioned before, if you have a two-tank system, be careful with this switch or else your second tank will run out of fuel VERY quickly!

Although blurry, I brought Six wires for my two switches up under the dash and through to the center console. I decided to put the switches to the lower right of the steering column, so they are out of the way, but easy to reach as well. Read the instructions on the switches as to how to wire them, and perhaps label the switches to know which one goes to what--unless you remember colors really well. (Mine: amber--return fuel, red--aux tank)

Nine: Aux Fuel Tank

Aux fuel tanks can range anywhere from $20 to $500, depending on size, quality and fit. I choose the cheap marine type because it was easy to install, and was really just a proof of concept.

You'll want to run the fuel line outside of the spare wheel well, I found a spot right to the left of the muffler, which worked perfectly. You should get a C-clamp to screw down the hose so it won't hit the muffler. PLug the aux tank into your original fuel line, and you're good to go in the back.

In the front, you'll have the second bi-valve, mentioned above. Put the fuel line into here, with your veggie fuel line. The output from this valve will then go into your fuel filter.

Purge!

So we had an empty fuel tank, and an empty aux tank. Thats a whole lot of air in the system. You have to manually pump fuel up to the front from the aux tank, although with the SVC-1500, the fuel pump will get you fuel really quick. Sometimes the injectors need to be messed with to work, but luckily we didn't have this problem so about 10mins of pumping and testing and we had fuel to the system

Turn on!

If everything is set and working, you should be able to key on the system. Test first by turning it to the 1st position on the ignition. HAve someone outside touch the veg-therm when you turn it on to make sure it comes up. If so, wait about 30secs and then turn it to glow, and start. If everything is right, congrats you have a veggie car!

Filtering the fuel

So once we had the car running, we needed fuel. I'm getting mine from a nice teriyaki place in Kirkland. Its really clean and they produce I think enough for me to run on indefinitely.

Make sure you have gloves that are good. This stuff is messy and doesn't come off easily.

Bag filters suck. Find $400 and get a pumping system, especially if you are going in with someone else to get a few cars to filter. Bags just suck royally.
I forgot to snap a photo of some bad veggie, but here is what to avoid--Hydrogenated anything oil. Or shortening. This means that McD's, Taco Bell, *insert fast food crap restaurant here* do not work. I have a guess that applebees also uses crap oil. WWU had about 60 gallons of oil available, but it was all hydrogenated as well. You want to stick to gourmet restaurants, chinese places, and teriyaki bars. Mostly everything else is bad. Greek might work too.

Once you get some oil, and its filtered, pour it into the car. Yet another reason why bad filtering sucks. You need at least two people to get the oil in with 5-gallon buckets and a funnel. So go buy a pump system, trust me its worth it.

Complete!!

So there ya go. I'm now %98 free from the oil economy. Sure every 3000miles or so I need to use some petrol-oil for my car, but every day driving is now free. or at least more free than it was before. And within 10-12 months (perhaps less if I go on road trips this summer) it will have paid itself off financially. Not to mention I now know how to work on my 300SD!