Drain water from fuell filter: how often?

[L_Rutigliano]

The manual says to drain water from the fuel filter every time you fill up (or something like that). I drained recently at 6500 miles for the first time, diesel came out.



How often do you check this on your truck?



Its kind of a hassle, the fuel filter drain valve is low and my arm gets dirty when I check because I have to "snake" to get to it.



Thanks for the feedback.

 

[gravedigger]

I check mine about once a month or about every 1000 miles. Would do it more often but as you stated it can be a real pain to reach in and open up valve. Espeically with 4in lift and 35in tires.

 

[KKlepfer]

I try to drain mine every fill up, but don't always do it because I'm lazy. If I'm in a parking lot I'll let it drain on the blacktop. I figure blacktop is mostly petroleum and will get absorbed so no harm done. I'm probably just in denial on this and it probably runs off into the sewer drain when first rain comes.

 

[Jengle]

I too put off draining mine until I had 7600mi on it. All I got was clean fuel. I used a clear bottle and had someone else turn the valve while I caught the runoff. I hate the idea of that dumping on the transmission.

 

[NSperduto]

Ok, dumb question. The drain is the yellow lever by the fuel filter.

I pulled mine at 3k and got nothing at all out, no fuel or water.



What gives ?



Nick

 

[lschultz]

Only time I drain mine when is when I change the fuel filter. Change filter at 10000 miles. I have never got any water. Depending on where you get fuel your could be different.



Nick if you don't get any fuel to run out when you pull the lever turn your key on and cycle the pump with the lever open. I think they had a TSB out on this. When I had the 03 it would do this and I cycled the pump and fuel run out. I guess it puts a little pressure in there and if something is clogging up the drain valve it will blow it out.

 

[WStrmiska]

NSperduto, you need to turn it more to the right, I did the same thing you did, I turned it more to the right and it definately came out all over my garage floor,LOL. now I use a plastic bottle to catch the diesel. I drain mine every fill up. My truck is the new 325/600 and I want to keep DC happy because of my warranty. I use a telescope foot stool that I use, makes it easy. I'm only 5'6 and need all the help I can get. The stool folds up pretty small, handy to have especially if your short like me.

 

[DPKetchum]

Every time I get fuel unless I'm getting rained on!

 

[skillsaw]

NSperduto - When the Fuel Filter cannister is installed back on the mount, there's a little notch for the lever to move back & forth between, sometimes the filter housing has to be adjusted just a bit so the lever can swing fully. Just losen the bolt a touch & spin the bottom housing a teenie little bit...

Good Luck

-Erik

 

[Crunch]

Originally posted by lschultz

Only time I drain mine when is when I change the fuel filter. Change filter at 10000 miles. I have never got any water. Depending on where you get fuel your could be different.

Same here. I started off by trying to check it when I filled up but it was a serious pain. Then I dropped it to once a month and never saw even a drop of water. Now I drain it when I change the fuel filter, but that is mainly to get the fuel level low enough so anything stuck to the filter doesn't pass through into the engine. Still have yet to see a drop of water in the diesel fuel. I just had my 15,000 mile maintenance done (rotate tires and change the fluid in the differential, find out about 2 recalls) and I changed the oil, oil filter and fuel filter when I got home (big maintenance day!). The fuel filter had 11,000 miles on it and it looked surprisingly good. I had the usual black discoloration on the filter, along with several white spots on the filter that looked like wax, but it was almost 70* that day. Still no water in the fuel.

 

[Dean Upson]

I drain mine when I change the filter.



Dean

 

[SNOWMAN-47]

Originally posted by NSperduto

Ok, dumb question. The drain is the yellow lever by the fuel filter.

I pulled mine at 3k and got nothing at all out, no fuel or water.



What gives ?



Nick

On my 03 the lever is black and on the Drivers Side of the motor. Was the engine running when you drained it?



BTW I drain mine like once a month and I do it on somebody elses property - lol Gas stations have tons of petroleum products all over the ground anyway.

 

[draymorris]

Only when I change the filter. Never see water. There is a light in your truck that may tell you if you have water in fuel. If I ever get enough water in there to see it, I will mad and avoid the station where I filled last.



Don't tractor pullers inject water sometimes?

 

[gsbrockman]

I let mine take a whiz every fill-up courtesy of the parking lot at the big-rig fueling station I prefer most often.

Greg

 

[Jeremiah]

Waste fuel? Not me!

Drain fuel to check for water? What I wanna do that for? I might as well drain the radiator to check for oil. Or let air out of the tires just to make sure it's there. Besides, I get 40 - sometimes 50 - mpg. I wouldn't get that kinda mileage if I drained off fuel.



OK, I'm lying. I check for water when the fuel filter is changed. But I might as well be fibbing. In 35,000 miles I've never seen a drop of water!

 

[cbunt1]

Running a 110Gal tank in the bed, and the factory 35-gal tank, filling at the truckstop, I tend to just flip the valve when I open the hood to check oil, and let it drain until just before I close the hood. I never see any water, but again, I don't look all that close. For me that means I drain it about every 12-1500 miles, or twice(ish) a week.



Only reason I bother is that I use so much fuel from so many sources, and carrying it in the transfer tank, I expect water even with fuel from high-volume truckstops, filtered at the pump, filtered again at my transfer pump, and filtered on the engine.



--Chris

 

[StinkyCheeze]

NS, The first time I tried to get it to drain, I got no result also.

I ended up opening the lever and cranking the engine over just a few seconds and cut it off. The fuel then flowed... No problems since then... It now works with the engine off as it should. First time obsruction I guess