wdkingery or similar name hear wasted his pump in less than 30,000 miles running this IIRC. If you replace the pump is the fuel money you saved worth it?
For the record, the pump survived the 30k miles. I dumped unfiltered ATF and scarred the pump's walls, but it recovered and worked fine (even "Damaged"). I was running straight WMO towards the end. The final nail was I got done foolin with the damn car, and my education began to get a bit more difficult, so the first real no start killed the project; I could easily still be driving it.
The biggest cost is time. The savings are substantial.
30k miles @ 50 MPG @ $3.76 a gallon: $2256 in fuel
30k miles @ 35 MPG @ $3.76 a gallon on 80/20: $644 in fuel (assuming WMO is free [for me it was])
$2256
- 644
-------
$1612
free money minus $50 in filters, $100 @ the junkyard on starters and battery cables.
I had to replace the IP before the WMO started, and the WMO didn't wipe the pump out in the 30k. So you could probably start with a good used pump and go @ least 30k before major pump damage (I wouldn't have had any noticeable damage during the entire run if it wasn't for that one unfiltered ATF event. Not to say there wasn't damage, just that it didn't directly affect my point A to point B)
RopaDopa from flotida:
I have over 30k miles experience with WMO/black diesel/ATF/gear oil. You can easily go on black diesel for quite some time. I went all the way down the rabbit hole. The beginnings of my work are documented here, but the for majority of the experience I was too busy doin the damn thing to keep vwdiesel.net updated.
The shorts:
The engine and IP will put up with a bunch of abuse.
The vehicle essentially won't misfire due to fuel quality, so if it's misfirin, there's starvation occurring; need to remove the screen in the gas tank first thing.
It will run on 100% WMO, but she's not gonna like it; only do that in a pinch. Tough to keep started, won't go very fast until real warm.
80/20 WMO/diesel works good, or 80/10/10 wmo/gas/diesel for the winter.
You'll know if you have gone too rich on your black diesel mixture when the car will start but dies quickly, or dies approaching speed until the tank is warm.
You'll know your injectors are coked when the smoke becomes unbearable.
Plan for slow acceleration, with a reduced top speed, especially when the mix is thick. advance timing every few months.
Plan to go through a bunch more fuel then before. Still works out to a penny or two a mile, even at mid to low 30's MPG. Get a backup IP; i have one you can buy for cheap. I never had pump problems though (started on a new/reman one from thedieselstore.com) if on the cheap like I was, try cutting the WMO before filtering, to speed up the gravity filtration process, particularly in winter. If you have some coins, get a centrifuge setup and let it spin all day; less time consuming.
Replace your fuel filter system with a gas station filtration setup: 1" connections, filters that hold quarts. all parts can be had at tractor supply, reducers at lowes. Reduces filter replacement.
Plan for winter. Bosch duraterms,
battery cables running to every GP, dual batteries, triple the power/ground going to the starter and you'll survive with minimal frustration. Starter speed is important. Go to junkyard and strip a pickup truck or work van of all of its battery/starter cables. Good compression is key though. Hone, rering and adjust valves before winter hits if necessary. Gas engine starters will work fine, they just burn up much quicker.
Your main enemy is temperature/viscosity. Injector coking second issue. During the summer (if you live south enough) you can essentially get away with murder. Filtration (Wildly) isn't as big a deal as it would seem. I mean do it anyway; bag/sock style filters down to 1 micron are only 5 bucks and will knock out a few hundred gallons before they get slow. ATF is the stuff you are after; viscosity no longer an issue with ATF. Problem is ATF has the AT friction material in it. It doesn't come out, not even at a micron. But under a micron will be fine. DO NOT DUMP straight ATF into the tank though. I got in a hurry once and did 5 gallons, and the innerds of the pump began seizin up on the way home.. just imagine that friction material doing work on the pump! It was like killin the ignition between every power stroke. Eventually it cleared up 92% (tho wasn't exactly right after that.)