Community Forums

montyhp · 06-19-2016, 02:40 PM

On my '05 Discovery. I occasionally drain the fuel/water separator as instructed on the fuel filler door. Usually I just drain on the ground, but this time I decided to drain into a small plastic cup. I didn't find any water, but I did find gunk (sandy looking stuff and something that looks like a very small leaf). I guess this is somewhat normal in an 11 year old coach. How big a problem? It is before the two filters so hopefully they are doing their job. Incidentally, I just had two new filters installed three months ago.

Does anyone have their tanks drained and flushed?

BFlinn181 · 06-19-2016, 03:33 PM

You could just monitor the filters for a while. See how dirty they are at the next filter change. This will probably involve cutting them open to inspect.

If the filters are showing lots of rust and crud, then allow tank to almost empty. Dropping a full tank makes things much more difficult. Empty or close to it will make it a simpler procedure.

chuckftboy · 06-19-2016, 08:12 PM

It becomes a big problem if it gets to the injectors, that's the reason for 2 fuel filters. if you use quality fuel filters, they will trap all that crud. Often it comes from the underground tanks where we fuel up if they don't filter at the pump or keep their filters clean. I've seen worse.

Gary RVRoamer · 06-21-2016, 03:42 PM

The dirt is supposed to collect on the filter itself, with just water in the bowl drain. Are you sure the dirt isn't a result of draining (knocked off surrounding stuff)?

I would be worried if it persists in future samples (multiple tanks of fuel), cause a lot of grunge in the tank will sooner or later likely get by the filters and harm the injectors. The filters are good, but not guaranteed 100% effective over the long term. May be time to get the tank cleaned.

montyhp · 07-23-2016, 06:53 PM

Just got back from a trip from San Antonio to Napa CA. During the trip, the gunk in the fuel got worse. The coach started to lose power, so I had the fuel filters changed in Albuquerque.

I took the coach to Holt Cat in san antonio and asked them to flush the tank. The service manager called and said the tank was really full of rust and they needed to send it to a specialty shop to be cleaned. $3000 later I have the coach back. Pretty glad I had them take care of it.

Any pointers for keeping it clean? Will water sequestering fuel additives prevent rust?

**TonyDi** · 07-23-2016, 07:35 PM

Rust in your fuel tank is a result of water caused by condensation. You can minimize this by making sure your tanks are full of fuel when you store he coach for any long period. I make a habit of filling up before I put it away, even if it's only gonna be fopr a few weeks.

montyhp · 07-23-2016, 07:47 PM

Thanks, I do that too. I bought the coach in November so I don't know what the PO did.

NHRA225 · 07-23-2016, 07:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TonyDi

Rust in your fuel tank is a result of water caused by condensation. You can minimize this by making sure your tanks are full of fuel when you store he coach for any long period. I make a habit of filling up before I put it away, even if it's only gonna be fopr a few weeks.

Excellent Advice- use it or loose it comes into play here ! - Every day on here I read about Fuel issues and most are from long term storage issues.