[HopSing]

I have just inherited my late father's 1981 37 ft Newell Coach. The old thing is in pretty rough shape cosmetically, but seems mechanically sound. It had been sitting on my dad's lot for the last 6 years only being cranked up intermittently, but had not been started in the last 2 years. I got it running and have driven it. I would only get up to about 10mph. I've determined that the fuel filters were stopped up and will be replacing them today. I've checked for water in the fuel/ water separators and they checked out free of water. I also opened the main tank sump drain, and no water there. It has about a little less than half a tank of diesel in the main and about a half tank in the aux. tank. The fuel is about the color of tea and probably 6 or 7 years old. Since i found no water, I'm thinking I can just add some good anti-gelling fuel treatment/cleaner and after changing the filters, use this fuel. Does anyone have any experience with using old fuel like this. Also, it has a 4 cylinder generator motor. Does anyone know what kind of engine this is? The main engine is a Detroit 6V92? or something like that. Any help or guidance here is much appreciated.

[Ozarkguy]

I would ether have the fuel finished (cycled thru a filtering system) or drain the fuel.. and flush the tanks.

[Fulltiming]

Welcome HopSing. Sorry about the loss of your father. Been there. Jimmy had good advice about the diesel. Once algae starts to grow in diesel it takes a lot of work or someone with the right filtering equipment to get it back in good shape again. If you are near a coastal marina, there may be companies that will come out and finish/polish the fuel a lot cheaper than draining it out, cleaning out the tanks, and replacing the fuel. I got a tank of bad fuel at a truck stop a number of years ago and had to do the same thing in Newport Beach, CA after a stop to change out the fuel filters in Yuma.

Some of the Newells of that era used a Kohler generator. My 1992 has the Kohler generator with a 4 cylinder Yanmar diesel engine. A Detroit Diesel 6V92 would be common engine for that time frame although some Newells were using the Cummins 903.

We would love to see photos of the old girl.

[Ozarkguy]

Another thing to consider is , if the fuel is that old it maybe the ole' good stuff instead of the ultra low sulfur stuff we get now... What I found on my classic was that a film had coated the inside of the tank and the new low sulfur fuel acted as a solvent and created havoc with the filters and boost pumps ...

[Fulltiming]

The same thing will happen in the fuel lines themselves. You may be changing fuel filters for a while.

There was a early 2000's coach at Newell in July that had come in with bad fuel. According to the owner, Newell changed the fuel filters, drained the tank and disposed of the fuel, cleaned the tank out a couple of times, and partially refilled it with fresh fuel.

[77newell]

Welcome aboard Hopsing. My 77 coach had the Kohler generator with a Perkins 4-108 engine. I don't have that coach any more but I recall that the name "Perkins" was quite obvious when I had it rolled out.

[Rjbjfire]

OzarkGuy has sound advice. I would drain it all, flush and start over with all new filters. Keep spare filters in the rig for on the road repairs.

[HoosierDaddy]

My '78 had the Perkins.. Good engine...

[Chester Stone]

I have seen many large boats with diesel left in the tanks untreated for a long time, and merely changing out the fuel or polishing did not solve the problem. Alge can attache itself to the tank linings and if this happens, the tank has to be opened up and scrubbed. If a motorhome is in that bad of shape, it may be simpler and cheaper to replace the tank.

[Ozarkguy]

HopSing if you don't have a bunch of experience with this type of equipment, may I suggest you find a local mechanic that is familiar with the DD6V92..there are several things that should be looked at other than the fuel issue... Before you do much driving.. There are several members that run that combination.. I'm sure they will chime in...
Regards...