Fuel filter changing question

[zuteduff]

bought a 2003 Discovery with 51000miles, back in June of last year. Changed the Fuel filter before we left in June of this year.. Man was it nasty... Leaning Diesels now, so I tried this: took the Diesel Kleen and filled the new filter. Then after installing, turned the key on without starting for 3 times, waiting about 5 minutes between turning on each time and leaving on for about 2 minutes. when i started it back up, purred like a Cat (pun intended) and never missed a beat....

[FIRE UP]

Originally Posted by Bigd9

And speaking of over tightening filters, on the water/fuel separator filter, do not over tighten the drain valve on the bottom of the "clear" plastic bowl. The way the valve is made, if you apply brute force, or even less than brute to that small plastic valve it will pull the seal and actually shear it off causing the bowl to drain fuel all over the parking lot. Then after draining the bowl it will start to drain the filter and then it will proceed to drain all of the fuel out of the secondary filter, and eventually drain all the fuel from the engine......at least on my Cat C7 it did

As has been mentioned, trying to start a CAT C7 engine without fuel is a real .........let's just say it used up all of the 4 letter words I knew! Being in a rural campground far from any parts was a challenge also. I now have a spare plastic fuel bowl and a new expanded version/multi volume book called 4 Letter Words For All Occasions. I never want to go through that again!

Note; Did you know diesel fuel and GOOP sealant are not compatible? Nor will Duct Tape hold, even rubber bands and plastic bags just won't hold back the flow. It was relentless till the engine ran dry... This all happened right before FireUp first posted his valve pictures some time ago.

Originally Posted by Bigd9

Scott, looking at those videos of Tim Allen I was struck at how young he was! Were we that young back then? Shoot, I was telling my 14 year old granddaughter about Zorro, the great legendary crime fighter. She looked at me like I was nuts. I said go ask you Mom. But her Mom said "that must have been before my time!" Gosh I feel so old now.

Yeah BigD9,
You know, waaaaaaaaaaay back when I was young(er), I too had a few "choice" words that one really wouldn't want the neighborhood to hear when working on vehicles. I'm ashamed to say, I've caused my share of damage by getting seriously pi..d off at certain conditions when things didn't go wright. Those were the days. Now, if things don't go right, I just get up, (if I'm underneath the coach, walk away, go take a nap or watch some NCIS and calm down. Then take another approach later. It just ain't worth getting all the dander up anymore. Too hard on the heart.

As for the Tim Allen video, yeah, I was gonna comment on how young he was then. As stated, I'd never even heard of him 'till I saw the two Showtime specials on him. And, his videos really do apply to us DIY types for sure. Zorro huh?
Scott

Originally Posted by zuteduff

bought a 2003 Discovery with 51000miles, back in June of last year. Changed the Fuel filter before we left in June of this year.. Man was it nasty... Leaning Diesels now, so I tried this: took the Diesel Kleen and filled the new filter. Then after installing, turned the key on without starting for 3 times, waiting about 5 minutes between turning on each time and leaving on for about 2 minutes. when i started it back up, purred like a Cat (pun intended) and never missed a beat....

zuteduff,
A question for ya. You state that, after the install of your filter, you'd turn the key on, 3 times without starting, wait 5 between each turning of the key to the ON position, and then start it, correct? And that it purred like a "Cat", correct?

Are you saying that you did this procedure 'cause you have fuel pump IN THE TANK? I mean, what was the reason for the turning of the Key and waiting?

On mine, and I think many, many other CAT equipped coaches, there is NO FUEL PUMP in the tank. So, I could turn my key on 80 million times and my C-7 wasn't gonna start if the system drained back into the tank like it did. I had to pressurize the tank for my system to prime.
Scott

OP,
This is really odd that you have to put that much application pressure to tighten yours so tight, to get it to stop leaking. I'm wondering if you have some sort of warped face on the fuel filter housing or, maybe some sort of crack that's tough to see and you really have to crank down to seal things up.

Scott

[96 Wideglide]

Originally Posted by JakeF

The best thing you can do is to only tighten it the reccomended amount listed on the new filter and use a light coating of grease on fuel filters. The fuel is dry and if it's leaking as you screw the new one on it'll wash the oil off the oring. Jake

This is my best guess as well!
I change filters every year, don't overtighten, and this year, one fought me big time! Only reason I could come up with, is I must have pre-filled right to the top, then line'ing it up, and getting it started, must have washed the oil off the gasket !

