Engine/Transmission (1994 - 1998) Fuel filter fell off

[Weatherly]

97 2500 4wheel drive club cab 5sp 175K. Second time filter has literally fell off. Engine was still running, pumping out lots of fuel on ground. Traced back to stud that holds fuel filter housing on. Never was overtighened. Did have 2000 mile trip in Mexico over some rough roads might have done it. Ordered new housing from Cummins to get back on the road. Can I replace this with better grade stud?. Not sure how to get get nut off with broken stud in on top of the housing.



TIA Bobby

 

[GAmes]

I thought I was the only one that has had that failure. Mine happened on a country road in Alabama on a Sat. after noon I'll spare you the details. Anyway, the bolt is a standard, not metric bolt and can be found in any good hardware store. You may have to remove the filter head to get the broken stud out. I used the bolt a friendly local mech had in a junk drawer to get home, then replaced it with a grade 8 bolt the next time I changed filters. The bolt pushes out after removing the round brass nut that holds an o-ring. Be sure to line up the hex head on the inside of the canister when installing the new bolt. If you want to hear about it I'll tell you the whole story. :-laf

 

[Weatherly]

Sure why not. My first broke somewhere in middle of nowhere in Arkansas. To Cummins credit drove it home to Houston. We want talk about fuel mileage

 

[hsmith]

Ouch, that has to hurt!!! That is a hollow stud, isn't it? You are talking about the filter screwing onto the housing, right? Did it break, fall out, or what?

 

[GAmes]

When the engine quit I coasted to the side of the road. Not a house or car in sight, about 90 degrees with typical Alabama humidity. I popped the hood and smelled fuel, then saw the canister laying on the frame. I took the nut off with a pair of pliers, and beat what was left of the bolt out with a screwdriver as a punch. I called the closest members in the Travel Companion and got answering machines. I called a Dodge place in Dothan, no mechs on Saturdays. I called a big truck repair shop, no parts for a 5. 9. It was a few mile walk into the last town I had been thru. Every thing was closed including the only parts store in town... NAPA. I remembered seeing an RV dealership on the other side of town so I walked there, closed. However, there was an auto shop next door with a back door open. I walked in and there was a mech finishing up a job. I explained my problem and showed him the bolt. He walked over to a work bench, pulled open a drawer and extracted the bolt I needed. It gets better. He once worked as a Cummins mech and knew how to fix it. We jumped into his car and in less than an hour the filter head was removed, reinstalled, filter installed, fuel lines purged and engine humming. I hope the $100 bill I handed him was enough for him. It was a bargain for me.



Smitty, you may want to change yours when you get the chance. A real easy job if the shank isn't broken and left in the nut on the filter head.

 

[hsmith]

Will do as soon as I get one. Leaving next week for three weeks to New Mexico. Do not want to worry about that problem while on vacation for sure.

Thanks Gary