# Can any diesel car run on biodiesel?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-any-diesel-car-run-on-biodiesel/406926>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [June 6, 2007, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-any-diesel-car-run-on-biodiesel/406926 "2007-06-06T01:06:53Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Hedda\_Rosa](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hedda_rosa/32/1204_2.png) [@Hedda\_Rosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hedda_Rosa)\
**Post date:** [June 6, 2007, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-any-diesel-car-run-on-biodiesel/406926/1 "2007-06-06T01:06:53Z")

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We are thinking of getting a used car with way more seating capacity that we hae now. I’d like something that could run on diesel and/or biodiesel. I’m thinking a used Ford Excursion Diesel might be the right choice for us, but only if it’ll run on biodiesel too.

Would we have to do a conversion of some sort or will it run on biodiesel right out of the box? Will it run on the Diesel that is avaliable now? We live in CA, anything extra to think about there?

I see this car as being stop-gap measure until the new diesels start coming out in the next few years.

Thanks for any advice!

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**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\
**Post date:** [June 6, 2007, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-any-diesel-car-run-on-biodiesel/406926/2 "2007-06-06T01:10:57Z")

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_Grist_ columnist Umbra Fisk is, dare I say it, the Cecil of home-ec environmentalism type questions. She addresses the issue of biodiesel convertibility in [this column](http://www.grist.org/advice/ask/2002/10/10/umbra-biodiesel/):

> [@Umbra Fisk](#):
>
> Most modern diesel engines will still operate just fine with veggie fuel, so if you have one, you could try it today. Drive over to the nearest biodiesel pump, or better yet, get old fryer grease from your local Denny’s, refine it into fuel, pour it into your gas tank, and drive around town feeling punk as all get out.
> 
> This all sounded much too easy to me, so I called Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage in Missouri, where they have a fleet of two biodiesel vehicles. Don at Dancing Rabbit assured me that I hadn’t missed the fine print; with few exceptions, diesel cars can be pumped full of biodiesel without so much as a howdy-do. Biodiesel corrodes natural rubber, but you can easily replace the tubing in your vehicle with synthetic rubber. The main issue is biodiesel’s gel point; when the weather turns chilly, biodiesel begins to goo up the engine like a sinus infection. You’ll either need to revert to petrodiesel during the nine months of Vermont winter, or find some way to keep the fuel warm.