this might be a dumb question but how often should you change a fuel filter? and why? I have a f250 7.3l. thanks

 

I believe the filter should be changed every 15k miles.

 

15K per the book... more often if you are running biofuel..

 

I do about every 12-15k miles. I want to add an inline filter too.

 

I did mine every 15,000 and my filter was just discolored a wee bit, not dirty at all. I change mine out between 25-30,000 now and its still not bad but stay on that schedule. We must have pretty clean fuel here plus I buy my 5% bio blend from the same station all the time.

 

My truck used to belong to a paving company and wasn't treated very well. I saw all kinds of odd gunk in the filter when I ran B100.

 

I change mine once a year around Christmas along with the 6637. Its roughly 10-14k depending on how much I drove that year.

 

Yea, The book says every 15k, thats what I do and never have had any problems, and never very dirty either-I buy "most" of my fuel at a truck stop fueling station, so they move a pretty good amount of fuel, so I think its as clean of fuel as I can get.
I cannot understand why alot of folks use all this home made bio fuel from who knows where and change their fuel filters very often to keep them from plugging up, seems to me that the cost of a decent fuel filter could be saved by simply buying cleaner fuel in the first place....mind you I have bought commercial Bio fuel (B20) and have run about 2 tanks through my engine.....between that and the Power Service Diesel Kleen my fuel system seems pretty darn clean.
We always recomend carrying a spare fuel filter and a tool to change it out on the road if need be.

 

I just changed mine and it 'looked' clean.

I ran B100 all summer and had run blends prior to that. The 7.3 loves it. It is a solvent, so I had changed it early on after running some biodiesel. No problems at all with a 'dirty' system. Not quite sure what I will do this winter though, bio turns to pudding below freezing.

In RI there is no road tax on bio as long as its made here. It was $2.69 last time I bought it! Newport Biodiesel

 

Thanks for the helpful info I am going to change mine. It seems you all are running bio fuel what do you need to do that? And what is the outcome of it?

 

When you run a B20 fuel you don't need any further lubrication additives, and it does do a nice job of cleaning your fuel system-if you've never run it before (or any other additive) I would start with a fresh filter and run may be 2 tanks then change the filter again-you'll be surprised what might be in there each time-then you "should" be OK.
I know in my area of Florida there is only 1 source of Bio and at the B20 ratio it is as much as .10 per gallon MORE than the truckstop dino fuel.

 

Right now alls I use is diesel kleen everytime I get gas. Don't really see anything around where I live about geting the bio fuel

 

Fuel filters aren't cheap, but I was warned that bio would 'clean' junk out of the system. So I was cautious. All the filters I have changed looked clean, but the truck was well maintained when I got it, with 211K. (233K now)

I believe that ULSD requires added lubricity, so I have used Howes or Power Service in every fill up since I have owned it. Possibly too cautious, but I figure it can't hurt. A bio blend will take care of the lubricity needs (injectors?). But in the winter I like the idea of a anti-gel (Howes or Power Service) because I do go to some very cold places.

Surely B5 is OK in any diesel and I don't think the gelling would be a problem, but it's not too easy to find. Not even sure I would pay a premium for it, but there are many advantages to it. Lower emissions, better lubricity (to replace what is lost by ULSD), and a big one is that it is DOMESTIC (USA) fuel. Also, unlike ethanol, it can be made from non-food or even 'waste' (weeds) crops grown on marginal land. Heck, the stuff I buy was used for fried clams, egg rolls and french fries. A pretty good use of a waste product.

I really dislike ethanol, especially since I am forced to use it. It takes up water, not good in a vented system... like an old tractor or 2 stroke equipment. It is also expensive to make and it is almost always a 'food' crop so it makes food more expensive. Not to mention it is less economical to run (lower MPG). Biodiesel on the other hand makes perfect sense when blended with conventional diesel.

Show me a gas/ethanol 8800 GVW truck that gets 18 MPG! I can show you one that has a hint of french fry in the exhaust....

The 7.3 is surely in the sweet spot!

 

about how much does the fuel filter cost? and is it hard to do?

 

I don't remember but about $30. Really easy install, maybe 5 min including clean up and a beer.