Ok, as the title states this is intended to be both a discussion and a bit of answer generating about fuel filters mainly a remote set up and if it would be worth it on our trucks.


anyways here is what I am looking into setting up on my truck, yes I know it may not be really needed on a bone stock F250 that isn't running WVO or anything like that but still I like having the extra filter before the fuel bowl/engine filter just in case contaminants do manage to get into the tank/past the screen that gets clogged.

anyways would running a 1 Mircon filter be better for my truck to ensure its long life, or what should be the micron rating I should get? and would having that extra filter benefit in any way (my thinking is yes as its an extra measure aginst contaminants from making it into the engine block via the fuel rail/line and seeing as I get diesel from both Shell (mainstream) and every so often from some not so main stream places I want to ensure I am protecting the engine to the best that I can...



so enough of my concerns and rambling on, lets discuss and have a good talk about them!!


here is an image of a similar set up im looking at (except I would be using CAT 1R-0479 filters and 175-2949 Fuel/Water seperator

 

That's a little more elaborate than what I'm running but I am running a filter / water separator prior to the pump on our truck. When I bought it it had the filter just filtering the reserve tank in the bed, after I did the harpoon and hutch mods I moved it to between the pickup and pump. I let the reserve dump into the main tank on the fill line then filter before the pump. To me it is a little extra protection for the pump and to make the main filter last longer.

I looked for a pic of my setup but can't find one.

 

1 micron would be great but isn't practical on a vehicle.

I don't have a current link and I see cat doesn't show the spec on the sales page of their website but if you do some googling you can find the CAT spec for the 1r 17049 filter. It used to be considered a 2 micron filter, the SAE revised the testing standards to keep pace with technology and the filter is now catorgized as a 4 micron filter. Either way, It's a good filter

Just to get your focus in the right direction, you want a fuel filter to remove the contaminations from the fuel so the wear is minimized on the injectors and pump. I don't have any data to support the statement but sub 4 micron partials that make it past the fuel filter and injectors are not likely to survive the combustion process and then get past the piston rings to harm your block. The block and associated parts get lubricated by oil and of course the oil has its own filter system. If you want to complete the filter upgrade of your vehicle then look into a bypass oil filter system and a the AIS air filter setup.

Edit..... Just to be through, you could also run a trans fluid filter and a power steering fluid filter and since we are on the subject, a engine coolant filter. Hehe.... Gonna need a service truck to come out and do maintence by the time you are done

 

Oh ya, Cat does offer a filter that has better or smaller filtering capabilities, It is their UHE series ( ultra High Effeciency ) The 1r 17049 is , and I might have the terminology wrong as it's been awhile ( I will have to go brush up on filters I suppose ) iis in their standard efficiency class. Not current on its exact rating however. Again, Google should have those answers for anybody interested. If somebody does go hunt down the UHE info it would be cool to know who is making those for cat. I have a sneaky suspension it is Donaldson but that is just a hunch.


Edit.... The 0749 is in cats Advanced efficiency Catagory
https://parts.cat.com/en/catcorp/sea...er-separators#

 

Cat marketing brochure on their UHE filters

http://s7d2.scene7.com/is/content/Caterpillar/PEHJ0269

I am not suggesting the 7.3 needs this level of filtering, it's just interesting and gives some insight. I think as you evaluate the setup you are putting together and your needs or wants one of the design considerations to think about is pressure. In that cat brochure they reference 30,000 psi fuel systems as the need for such fine filteration, generally speaking the higher the pressures the more precise the parts in the systems need to be. Unless you know what Fords filtering specesifactions are a good guideline to use might be the injectors pressure. It gives a clue to how tolerant they are to contamination in the system and how fine of a filter you need to run.

 

Page 3 has some good info to help you select a Donaldson filters based on media type, flow fates and efficiency

https://www.donaldson.com/content/da...n-X-1in-14.pdf

Also note, the Donaldson water filters efficiency is 95% for emusilfied water and 95% for free water. Where if you look at the cat UHE it is 90% emusilfied and 100% free water. So I suppose now you need to figure what is the more likely water issue in your system, emusilfied water or free water . Or run a cat and a Donaldson water separator LMAO

 

One micron is too small. It can cause fuel starvation.
If you insist on small, go with 10 micron.

A reminder, fuel pumps at filling stations are about 30 micron.

 

I sense a lack of faith in the filter in the fuel bowl.

