You're supposed to change a diesel filter??!!??

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Jun 3, 2005
Messages
17,870
Location
Santa Barbara, CA
A customer came in on Saturday and brought this filter in. This is the engine mounted fuel filter on a Ford 6.0L Powerstroke, there is one mounted on the frame, as the picture of new filters shows. He said he just wanted the o-ring for the housing since it was leaking and he put RTV around it a few years ago and that started to leak. Now the book says to change them both every 15K miles, you have to buy them as a set. Most owners do them a lot more frequently to try and extend injector life. I told the customer that we don't stock the o-ring by itself, I could order it but it wouldn't be in until Tuesday. However we stock the filter set and I am guessing by him saying he RTV'd the cap a few years ago and since the frame mounted one will get that discolored if you extend the interval, he should do them. He balked and said it was too expensive but I ended up selling the filter set to him at wholesale cost. He then got upset that he had to get both.

After he left I realized what a terrible thing I had done. That 2004 F-250 probably had the factory filters still in it and was probably one of the only 2004 6.0s to never have any work done beyond oil changes every Presidential Inauguration. I kept it until Monday to show our diesel tech who about fainted seeing it.


 
Looks like a diesel oil filter
crazy2.gif
 
He’ml Be back shortly for injectors and other work, at least to “a” shop, maybe not yours, since he will wrongly blame your shop for causing the breakdowns that are surely coming in short order.
 
You often see a bit of black in a common rail fuel filter, oil getting into the return line. It was an indication of a fuel pump problem with the Mitsubishi 4M40...the lift pump is in the front of the injector pump, and they would suck engine oil. On a hard start complaint, checking the fuel filter was the first thing to do. We have one at work at the moment...I had trouble starting it, and it stalled a couple of times. In the morning we will drop the fuel filter for a look.
 
RTV eh? Sounds like ones of those folks who shouldn't be allowed anywhere near a vehicle, it never seizes to amaze me.
 
The maintenance neglect from some vehicle owners never ceases to amaze me.

I've been meaning to ask: Have you seen any CP4.2 HPFP failures come through your shop?
 
Yep and next month he'll be on a forum somewhere talking about how much a Piece of junk the 6.0 is and that it was the worst truck ever made by Ford...

I'm still convinced that a majority of the problems with the 6.0 is from pure lack of knowledge and maintenance when owning a diesel truck. They weren't meant to ride around on stretched Nitto 420's and be drag raced nor were they meant to run to the save-a-lot and lowes once a week to haul groceries.

I guess in this case, he was lucky to have always had good quality fuel, that is the ONLY way that filter lasted that long. I'd hate to see the amount of gunk built up in that frame rail HFCM!!
 
Originally Posted By: SubieRubyRoo
He’ml Be back shortly for injectors and other work, at least to “a” shop, maybe not yours, since he will wrongly blame your shop for causing the breakdowns that are surely coming in short order.


I doubt it. People like this have luck on their side it seems. If he has gone this far on a 6.0 with little to no maintenance it'll probably run forever doing the same. Funny how people complain about a less than $50 filter kit but will spend money on other vice's daily...
 
Heck, that filter was probably super efficient at not letting anything through. The fuel pump will like the increased flow I'm sure.
 
Originally Posted By: 02SE
The maintenance neglect from some vehicle owners never ceases to amaze me.

I've been meaning to ask: Have you seen any CP4.2 HPFP failures come through your shop?


I think that is what they use on the 6.7 correct? There is actually one in the shop now. The tech brought in the actuator on top and it was covered in metal flakes. We priced out the "oops I messed up kit" which is meant for fixing when people put DEF in the fuel and run it, however it is on intergalactic backorder. The fuel injectors, pump to pipe lines, and return lines are on backorder thus putting the whole kit on backorder. Supposedly it is covered under the owner's extended warranty.
 
It is easy enough to mount an after-market fuel filter in place of the original ones -- for instance, the Cat 1R-0750 with an easy-to-find generic filter head. Probably good for 50k or at least 40k miles in a 6-liter Ford diesel. And rated for 2 microns, instead of 15 or 20 microns in the OE filter.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top