Help, Water in Fuel

[Dirk]

Took my truck to the dealer on monday because it was running a little rough, and the check engine light came on. It took them three days to diagnose the problem as excessive water in fuel. They estimate cost to repair between 5 - 10,000 dollars. They are not sure, because they have never seen corrosion this bad, and are not sure how deep they will have to penetrate to get it all out. They informed me that this would not be covered under warranty. Truck is 2004 with 20,000 miles, exactly 1 year old. I had utility body installed right after I bought it, and my suspicions immediately pointed to that. I suggested to the dealer, that maybe the tank was punctured or otherwise violated during the installation of the truck body. I suggested they do a pressure test on the tank to see if it was air tight. The mechanic agreed that that was a great idea. They called the next day, and said they had figured it out. According to the dealer, diesel fuel tanks vent to the atmosphere through vent holes at the top of the tank. Regular gas tanks vent to the filler tube in a closed system so the voc's are contained. So obviously a pressure test wouldn't work on a diesel tank. The theory they are presenting to me is: When the new truck body was installed, the gap between the cab, and the bed was increased by 3 inches. This exposed the top of the fuel tank, that has a depressed area in the center, to the weather, and hose water when washing. They say the vents are in this depressed area, which would then act as a funnel to channel water directly into the fuel tank. Does this make sense? If the modification to the truck caused the problem, then the utility bed manufacturer should be liable. However, if Dodge put open vent holes at the low point of a plastic tank, isn't that poor design? Who do I blame? (besides myself for just draining the water out of the fuel filter every week, and not wondering why).

 

[Kirwin]

I'd look over their shoulder

I don't think that the fuel/water separator was doing its job if the corrosion is downstream of the fuel filter. Those plastic barbs do not vent the tank. I'm not sure what they do do though. I had my tank off when I installed the fuel tank vent bomb. Send a PM to Mat400 the designer of the fuel tank vent bomb. He has all the answers on this one for you just ask him and I'm sure he will help. I'd suspect that the top seal of the tank sending unit was compromised somehow when the aftermarket body was put on, or someone drilled a hole into the top of the tank. Is the rubber sealing boot installed on the center fitting on the fuel tank sending unit cap? I'm pretty sure that tank is vented through the fuel cap which is designed to require some differential pressure before the valve is allowed to open. Let us know what you find out. Ken Irwin

 

[JohnnyH]

https://www.turbodieselregister.com/forums/showthread.php?t=125393



Read this thread. It was discovered that the open barbs were letting water into the tank. I ran 1/4" fuel line from the barbs, to a T, to another piece of fuel line, to a small fuel filter. It is a design flaw by DC. In fact, the 2005's have a small section of fuel line extending off the front barb from the factory to prevent this from happening. They know about it, and I would fight this with them. Good luck

 

[Matt400]

Send a PM to Mat400 the designer of the fuel tank vent bomb.

Thats not me. . I just have the link in my sig cuz I think its a neat mod.

Spooled-up is the fella who came up with that one. His vent kit allows more fuel into the tank.



As for the water in the tank thing, yes they are right about those two vents being closed on a gas application with hoses that capture fuel fumes and route them to a charcoal canister. On the diesel there is no need for that so they are just a vent for tank expansion. best of my knowledge they should function as a "roll over valve" and not allow any fuel to come out if the truck were to roll over.



If they are allowing water that has pooled in the low spot to flow into the tank then thats a DC problem and not the service body people. The pick up bed is not designed to keep water out of the fuel system. That is the job of the fuel system.

 

[rbattelle]

Oh what a mess. My heart goes out to you, Dirk.



-Ryan

 

[Matt400]

https://www.turbodieselregister.com/forums/showthread.php?t=125393

Thats a great link and the filter mod is a good idea. Originally I was going to just put a differential vent on a piece of hose but like the filter idea better.

 

[rbattelle]

Thats a great link and the filter mod is a good idea. Originally I was going to just put a differential vent on a piece of hose but like the filter idea better.

Matt, I was going to do the same thing but then I realized that axle vents let air out but not back in. You want something that will let air pass in and out as the volume of fuel changes.



I used 2 of the VW fuel filters. Worked great.



When you get right down to it, Dodge should be paying for all this. Certainly they didn't do anything maliciously, but they clearly made a bad decision to not put hoses on those vents. Obviously, they realized their mistake and corrected it on 2005 trucks. They really need to issue a recall on the 2003-2004 trucks and fix the problem.



Dirk - please consider submitting your problem to NHTSA. Fireman should, too, along with anyone else who experienced engine troubles from water intrusion in those vents.



-Ryan

 

[JohnnyH]

These cheapo filters allow air to pass in or out. I get no vacuum buildup in the tank and so far so good. I got lucky, I think I caught it before it became a problem.

 

[Fireman]

The flatbed exposed the tank to water ???? That is BS Oo.



Those B... ards will do anything to save a buck, or in this case 5-10K. It is a design flaw, they know it, (they told you as much)they created the problem, and now they are trying to weasel out of doing it under warranty !



OH THIS ***** ME OFF SO BAD !



I'd better shut up now.

Fireman

 

[rbattelle]

A hot shot attorney could make a small fortune starting a class action suit against DC for this issue.



-Ryan

 

[Kirwin]

WOW am I glad I'm a member of the TDR

Thanks for straightening me out on this vent issue. I looked at those barbs when I dropped the tank for the vent mod. But I hadn't read the thread you linked. Thanks for doing more research and helping us to correct Chryslers poor engineering. :-{} I quote for the Dodge service manual "CLEANLINESS CANNOT BE OVER EMPHASIZED WHEN PERFORMING FUEL SYSTEM MAINTENANCE" Seems like they could learn something from there own documentation. Ken Irwin

 

[Dirk]

Got some good news today. My car insurance is going to pay for my repairs. Everything except cleaning out the fuel tank, and the $250 deductable. I figured if D. C. wouldn't cover it someone was going to. Comprehensive insurance covers damage from water. Interesting though I believe they will be going after the truck bed manufacturer. According to the dealer, Chrysler issued a bulletin to all registered truck body manufacurers regarding these hose barb vents. Truck ordered without the bed, even came with a piece of hose in the glove compartment with instructions how to install it. Dealer has started rebuiding my motor, but informs me that the lift pump has to be moved from the old external location, to a new location inside the fuel tank. Whats up with that?

 

[rbattelle]

Dealer has started rebuiding my motor, but informs me that the lift pump has to be moved from the old external location, to a new location inside the fuel tank. Whats up with that?

New part. All lift pump replacements are now retrofitted with an in-tank pump just like the 2005-up trucks.



-Ryan