Filtering before the the pump, where the suction is... that's not a good setup. If one is obsessed with sterile fuel, the place to put a fuel filter is on the pressure side. All you need before the pump is a good mesh to keep the impellers from being harmed/jammed by chunks from the tank.

To be clear... fuel starvation will occur with too much hardware on the vacuum side of the pump - many of us have gone to great lengths on the vacuum side to keep the fuel pressure from nosediving. Fuel starvation is far more harmful to the injectors than anything that stock fuel filter would allow to pass.

I'm all the way in pirate4x4_camo's camp: The AIS and the oil bypass filter are far and away better engine protection upgrades than anything you can do to the fuel line - the stock system does a very respectable job.

 

Care to go into detail and explain why filtering down to micron can cause fuel starvation ? Or why you suggest 10 micron ?

Edit.... I am not suggesting the 7.3 stock fuel system is 1 micron filteration ready, just curious if you had a 1 micron setup what kind of service life you were getting out of your filters ?

 

well the reason im considering the remote set up is partly due to the ease of changing (I can just screw on a new filter/water sperator when the time comes) and the fact that the AIS air box is next on the list of things to do, then at some point when time comes drop the tank and do the harpoon/hutch mods as well on the truck, removing the screens that tend to get clogged up.

also I thought (IIRC remember reading) that our trucks (E99) had electric fuel pumps IN tank, so that would be from my understanding (using fire department terminology) a positive pressure fuel delivery system, not a negative (vacuum) pressure fuel delivery system....


oh and Tuggly im not putting the filtration system IN tank, Im putting AFTER the tank in line after the pump just to avoid confusion (mounted to the frame of the truck some where for serviceability as well)




I to am in this camp, please explain, its just a rating of particulates that are being filtered out of the system, should still be able to allow the fuel to go through with out problems as the filters are just a pass through medium, like installing an inline screen in your tank at the pump....


I am planning going no less then a 4micron, but I want to know how a 1 micron could cause starvation as you state...same for why you suggest a 10 micron verses lets say the 4 micron which I would feel would exceed the OEM 10 micron (guessing here) tolerance there fore making fuel filtration better in terms of whats getting removed and cleanner fuel making it to the fuel bowel and main filter....

 

I haven't heard of the e99 having the pump in the tank, that would be news to me - but I'm not the expert on every configuration. Have you looked for the fuel pump on the frame rail?

 

Check inside the frame rail under the drivers seat. When you turn the ignition switch to the first position, you should hear the fuel pump kick on.

And, I too believe the factory fuel filter/water separator arrangement is more than satisfactory. How many miles did Chris aka F350-6 get on his original injectors with this set up? Over 350k miles? And as it turns out, after doing a pre-emptive injector replacement, nothing changed and he really didn't need to replace them. Any additional filtration seems unnecessary and creates potential restriction.

 

Not from me you don't .

Even back 10 years ago before the diesel vehicle emissions regulations came into being and our diesel fuel supply was poorly refined I still relied on the stock 7.3 filteration I have never investigated to even find out what the OEM filter specs are. just my opinion but I think ford did a great job on the 7.3 fuel system. It is elegantly simple and efficient. And seemingly well suited for the task if you consider the number of high mileage 7.3 still on the road.

Thinking about for a minute, only 2 faults come to mind when I think of the 7.3 fuel system.
The pick up foot in the tank could be higher quality
The passenger side supply line that gets a hole rubbed in it

 

I may be off, but I will be looking today, either way I was planing to place the external filter/seperator after the pump in the positive pressure side of the fuel rail(s), but I will take a look to see if its on the frame already.


oh as for confidence, I am confident in whats there now, I just figure if I am doing the harpoon mod this might be a good idea as I do read of posts saying perple have done some sort of addition of extra filter(s) after doing the harpoon/hutch mods so thats what got me thinking of this type of set up, something that is easy to access, and when time comes to replace the filters I would just unscrew the old then screw on the new, replace the one up in the fuel bowl and then be cone instead of having one tied directly into the fuel rail line that takes a bit of time to undo and replace...(if this makes sense)

 

If your situation calls for additional filteration then by all means add some auxualliry filteration.

But if the ford specs meet your operating needs but you deleted the in tank strainer then you could always just add a inline strainer before the pump. This would keep your system at factory specs but allow for a easy to maintain strainer. Obviously ford didn't feel the need for the strainer to be maintained or they wouldn't have put it in the tank, they just blew it when they cheaped out and used a failure prone part.