I don't post a whole lot on here, because I do my research and older posts have usually answered most of my questions, but today, I've discovered a mystery that no research has solved...

Lately (as in the past 4 months or so), my WiF light has been coming on very frequently in the truck. I made a long haul through a storm from DFW to Florida and back, so I expected there to be a little bit since I've been re-fueling in the rain. I've replaced the filter every time it's come on. Today, I took it out and drained the water, and found orange liquid dripping out of the filter, and brown/orange specks in the contaminated fuel. I can't figure out what it is, and I'm worried it could be rust somewhere in the fuel system. Has anyone had this problem before, and if so, how do I fix it?

Vehicle specific info is 1996 Ford F-350 XLT 7.3L, 2WD, 88,600 miles

Hoping it will be cheap, because I've got a family emergency going on at the moment and can't quite afford a major repair.

 

Seems like you picked up a bad batch of fuel drain your tank and refill somewhere else.

 

You should just drain the bowl without changing the filter each time . . Does it happen on both tanks ?

 

Well, the filter had turned bright orange from all the stuff stuck in it. I keep a spare fuel filter in the truck in the event that I need it (My bed box is filled with spare parts).

At the moment, the front tank has a quarter of a tank left, and the rear tank has 3/4 left. The light only recently came on. I would normally assume that I got bad fuel in the rear tank, but I filled both tanks and hadn't had a problem with the front. I drained the whole bowl, wiped the inside out with a microfiber towel to get the residue off the sides, replaced the filter, and filled it with fresh diesel. If the problem comes back, I'll bring this up again.

For now, I just want to make sure this isn't an indication of rust in the tank, and the need to replace the rear tank. I checked the fill hoses and the fuel lines and they're all clean. Rear fill hose has a small rub spot in it, but it hasn't perforated the hose, So I think it's good for now.

 

Its most likely rust in the tank.

 

I wouldn't think it would be rust from the tanks. Probably just bad fuel from wherever you bought it. Depending on the age and condition of their tanks you may have picked up some rust from them. Keep an eye on it and let us know if the problem persists.
Good luck with the family emergency.

 

I said rust "in" the tank, not from it . What ever it is from , its most likely rust .The WIF light plays a part here .

 

I was typing when you were posting and didn't even see your response until after I posted. Lol

 

So I said I would make a follow up if there was something to follow up on, and here it is

WiF Light came back on, but I had been busy with school so I didn't replace it *right* away. I got around to it about two days later, without any hard driving. Yesterday, I drain it, re fill it, and start it to make sure the sensor turns off. When I turned the truck over, It had difficulties at first, but started up. I walk over under the hood to inspect everything, and notice the fuel pressure sensor is pouring diesel fuel out of the seam between the plastic and the aluminum threading. The other thing I noticed, after taking a flashlight to make sure that the fuel isn't leaking onto something that shouldn't get wet, is that the valley was full of fuel. I drained it using a turkey baster, but I don't know if the sensor did that, or if something else could be leaking.

When this sensor blows out, does anything else commonly blow out with it? Or is it just a fluke? Mileage is 89k, and the only other issue I've had was a cracked water/fuel separator valve, which has been replaced for about 6 months now.

Also, I've already ordered the replacement sensor to fix it (I work at AutoZone which helps a little bit). Is there anything in particular to watch out for or do while replacing it? I know not to use thread lock or anything like that, and don't over torque it (if it even gets torqued, didn't look like it).

 

Are you referring to the sensor for the fuel filter light? That's a common failure, not necessarily associated with anything else. In the meanwhile, you can put an NPT plug in its place, just to avoid the leak. It's pipe thread, so torque accordingly.

Did you ever get to the bottom of the odd fuel color thing?

 

It does go to the fuel filter, yes. It sits on the driver's side of the fuel bowl, on what looks like the sending unit I believe. Single wire coming out the back end.

 

Just got back from San Antonio, and swapped the bad sensor out. One thing I noticed was when I pulled it out, there was condensation buildup all over the plastic end of the sensor, where it was cracked. It may be possible that was causing my WiF light to keep coming on.

As for the strange orange sludge, I put some DieselClean in the tank and let it sit. So far, I haven't had anymore come out, which has me thinking that it was just rust transferred from the gas station tank like a few of you had said. For now, all things are running smoothly again, and hopefully it stays that way!