I thought I would post this, since I couldn't find any info on here when I was trying to solve my low fuel pressure problem. Maybe this will help someone else.

I was experiencing low fuel pressure, ranging from 15-30 psi. It normally runs 65-70 psi. When I turned the truck off, I was losing pressure, so when I turned the key, I had to wait 15-20 seconds for the pressure to rise above zero. There were no visible leaks on the ground. I checked the following things first:

Fuel filter- replaced the fuel filter
Fuel pump- replaced the fuel pump
Fuel pressure gauge- replaced the sender
Fuel lines- blew compressed air back to the tank
Fuel tank- droppped the fuel tank and did the Hutch mod; fuel pick up screen and tank were surprisingly clean.

No change.

Finally, I took the fuel pressure regulator (FPR) apart. There was some evidence of leakage around the FPR (dirt/grime). Now, first, I must tell you that I have deleted the factory fuel bowl, and since I have the greasecar system, my FPR has been moved to the Greasecar manifold. However, the FPR is still stock.

When I took the FPR apart and looked at the FPR cap, here's what I saw


The metal on the cap was disintegrating, and i could take a metal pick and actually scrape away the metal. The o-ring was not sealing because the "lip" that the oring fits up against was gone. I thought that this was caused by running vegetable oil, but when I went to the stealership to order a new cap, I showed it to the diesel mechanic. He just said "yeah, seen it hundreds of times." So it seems that the diesel eats the galvanized metal up over time!" Why use galvanized in the cap? I ordered a new one for $45. It came with the o-ring and allen screws.

Here's what the new one looks like:


I hope the pictures show up. I can't check because Photobucket is blocked at my work . If they are not there, I will get them up at home.

 

that looks bad. i know diesel will eat galvanized metal, did not know it was galvanized metal

 

The diesel mechanic at the stealership said it will also happen to the factory fuel bowl. He said "It's kind of pricey, but if the FPR looks like that, the fuel bowl is doing it too. It will start leaking diesel on top of the enmgine and start a fire." I told him I had deleted my factory fuel bowl, and re-located a fuel filter to the frame rail.

 

Thanks for the informative post on this. I thought about doing the bowl delete also. After this many years of making trucks you would think FORD would know better. Using cheap materials must be the trade off of paying inflated union benefits.

 

It is the zinc in the metal that reacts to the diesel. The center that holds the FPR spring collapsed on mine a few years ago. I got the replacement part from Guzzle.
Thanks for posting.

 

Two great products from Guzzle. A hundred bucks well spent.

Dieselorings.com Billet FPR Housing.

Dieselorings.com FPR Rebuild Kit.

 

Wonderful!!! More places to install fuel filters....fuel-bowl to heads, great.

 

Think about it a second . . . . . . . . The fuel return goes back to the fuel tank, not the heads.

 

Oh, i did Payson, and the fuel bowl is made of the same material as the FPR.

 

The fuel bowl is nothing like the cheap stock FPR housing. The FPR housing is barely a step up from pot metal.

If you're that worried about the fuel bowl you can always delete it.

 

Nah, no worries here, chief. I got the Riffraff FRx first gen rock'n, seperate system for my WVO, plus, everytime i replace the fuel-bowl filter, it looks spotless. Anyway, being in CA, not sure how i would pass a visual inspection...

 

Your right. The Kalifornia Smog Czars would no appreciate a missing fuel bowl.