Will a ford focus TDCI run on bio diesel?

I have been running a Ford Galaxy 2.0TDCi (2009) on B100 for the last 4 years covering in excess of 40,000 miles with no problems at all, other than replacing the injector leak off pipes once. For some reason these are made of rubber and not a synthetic material. (Biodiesel destroys rubber in no time).
One advantage is that I make my own Biofuel from various stocks, some high and some low in free fatty acids (FFA) which gives me full control over its quality.
At first I used ready made fuel from a Biodiesel company but found it to be high in impurities and water content all of which do crystalize in cooler weather thus resulting in running problems for the car. If buying your fuel from a retailer, it is very important to use a reputable dealer.
In extreme weathers a 50/50 mix of Bio and Mineral diesel is sometimes needed.
When switching from mineral to bio fuels you will have to change your fuel filter after about the first 500 miles. Biodiesel has a cleansing quality that rids of all nasty deposits in your tank and fuel lines left by mineral diesel, these are collected by the fuel filter, which clogs and thereby gives you poor starting and poor running.

Adrian
July 2013

ive been running my 02 ford fiesta tddi on 50 / used veg oil and 50 /normal diesel its been running fab only 1 point changed the fuel filter 2x now running great with no problems at all fact ive travelled approx 5000 miles so a tank full eg 38 litres cost me 29 pounds / 25 pounds for diesel and 4 pounds for used chipshop veg oil so for 29 pounds i can get approx 487 miles woohoo it works 4 me

kingy
March 2011

Just wanted to say thanks to TDCi. I've got a '56 plate Focus and have been very interested in using biodiesel both for environmental, and, more importantly cost reasons. Your post has been very helpful.
Basically, if you want to use biodiesel, look for something old, and french! (Car that is).

Cheers,
J.

Jezzer
January 2011

I have run a Fiesta 1.6 tdci (2006) on B100 from day one and the odo is now on 106k km. This is a DLD 416 motor from PSA and the same motor used in Pegeot hdi and Citroen.
First I must add that I live in Cape Town that very rarely goes below 10deg C in winter. Problems so far (1) on 80kkm a symbol lit up representing a gear (that is not described in the owner manual). Symptoms were that the car would go into limp mode just under 3000rpm or when pulling up a hill. Just pulling over and switching the ignition off for a few minutes would reset and drive normal again untill we get to the next hill. The problem was a blocked catlyc converter. I just had it cut out and fitted a straigt pipe in its place. The blocked cat is a normal problem even with regular pump diesel.
Problem(2) on about 95kkm the car would slowly loose power. Took a while to solve this simple issue, something missed by the dealership during services. At the back of the fuel filter is a a small rectangular box (pre-filter I asume) that slides off the used filter and fitted again to the new filter where the inlet pipe is affixed. This little box pre-strainer/filter is not cleaned out by the dealership. Easy to clean, immerse in a small bowl, close the in and outlet with thumb and middle finger and shake the daylights out of it. Pour the contents out on bouth ends and repeat treatment. Problem solved.
Future problems, I only notice that the overflow pipes between the injectors are starting to "sweat" and will need replacing soon, but then again it is a problem even with regular diesel.

Hannes
April 2010

Yes, it will run very well on it, but you'll have problems sooner or later.
As a follow-up to my follow-up, I have been running my '53 plate Focus TDCi on B50 for some 20,000 miles. It wasn't too good on B100, so I stuck with B50. Then last month the engine kept cutting out, and wouldn't restart for 10 mins. I renewed the CAMSHAFT POSITION SENSOR (16+vat) and this vastly improved starting, but didn't cure cutting out. Eventually had to have RAC tow to Ford main dealer. Full advanced diagnostics, found the fuel tank was full of a white waxy substance and this was coming through and causing repeated CLOGGED FUEL FILTER.
Tank drained, dropped and steam cleaned out. Refit and fill with DERV. This appears to have cured the cutting out and non-starting, but the bill was 380 quid. Someone who is also interested in bio research has very kindly helped me with this cost, but I would warn everyone that BIO IS NOT FOR COMMON RAIL DIESELS (e.g. TDCi, CTDi, CRD, HDI etc).
The problem is believed to be with the very harsh treatment that common rail gives to the fuel. It is ultra-compressed to 20,000 bar, a pressure which would "cut through a spanner", and extreme high temp 100+ deg.C. Then most of the fuel isn't injected, but is depressurized and exposed to oxygen when returned back to the tank. This constant recirculation with high temp/high pressure treatment accelerates OXIDATION of the biodiesel, and the white solids were most probably oxidized biodiesel. The OXIDATION STABILITY of biodiesel is very dependent on feedstock, and due to high demand for used cooking oil nowadays, good clean oil is becoming hard to get hold of - everybody wants it. All you can get is heavily used, contaminated with animal fat, high FFA oil. Don't put biodiesel made from high FFA oil in a common rail! I hope that my brave / foolish research is of benefit to YOU.

