Dirty diesel fuel

[Liveto99]

I love that 7.3 best motor ever I think. The idler pulley used to go at about 60,000 but once it was changed it was good the 300. I liked the non turbo better. It had a bit more pep and better mileage with the turbo but there was more crap to work on.

 

[zipper]

I love that 7.3 best motor ever I think. The idler pulley used to go at about 60,000 but once it was changed it was good the 300. I liked the non turbo better. It had a bit more pep and better mileage with the turbo but there was more crap to work on.

We had a N.A. 7.3l diesel in our 90' F450 milk truck. Had 300k miles and AG plates on it. It was a manual transmission, 2wd, dually beast with a top speed of 55-60 mph. Sold it recently. It had a 2-battery switch in the grille, and a liftgate at the rear.

 

[Scottintexas]

so I changed the fuel filter at the same time as the new tanks, I knew I probably had some stuff still in the lines but figured it was proably such a small amount I would just drain the filter and it would be ok,

When I put the new filter on I filled it with transmission fluid as that's supposed to help clean the injectors, I drove the truck for about 30 miles and when I got home I tried to drain the filter but the water drain was already clogged.

I've driven the on both tanks about 100 miles and last night I changed the fuel filter again and this is what it looked like,

in the filter bowl it was no longer a sandy grit but now flakes or rust, I was more alarmed that the diesel in the jar was so red in color,






@Babin Farms or anybody else,

when I fill the filter with ATF how long would you think the before the ATF is cycled out ??

Does it constantly remix with fuel or does it filter operate more on a first in/first out method that any trace of the ATF should be gone within 50 miles (4 gallons of diesel passing through it)

 

[Babin Farms]

It will get diluted to a point and shouldn't take more that a mile or two down the road The injectors on those old diesels can handle a LOT of abuse. The tolerances are not near as close on the older stuff compared to the new. The rust is probably coming from the fuel lines getting cleaned out from the tank rust. The redish tints probably from the rust but you might be getting clear diesel, not really sure. Next time you fuel up check to see if it's green coming out of the pump or clear. I get some trucks with a goo in the bowl when servicing and some don't but never had problems. Just part of dealing with a fleet of vehicles.
You should notice a loss in power if the fuel filter is getting plugged too bad but that's what it's there for, to catch contaminates. The bowl is mainly for water separation but might always have debris in it, but that tell you it's doing its job and that material is not getting to the injectors.

 

[Babin Farms]

Diesel Purge

<p>Removes deposits on injection nozzles and in the combustion chamber. Increases the cetane number. Eliminates engine operation problems such as knocking in idle and provides round and quiet engine running. Protects the entire fuel system from corrosion.

products.liqui-moly.com

This is what I use occasionally to help "clean" a fuel system

 

[Scottintexas]

Diesel Purge

<p>Removes deposits on injection nozzles and in the combustion chamber. Increases the cetane number. Eliminates engine operation problems such as knocking in idle and provides round and quiet engine running. Protects the entire fuel system from corrosion.

products.liqui-moly.com

This is what I use occasionally to help "clean" a fuel system

I use both the Liqui Moly purge and additive in my Audi TDI, I just dumped a bunch of diesel kleen in the truck figuring it can't hurt,

I've got a case of the liquid moly though and will send some of that through on my next tank,

Thanks,



.

 

[Scottintexas]

Drained the fuel filter last night, this was after about 60 miles of highway driving,
no debris ( I didn't pull the bowl off the bottom of the filter, I only used the water drain )

it again wouldn't drain when I first opened the valve, I had to bump the started to get it to start draining,

I was surprised to see it's still ATF red when the last time it looked rust red after only about 30 miles of driving.

The engine is running fine,







.

 

[zipper]

That sure looks like off road diesel/red died kerosene. Low sulfer highway Diesel is yellow as you know. I would check the color at the pump.

 

[Babin Farms]

I would have thought that the ATF would be rinsed out of the system by now. I agree with @zipper check to see what color it is coming from where your getting fuel.

 

[Scottintexas]

It will get diluted to a point and shouldn't take more that a mile or two down the road

That sure looks like off road diesel/red died kerosene. Low sulfer highway Diesel is yellow as you know. I would check the color at the pump.

I agree but,
I bought the fuel from a 6 month old Wal-mart/murphy station, I'd be really surprised if they messed up a delivery,
I did fill the filter with ATF or I'd really be thinking red dye fuel,

I will take a jar at the next fill up to check,

Thanks for the feedback,


.

 

[zipper]

How much atf did you put in? After driving 60 miles it should be back to yellow if not light pink. IDK, when I switch back and forth on road/off road diesel, the separator color changes pretty quick depending on the mix of the two fuels. Yours looks really red.

 

[Scottintexas]

when I change fuel filters I usually fill the entire new filter up with ATF (since I usually don't have any diesel in cans and the guys on the ford site say to idle the truck for a minute and let it sit over night to help clean the injectors). I had filled the previous filter up the same way and it turned rust red in 30 miles of driving (picture at post #23) but that was after pulling the filter and dumping it in the jar.

The consistency wasn't like ATF it was a little looser so I think it does have some diesel in there but the picture did capture the color accurately.

I'm guessing maybe because I just used the water drain at the bottom the ATF just collected down there, the truck had been parked for about 48 hours.

maybe I'll pour some ATF in the old rust red jar when I get home and see how it settles,

I'm going to drive the truck another 100 miles this week and probably change the filter on Saturday so I'll get to dump the entire contents in a jar to view,


.

 

[Scottintexas]

after about another 100 miles I was going to change fuel filters again,
again the water drain wouldn't work with the engine off ( I didn't bump the starter though knowing I was dumping the filter)

The bottom bowl only had a few flakes (last time there were 20-30 flakes, this time only 4-8) and no sandy grit.





When I dumped the fuel that was in the filter it was still a "rust" red tint with no debris and the ATF red was gone, some one on the Ford board suggested that maybe the ATF had gone through the fuel return lines and discolored the tank,

The picture below is of the fuel that was dumped from the filter and a small amount of "fresh" diesel I had just bought. Since there was so little debris (and filters are $30. each) I filled the original filter back up with diesel this time instead of ATF to see if it will drain or start to clear the color up.
















.

 

[Scottintexas]

and I also poured a 1/2 cup of ATF in the old jar of diesel I still had on my workbench to see how it separates,
after 48 hours, it turned the whole jar ATF red and you could tell a difference in the top quarter of the jar but you really had to look to see a color difference (it certainly wasn't anywhere near a water/diesel separation),