I changed my fuel filters today and found some small pieces of metal and clear plastic in my bottom of my fuel bowl in the larger fuel filter. I drained the diesel out the small filter and saw nothing. I recently installed a Fass fuel pump but couldn't get it to quiet down so I just hooked back up my factory pump. I think the Fass is cavitating in the tank at the line in the tank and had run out of time to drop the tank again to find out what was causing the cavitation. When I first got the Fass running the truck did run out of fuel and died a couple times while I was trying the figure out how to prime the pump trying to get the pump to quiet down. I got the truck to run but the pump was just really loud so I didn't want to run it like that so I just hooked back up the factory pump and capped the Fass fuel line until I could find time to work on it again. That was a couple weeks ago.
Now today I changed the filters and found the metal. Would running the truck out of fuel like I did cause these metal flakes or could this just be from the Fass pump? I've read where metal in the fuel filters is a sign the HPFP is going. I also found small pieces of clear looking plastic. There may have been more metal because I drained most of the fuel out into my oil drain pan before removing the bowl to swap the filter out. Is there a way to test to see if the pumps going out or is it something that just goes all at once? I still see 29k psi at wot when I get on it. I have 176k miles and fully dltd.

 

This is where you are going to have to rule things out since you hooked up additional stuff to your fuel system (FASS). Not knocking FASS or any other additional filtration system, it just adds another thing to rule out.

If I understand your post correctly, I would highly suspect contamination in the FASS system as well.

The fun begins on where did this stuff come from? Do you also have a replacement fuel tank, like a titan? Those have had issues with pieces of plastic left in the tank during the manufacturing process.

 

No it's a factory tank but I am thinking the plastic may be from drilling into the tank for the draw straw. I tried to catch all the plastic but it does look similar to the clear plastic from the inside layer of the tank. The metal I'm not so sure. It wasn't magnetic so it has to be aluminum. The Fass ran but only for about 10 minutes. It was loud like they one they show in one of their videos that has cavitation so I didn't leave it and it was almost dark outside so I just hooked back up the factory system. When the Fass is cavitating could that damage the Fass pump at all causing aluminum flakes?

 

Good questions - but I don't have the knowledge to answer them. I would assume anything is possible, it is just probable. The probable thing is that your drilling let some plastic behind - not to figure out where the AL is coming from. You might have to call FASS and ask them.

 

What type of filters did you use with the Fass? That's either from the Fass pump or the threads from the filter and spin on port from the pump. If you are maintaining 29k on a 176k mile HPFP, I think you are good on the factory part end of the spectrum. Were the filters cross threaded or hard to spin on and off? Did you lube the threads?

 

They are the Fass filters that came with the Titanium 125 gph pump. Nothing I installed was cross threaded or hard to thread from the beginning. My pump will hold 28k to 29k psi. I was going to install this Fass because I got it new for $400 so I figured why not. Plus I was thinking of getting the 2015 HPFP and selling my 63 non vgt kit and buying a streetmax. I drive in rush hour traffic and don't really like the characteristics from the non vgt. It's got tons of top end power but I don't race it so I barely get on it. Weekends it's fun but day in day out during the week not so much. I can drive for an hour and a half and never get over 20 mph in traffic.

 

That Streetmax and a 2015 pump will be fun.