Let’s face it. These trucks of ours aren’t going to last forever. However, we can maintain their health by taking care of them with the correct products. Now the obvious here is that sometimes there are mechanical failures. That being said, no additive is going to fix that. But with the help of the correct additives, you may prolong that life or even fix an issue you’re seeing.

Seeing how many products are available on the store shelves, we spent some time with Liqui Moly‘s head PR guy, Peter Szarafinski. When additives were brought up, Szarafinski jumped at the occasion and laid it all out there for us. “Additives are chemical tools. When we talk about additives as chemical tools, we have to keep in mind that these tools, like every tool, are well suited for a specific purpose, but are not suited for each and every purpose,” Szarafinski said. “When trying to solve a problem chemically, it is obvious that severe mechanical defects cannot be repaired this way. Additives are not miracle potions, but chemical tools.”

Diesel engines are tough. But to ensure a long, healthy life, you need to take care of it.

Understanding that additives can’t repair catastrophic failure, it is important that we cover when to use an additive in your engine. Additives are able to reach areas in the engine that are otherwise only accessible after a lot of disassembly. For instance, look at fuel injectors. Over the course of time, they get encrusted with deposits.

Fuel Additives

“For example, a side effect of diesel combustion is that deposits form on the injector tip. Typically, this is because of poor fuel quality and using the wrong oil,” Szarafinski said. “The more deposits on the injectors, the less efficient the combustion. The result is power loss, increased fuel consumption, and an accelerated build-up of even more deposits.”

What Szarafinski means is that by the end of this, you’ve reduced the lifetime of the injectors themselves. Sure, you can pull the injectors and clean them thoroughly, but that would be time consuming and laborious. It is much easier to simply utilize a good cleaner like Liqui Moly’s Truck Series Complete Diesel System Clean every 1,250 miles.

Diesel fuel is getting higher and higher. You can delay that trip to the station by using the correct products.

What the “Diesel System Clean” does, is remove those existing deposits and prevent new ones from showing their face. On top of removing and preventing deposits, you’ll actually see that you’ve restored lost horsepower, earned better fuel economy, lowered emissions output, and even increased reliability. After all, you’re maintaining the health of your injectors, which will allow them to have a longer life.

In fact, similar additives have been used in trucking companies and they’ve actually saved money by using them. Check out the following image below.

By using fuel cleaner, Liqui Moly has helped these trucking companies save money. Combined, they went from using 9.24-gallons per 62 miles of driving to 8.92-gallons per every 62 miles of driving. Sure, that isn’t a huge gain, but add that up in today’s fuel costs, that helps. Using 2,400-liters, or 634-gallons less, that is a savings of $2,123.00 per year. [Using 200,000km/year average]

Oil Additives

Since we’re on the subject of additives that can save you money, let’s move on to oil. Over time, engines will develop deposits and sludge within the oil circuit. All of the nooks and crannies inside the engine oil system will clog up and not flow properly. If you look at Liqui Moly’s Pro-Line Engine Flush, this can clear these obstructions.

When you’re about to do an oil change is when you apply the Pro-Line Engine Flush. What the flush does is dissolves all of that sludge and clears out obstructions. Once it has been cleaned, it will all funnel down into the engine oil pan. By then, you’re changing your oil, freeing the pan of old, used oil. Now you can refill the engine with fresh oil and allow it to do its job and work at full performance.

NOTE: Do not drive the vehicle with the Pro-Line Engine Flush in the engine. The cleaning agents are so strong that they reduce the lubrication, so the engine would suffer from massive wear if you take the truck for a drive.

Adding Pro-Line Engine Flush guarantees proper oil pressure in hydraulically activated systems and ensures proper oil flow after a cold start. It also restores engine performance and reduces exhaust emissions.

Hey, You Dropped Something

One of the most common issues plaguing diesel owners is engine leaks. This inevitably happens when the gasket materials sealing the engine give away. “When trucks get older, their often brittle seals and gaskets are the reason you’ll have oil drops on the ground underneath your truck,” Szarafinski said. “Of course, you could just pull the engine and tear it apart and reseal it, right?”

Well, yeah, you could, but that would take a long time and cost you new gaskets. Before you get crazy, why not find something that can work for you while you’re maintaining your daily duties? Liqui Moly’s Motor Oil Saver is a much easier and cheaper option. Once applied, it takes around 500 miles to take effect. Once it has, it rejuvenates the gaskets in the engine, hopefully stopping the leaks.

We’ve all been there. Wouldn’t your driveway appreciate the attempt at rejuvenating those gaskets and seals?

By design, diesel engines see a lot of internal pressure. And with added boost, it is possible to overpressurize the system. That is why it is common to see leaking antifreeze out of the radiator on trucks and like everything else, it isn’t cheap. Simply put, Liqui Moly’s Radiator Stop Leak seems to offer that go-to expertise on keeping the truck going without that expense.

“If your truck’s radiator has suffered stone chips and is losing cooling fluids through small cracks, Radiator Stop Leak is a great choice. It is simply added to the cooling fluid. Its tiny plastic particles automatically block these cracks and seal them,” Szarafinski said. “They are so small, they freely circulate in the system and do not agglomerate where they should not. Radiator Stop Leak may also be added in a preventative manner, so the additive is on guard and immediately seals a crack when it occurs. This helps to increase the truck’s reliability, especially when taking it for a longer trip in regions with little infrastructure.”

For more information about why you might want to consider utilizing additives in your engine, check out the Liqui Moly website here. For more tech and industry news, stay tuned to Diesel Army. What additives do you trust? Let us know in the comments below.