gsbrockman wrote:
RFCRD wrote:
A simple word of diesel advice; Don't mess with this unless you know you have a water in fuel problem. If you do get bad fuel or have a WIF light, chances are draining may help get you going for the moment but you need to replace the filter asap to keep this trouble free.
I'll respectfully disagree with you, RFCRD.
Periodic draining of the fuel filter will release any accumulated water in the filter. If you wait until the WIF Light comes on, I'd imagine it's a little too late to do any critical corrective action.......short of just being informed of the fact that you now have water in fuel........kinda like buying full coverage insurance on Monday for the vehicle you just wrapped around a tree the previous Saturday.
I own a 2003 Dodge RAM 2500 HPCR CTD (have owned Dodge / Cummins trucks since 1997), and I drain my fuel filter each and every fill-up (Casper marks his territory, so to speak). In the 47.8k miles I've owned the 2003 Dodge, I've never had the WIF light come on......nor has it been on in any of the two previous CTD's I've owned. Same for the CRD with 26k miles on it......and generally the CRD marks its territory about every 2nd fill-up or so.
Had the CRD fuel filter not been designed with periodic draining of the fuel filter in mind, I'm sure VM Motori and DC could have saved a few pennies on the fuel filter and not incorporated the drain feature.
Draining the fuel filter is considered periodic maintenance.....just like oil changes, air filter replacement, tire rotations, differential servicing, etc. etc. etc.
Greg
And I certainly understand what you are saying. My experience in over 20 yrs of fleet maintenance is that finding enough water in a fuel filter between changes to cause a problem is rare (I can count them on one hand for 20 yrs). Many commercial diesel filters have now eliminated the drains completely. When a fuel quality event happens, one can usually tell just as quick as the WIF light will tell you and is far more serious than draining the filter. Personally view the WIF light as the warning for the diesel novice and the recording sensor for the tech with the OBD reader.
Two things I know from experience working with suction style fuel systems: 1). If the system is tight, leave it alone unless you like chasing suction leaks. 2). Any water found in your fuel or filters, change them or you will have problems.
I can understand if you feel more confident about your CRD & CTD maintenance because you drain the filter. Definately wouldn't discourage you, just view it as a waste of time. View it as more effective for weed control in your driveway than helping your vehicle.