Our front page story today tells of the inundation of jobs that mechanics have been facing in relation to diesel pump failures.

Our straw polls have shown that mechanics and garages are booked up till the end of November, and most of the problems are the same – leaking or failed diesel pumps. From our investigations, we have found that mechanics have a backlog of between 5 to 10 vehicles on any given day. But what is the problem?

Mechanics have told us that the fuel is “too fine” and that it contains high concentrations of sulphur. This causes corrosion of the seals of the pumps which then leak fuel as the mechanism tries to push it into the combustion chamber. We were shown that the fuel simply leaks out of any seal because it is too fine. Enemalta, on the other hand, have told us that the fuel is “up to spec”.

Armchair experts have taken to Facebook, meanwhile, and said that the problem lies in the fact that there is too much of a bio-diesel mix in the fuel – the highest portion allowed is 7 %. But Enemalta and fuel pump owners have said that there is no such problem. If anything, biodiesel is thicker and lubricates the engine. So what on earth is going on, and why can anyone not give a satisfactory answer. Perhaps the answer lies with the mechanics. Mechanics have told us that the problem started about a month ago, and therefore, the issue could be down to a particular consignment of fuel. We have to ask the question, why do motorists in other countries that use super fine fuel not face such problems?  Could it be that our vehicles have been used to lower-spec fuel that causes less corrosion? Could it really be that this fuel is ‘so good’ that engine parts which were used to a glugier mix are now finding it hard to cope with this more ‘corrosive’ fuel?

Whatever the case may be, this is not something which can be ignored. Mechanics have said that it is the older vehicles – mostly over 10 years of age – that are struggling with the new fuel mix. But still, why is it so difficult to get an answer in this country? And more importantly, does anyone actually have an answer to the question?

Replacing a diesel pump is certainly not cheap, the part alone costs in the region of €100 to €130 and there is labour costs on top. This is not the first time that this has happened. There was a similar surge about four years ago, with lead content. To get in line with EU law, Malta began to reduce the levels of lead in diesel, and this led to a finer viscosity (thickness) of the fuel. Lead is also an engine part lubricant and once the problem was identified, motorists were advised to add supplements into their fuel tanks. Again, in this instance, it was older cars that were affected. Could it be a similar problem? We hope that someone will eventually tell us.