[zuteduff]

[QUOTE=FIRE UP;4260878]Yeah BigD9,


Are you saying that you did this procedure 'cause you have fuel pump IN THE TANK? I mean, what was the reason for the turning of the Key and waiting?




As far as I know, there is a fuel pump..When I took the fuel filter off, i lost no fuel from the lines, the unit was level and the tank was full I figured it had a fuel pump but could be wrong.

[CountryB]

Have you seen this Adept Ape video on priming the fuel system?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGIRz7cf9SM

[YC1]

I suspect the OP has left an old gasket on the filter he had to tighten so much. That is NOT normal and should be fixed. If you can get to the tank and remove the fuel line or just clamp it off then you can get a good look at things. They make clamps just for the job or use some vice grips with something to protect the hose when clamping.

[Deucenut]

Originally Posted by 96 Wideglide

This is my best guess as well!
I change filters every year, don't overtighten, and this year, one fought me big time! Only reason I could come up with, is I must have pre-filled right to the top, then line'ing it up, and getting it started, must have washed the oil off the gasket !

My concern is I have washed off the lubricant from the fuel/water separator as that's the one that wouldn't stop flowing. I guess I will find out next year.

Originally Posted by YC1

I suspect the OP has left an old gasket on the filter he had to tighten so much. That is NOT normal and should be fixed. If you can get to the tank and remove the fuel line or just clamp it off then you can get a good look at things. They make clamps just for the job or use some vice grips with something to protect the hose when clamping.

Well I will admit I did leave the old gasket on the housing when I put the first filter back on. BUTTTT, I realized that right away and took it back off and replaced it with the new gasket. So both filters have the proper new gaskets. And I checked the housing surface and it was clear of any obstructions.

When I was trying to get the filters off, I went and "googled" it. Cause, you know, google knows everything. Anyway, I found a post on an rv forum from 2010 that stated the poster watched a freightliner tech change his fuel filters on his 2008 ISL 400. The post stated the tech used a filter wrench to tighten them up cause they wouldn't stop leaking either.

But I AGREE with everyone above, I should not have had to use a filter wrench to get it to stop leaking and have never had to do that before.

[twinboat]

I lubed fuel filter gaskets with fuel for 35 years.

I would take the old one off, kiss the old gasket to the new one and install. Washing oil off the gasket wasn't the problem.

Bent, cracked housing or cross threaded.

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[Deucenut]

Originally Posted by twinboat

I lubed fuel filter gaskets with fuel for 35 years.

I would take the old one off, kiss the old gasket to the new one and install. Washing oil off the gasket wasn't the problem.

Bent, cracked housing or cross threaded.

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I know for sure I didn't cross thread the new filters as I turned them on by hand. Bent or a cracked housing? I don't think so, but you never know.

[twinboat]

Originally Posted by Deucenut

I know for sure I didn't cross thread the new filters as I turned them on by hand. Bent or a cracked housing? I don't think so, but you never know.

Have you owned it and serviced it since new ?

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[Deucenut]

Originally Posted by twinboat

Have you owned it and serviced it since new ?

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No. We bought it late last summer and used it a couple times. So this year I'm changing all the filters. I'm gonna do the air system filter next and the engine air filter as well. It only has 10036 miles on it and was a one owner coach. I don't think the previous owner did much to it so I wouldn't be surprised if the filters are 4-5 years old if they've ever been changed.

[twinboat]

Originally Posted by Deucenut

No. We bought it late last summer and used it a couple times. So this year I'm changing all the filters. I'm gonna do the air system filter next and the engine air filter as well. It only has 10036 miles on it and was a one owner coach. I don't think the previous owner did much to it so I wouldn't be surprised if the filters are 4-5 years old if they've ever been changed.

My point is that the filter mount threads may have been crossed up by someone before you.

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[Deucenut]

Originally Posted by twinboat

My point is that the filter mount threads may have been crossed up by someone before you.

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Ahh...gotcha. It's possible but the filter spun on pretty easily.