Keith Browning Posted February 16, 2006 Share Posted February 16, 2006 I just discovered what is the worst case of fuel contamination I have come across hands down. 2005 350, 6.0 towed in for no start and the customer killed the batteries trying. I pushed the truck in, charged it up and somehow got it started but it runs terrible. Fuel pressure is 0 and it runs so I am going ignore the 4 cylinders that are not contributing... for now. I started by removing the primary filter on the engine which was broken internally and squashed like it was forced into the housing. The fuel in the housing was an orange-brown with silt on the bottom. I wonder what the HFCM looks like. The filler neck has evidence of the same color contamination. Needless to say, this will be a customer pay repair. I am estimating right now 8- injectors, cleaning the tank and the HFCM and possibly replacing the lines. I'll keep you guys posted as this one unfolds. Maybe I should photograph and document this one on the site! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WGLR13MWZ Posted February 17, 2006 Share Posted February 17, 2006 Please do so. I would be interested in your article and photographs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Browning Posted March 4, 2006 Author Share Posted March 4, 2006 Well it didn't turn out to be as horrific as I originally feared. In fact the owner got lucky on this one pending any long term damage. It looks like he was getting fuel that had a very fine reddish brown clay silt in it which clogged the HFCM and the primary fuel filter. The pump failed. The most worrying part of the initial diagnosis and discovery was that the primary filter was cocked in the housing. Someone had changed the filter and left the inner o-ring and retainer behind (see photo) and I was concerned that that silt on the bottom of the housing was getting past and to the injectors. Long story short, I replaced the HFCM entirely, cleaned the fuel filter housing, flushed the lines and the customer had the tank washed. With ten gallons of fresh fuel I had the truck running and a road test confirmed that no injector damage had occurred. It actually runs very well... I added a little cetane booster to help get it fired. /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/eek.gif As for an article on this, it's not enough on it's own but I am compiling some good stuff like this to write one. If anyone would like to help out I need to know more about the effects of poor faulty and low fuel pressure on the injectors and the internal components. Any help or photo's would be appreciated. Since I haven't seen too many failed injectors lately, it may be a while! On Edit: The customer is dumbfounded as to how the contamination got in his tank. I took a fuel and oil sample for him to send to a lab. He just doesn't get it. Perhaps he an enemy out there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Warman Posted March 5, 2006 Share Posted March 5, 2006 We see a lot of concerns with the aft axle fuel tank.... the vent is located in a low spot and can draw moisture into the tank - especially when the top of the tank gets coated in mud and such. The cure is to pop the plastic cap off the vent and add a a hose routed to a "safe" place under the truck. In the last year we have made it policy to add this line during the PDI process... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Browning Posted March 5, 2006 Author Share Posted March 5, 2006 Maybe I should have added the photo showing the very same dirt on the fuel filler neck, cap and threads. Good note on the rear vent but I really have not seen any major contamination issues at all. I did have a handful of trucks with utility bodies installed that someone used the wrong sized hose on the vent tube on the filler neck. The result was a bunched up hose that allowed water traveling down the filler neck to travel straight into the tank. Very ugly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mekanik Posted March 6, 2006 Share Posted March 6, 2006 I see plenty of the aft. axle tanks contaminated with rust. This is from water getting into the vent and destroying the inside lining of the tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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