I have a For F250- 6.4 PS. had a new engine installed by dealer, complete new fuel system, Fuel tank, and everything from low pressure fuel pump forward. 3000 miles later, it takes out a piston. Initially it was going to be covered under warranty but then they check the HPFP and there was a tiny spec of rust, so they denied the warranty and said I had water in the fuel, They took a fuel sample, sent it off to the lab to get it analyzed.. No water in the sample. Ford still says no warranty so I am stuck with the bill. I cant afford another new engine so they said they could hone the cylinder and put in a new piston and rod, and it should be fine.


I had them check the computer for any history on the water/fuel separator. They told me it has never sensed water in fuel. During this series of events I brought this up to the service manager and he said that he would check with ford. They still denied the claim. He stated that the separator wasn't under warranty. So I told him that it should be because it was all new 3000 miles ago. He said that ford still denied the claim.


I asked the service manager for the number to ford warranty people. he gave me a 1-800 number so I called that. it was customer service and they had no way of getting me in touch with the warranty department. I talked to the Service manager three times about this each time he said it was the right number. The lady at that number said I have to go through the service manager so I was unable to talk to any "ford" people.


the final bill this time is over 9,000.00.


So now I am considering going to small claims court. It is Fords water/fuel separator that didn't detect any water, but they say there was water in fuel.


Any advice. Do I have to go to court before I pay the bill and get the truck back. Or can I pay the bill and then go to court.


Anyone else had any issues like this.


I am a die hard ford truck fan. I have many ford trucks, a 1953, a 1966, 2 1972s, 2 1979s, a 2000 PSD and 2 08 6.4s. I was going to by a new one later this year or early next year. Not any more. I will look at Dodge next.

 

The only number for you to call is 1800 392 3673. Ask the service manager to have a meeting with you and the District ops manager ( the DOM) or the fse.
Failing that Next thing to do is contact your insurance company and file claim for water in fuel based on dealer diag. This is concidered a comp claim and does not go againt your record.
The reason your seperator never set a light is because the the water was emulsified in the fuel. This can happen as a result of a fuel aditive that either you, a fuel retailer or a fuel supplier might have used.
A water separator will only pull off water that is free floating ie de emulsified

 

Do you have fuel receipts or credit card statements form the same gas station? Go after the station.....

 

Need to file with the insurance company. Also need to step up your fuel maintance.


Change stations where you buy your fuel and drain the separator more.

 

Ok, as far as fuel maintenance, I don't know what more I can do. I drained the water separator at least five times over the 3000 miles. I did not add any additives, I got fuel in the same place as my other two diesels, no problems with either and one is the exact same year, engine etc.


With what research I have done this is not an uncommon problem. Ford is completely aware of the problem, they certainly could have address the problem with a better fuel system. I will certainly try the insurance route but my opinion of Ford has changed dramatically. I know that Ford could care less, that is quite obvious.

If I put on an aftermarket fuel filter which is the best one to go with. I have heard of airdog but that is about it.

 

do a search there is another one out there that people are running on here. It is a double bowl.


This is not a ford problem. This is a problem with all three and high pressure common rail fuel systems.
the problem is the way the whole industry lubricates the fuel pump-with fuel (or water in your case).


It should be part of the oil lub system.


All the big three and VW have this problem.

 

FASS is another.

Search around, there is also some talks of people adding a pre-water separator before the stock HFCM. Racor makes some great units. Marine grade with clear bowels you can see water and debris collecting. I'm leaning Towards an AirDog II. Prob the 165 model. Not only does it purify your fuel from debris and water, it also removes any air that forms in the fuel while being agitated.

 

I don't necessarily agree with you here Scott. One speck of rust does not a blown engine make. Really sounds to me like someone is using this as an excuse to deny a warranty that the OP bought and paid for. Of course that's assuming they didn't conclusively demonstrate that the fuel system failed and blew up the engine.

70runner, did the explain to you exactly what caused the engine to fail?

 

Better then explain, do you have pics.
Im assuning you have a melted piston possible #2

 

What the dealer said was that an injector stuck and therefore melted a piston. Initially, they said it would be covered under warranty. Then the next day they called and said that Ford warranty asked them to take apart the HPFP. There they found the spec of rust, and said no warranty. They said that water had been in the fuel system and something (debris) caused the injector to stick open and melt a piston. To me this seems llke an excuse to void the warranty. But I don't have much recourse. I'll post pics later tonight.

 

Post pics of the pump too if possible too.

 

 

here is a picture.

 

Thats far more then a little spot of rust. Imo you have no warranty claim.
The only way that would be covered is if ford put water in your tank.
If you have full coverage insurance that will pay a bad fuel claim, you have a great case.
If you buy fuel from a regular source and have invoices to prove it, you have a great case.
If the dealer tries to warrenty this claim it will be carged back to them, no way will a dealer knowing eat this on their books.
Thats my view With 20 years of experience at ford dealers as a tech, and no dog in this hunt.

 

I have a question for you, and it will require me to give you a little information first. I am a tool and die supervisor, we do machining of metal surfaces all day long. How can you tell if in fact 3,000 miles of service did this compared to a pump that's been sitting on the shelf for a few months that maybe had some light rust on it from the get-go. I know it was probably assembled with oil but that in no way means it didn't rust before it was installed.
I guess what I'm saying is that if I had this problem with my truck I'm thinking before the new pump was installed it would be opened to qualify it as being rust free before installation.
Just my $.02