TDCi
September 2008

As a follow-up; after running my '53 plate Ford Focus TDCi 10,000 miles on 50% biodiesel (NOT veg oil), I would say it was trouble free on B50 (50/50 mix with normal diesel / DERV).
Cold starting is the main issue, summer or winter:-
A full set of good working glowplugs are essential for biodiesel or you will get copious amounts of white smoke at startup. I had one good working plug out of 4 when I first tried bio. I got away with it with DERV, but on BIO it still started... but produced theatrical volumes of white smoke like a bonfire for first 20 sec, and then fine thereafter. Glowplugs renewed, now OK!
Cold starting tips for TDCi on biodiesel:-
Turn the key to pre-heat position for 4 seconds & off again, 3 times, to guarantee 12 seconds of heat before you start. The engine may need cranking for slightly longer than with normal diesel (DERV).
DON'T touch the accelerator during cranking, or for first 20 sec after starting. White smoke is partially burnt fuel, this may be due to the much higher flash-point of bio making it harder to ignite.
Adding Wynn's Supremium diesel additive slightly improved cold starting, or diesel additives based on hydrotreated light petroleum distillate.
IMPORTANT: Change the engine oil & filter at 6,000 mile intervals when running on high bio blends. All fuels (petrol, diesel, biodiesel) tend to migrate into engine oil, but bio doesn't readily boil off so collects in engine oil diluting it and reducing lubricant properties over months. Focus Oil & filter change only costs 25 quid at high street fitters.
Then......
I decided to try upping the mix to B100 (100% bio) in summer months... the cold starting was awful... needed 3 or 4 tries kept dying out, gave off lots of white smoke if accelerator pressed to try keep it alive, but once up and running warm it ran on it fine AT FIRST. However, after about 1,000 miles running on B100 problems started to appear - the car started losing acceleration above 3,500RPM in 3rd gear, and did not improve when run back onto normal diesel. It may be the injectors clogged as changing fuel filter (20 quid) made no difference, but running high strength Wynn's Diesel Clean-Up (8 quid) thru the fuel filter seems to have helped.
So take my advice: B100 in a TDCi is a NO-NO. Stay at B50 or below.
I don't object to these costs as I view it as funding experimentation for the greater good, feeding back these observations here on the web. If you're buying a car specifically to run on B100, search the web for makes that are guaranteed by manufacturer for B100. Hope this answers your question!

TDCi
June 2008

Yes. I have been running my '53 plate Ford Focus 1.8TDCi on professionally made (transesterified, dry washed, 1 micron polished) Biodiesel for several thousand miles, with no noticeable loss of performance. A 50% to 75% biodiesel blend with normal diesel seems to work best in winter. I would not risk using home-brewed biodiesel in TDCi. BEWARE - Biodiesel and Straight Vegetable Oil (SVO) are NOT the same thing! Engines must be modified to run on SVO. Also TDCi is very different to TDDi. Ford only warrant up to 5% Biodiesel (and NO SVO whatsoever), so you use higher blends of Biodiesel at your own risk. TDCi fuel systems are very expensive to repair.46872

TDCi
February 2008

Been running 1.8tddi on a 51 plate on 30% morrisons veg oil and 70% derv all summer and just gone to 20% when it got cold. All fine. No conversion or anything. Doing 50/50 in VW Transporter 888special also. no worries even in the winter with this 1.

Johnny Palmer
December 2007