Fuel Filters.....

[EDankievitch]

Just thought I'd share this. I thought that the fuel filter life monitor was tied into the fuel pressure sensor on the engine.... It's not. this past Sat I lost power and got a low fuel rail pressure CEL lamp. The 3 micron fuel filter on the engine was plugged. How do I know? I found it partly collapsed when I removed it. The other filters seemed ok not really all that dirty. but the small one did it's job and stopped what ever got through the other two. My fuel filter monitor still reads filter life 65%. New filters and after a few starts the CEL lamp cleared. I guess I picked up some crud on the run to Fla this past spring. I'll be installing a Fuel pressure gauge like I had on all my other trucks so I can keep an eye on things. It wasn't fun climbing a hill with out any power and getting passed by a Prius.....
There was a thread the other day about skipping changing the engine filter when doing the filter service.... Don't you never know what you have in your fuel.... It's cheap insurance to just change them both.

 

[Mingoglia]

I'm not sure how that could even happen? I would think the tank side filter would clog up long before the engine side could clog up, assuming they're always replaced as a pair.

 

[Cummins12V98]

"The other filters seemed ok"

^^^^^ Filters? Or did you mean filter?

 

[Bob4x4]

I'm not sure how that could even happen? I would think the tank side filter would clog up long before the engine side could clog up, assuming they're always replaced as a pair.

Smaller particles will pass through the water separator and (hopefully)be trapped in the secondary filter

 

[Mingoglia]

Smaller particles will pass through the water separator and (hopefully)be trapped in the secondary filter

Just seems a bit off that "that many" small particles have been able to pass the frame side filter and make their way to the engine side. Those of us who have replaced and inspected our filter sets have determined that the second filter literally looks brand new. So in order for that filter to "collapse" it would seem to me that either the engine side filter wasn't being changed at the same frequency as the frame side, or the fuel source being used had some foreign (under 3 micron) contaminant present in a high enough quantity to cause this problem.

 

[Cummins12V98]

This filter had 15K on it.

 

[EDankievitch]

I change all my fuel filters each time I do an oil change. I change oil every 10,000 miles. I can understand having particles small enough to pass through the under bed filter and the outer filter on the engine. That small inside filter is the 3 micron one, the other two are 10 and 7 micron, and that was the one that showed the partial collapse. The filter looked as if a high vac was pulled on it. It was still intact and sealing, doing it's job protecting the engine.

 

[SnoKing]

Now I understand:

Description
Fleetguard FS53000 fuel filter for '10-'16, 6.7L Dodge Cummins Turbo Diesel trucks. Filter only.

This is a two-stage fuel filter with a 5 micron outer filter with a 3 micron inner filter for better filtration compared to older filters.

Description
The MOPAR NanoNet for '10-'16, 6.7L Dodge Cummins Turbo Diesel trucks is a two-stage fuel filter designed to trap smaller particles than existing filters. It has a 5 micron outer filter with a 3 micron inner filter.

Sounds like the OP did not cut the filter open. Maybe extreme high fuel flow is to much for the 3 micron inner filter?

Snoking

 

[Bug Out]

Let me make sure I got this right. A couple of the post almost sounded like there is a "small" filter under the hood beside the canister filter next to the block, driver side. There is only 2 filters total on the RAM, one rear on the frame and 2nd is engine mounted???

TIA.....

 

[SnoKing]

Let me make sure I got this right. A couple of the post almost sounded like there is a "small" filter under the hood beside the canister filter next to the block, driver side. There is only 2 filters total on the RAM, one rear on the frame and 2nd is engine mounted???

TIA.....

Engine one is:

This is a two-stage fuel filter with a 5 micron outer filter with a 3 micron inner filter for better filtration compared to older filters.

 

[AH64ID]

IIRC the fuel filter life is based on gallons and time, which assumes the fuel dispensed is fairly clean.

Flow shouldn't be effected by 3µ or 20µ media until it's at it's dirt holding capacity.

I would carry a spare filter with you as the new one will likely plug up pretty quick as well.

 

[Bob4x4]

I am pretty impressed with the new filters. I mounted the engine mounted unit between the oem filter and the injection pump, replacing a racor unit

 

[EDankievitch]

The new 2010-2016 engine filter is a filter with in a filter. It's a really nice design and seems to work very well.

 

[sag2]

The reason the filter started to hour glass is the lift pump is pushing fuel through the filter and the CP3 is pulling on the other side at about 20 inches of vacuum. With the filter plugged the fuel can't get through it but the pressure differential deforms it. Usually a filter will breach under those conditions and the debris will pass right through it into the clean side of the fuel system. The newest design filters appear to be superior to the filters of just a few years ago.