I've never owned a diesel and I'm thinking about buying one to tow our future travel trailer.

I have several friends with older Ford diesels(7.3's, 6.0's & 6.4's) and they have never had issues with the HPFP and this stuff that Ford has going on nowadays.
I'm scared to buy a new 6.7 since I have no control over the diesel fuel quality and with my luck I'll end up with a 14-18K non warrantied fuel system issue.

Can someone explain why the older trucks did/do not have these issues with the same diesel fuel that is killing the new 6.7's? Is it a poor quality/faulty HPFP in the new trucks?

How do you avoid the bad fuel, HPFP/non warranty issues that hang overhead like a black cloud?

 

The older trucks didn't have HPFPs. They used a HEUI injection system that used hydraulic pressure from a high pressure oil pump to pressurize the fuel in the injectors. The 6.4L engine was the first powerstroke to have a HPFP, and they've been known to fail when run with contaminated fuel.

That being said it's a pretty rare thing to have happen, and it seems that the majority of times you hear of this the insurance company covers the damage under comprehensive.

 

Personally I try not to worry about it to much, I think it is really a pretty rare occurrence that the HPFP gets damaged by bad fuel. I try to always buy my fuel from a place that sells a lot of diesel. I also run a fuel additive to help lube the HPFP.

It is a little scary, but only if you read about it all the time. I have friends that don't sign on to any of the forums and they are not scared at all.

It's not just a problem with Ford, with the new diesels and the high pressure fuel systems that they run all of the new diesels are going to have the same problem. Just follow proper maintenance and read the manual.

Good luck with your decision.

 

im with you on this too.Appears to be a rare occurence and I love this truck.Im going to drive it and enjoy the power I have towing my fiver with it.If I get water and it kills the fuel system Ill deal with it.Why worry about what prolly wont happen.Waste of time and energy.

 

6.4 has a HPFP...so one of your friends as indicated has one. Anything 2008 to present is going this route due to common rails and emissions.

Watch where you buy fuel and do your maintance.

 

Thanks for the info. We have test driven the 6.7's on a few occasions and they really are a nice truck overall. It would be perfect for our needs. I'm wondering what the 2015-2016 upgrades with the new Turbo and supposedly new or reworked HPFP will be like?

Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't Ford design/build the water separator and water filtration system on these trucks?
I read that the only way for water to get into the fuel is for it to get past the FORD factory furnished water removal system built into each truck.

It seems like a Ford warranty issue to me since they designed the system. How they can legally get out of this warranty issue is hard to understand.

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I have made that same exact argument before. I agree 100% especially if you can prove that you have did the proper maintenance.

 

Tom explained why it can be an issue in newer Diesel engine powered vehicles. Do keep in mind that water that reaches a HPFP is not just a ford issue. Any 2008 and newer on road Diesel engine manufactured by anyone is vulnerable to this.

 

If the water is emulsified in the fuel, the filter won't catch it is one way. That is way certain types of additives are not recommended for our trucks.

Second, some of these failures end up being DEF related. And there is any easy way to tell that DEF was added to the fuel tank. It crystallizes on things and it doesn't go away.

Also being topped off as much as possible is good as it keeps the condensation issue in check.

Lastly, the correct additive is good. In warmer weather biodiesel helps up the cetane and lubricity of the fuel. Anything over 20% doesn't add much of a benefit and Ford doesn't recommend it. Biodiesel is not great for the cold and it attracts water a little more than straight D2.

If you are really that worried get a Mr. Funnel or Racor makes a similar funnel - If there is water in the fuel it won't get in the tank and neither will dirt. They make high flow ones for our motors. The problem I have is the "dump the sump" part. I have to have a container to dump it and then I have to put it and the funnel somewhere. I don't want the truck, even outside in the enclosed bed, to smell like raw diesel all the time.

Lastly, as stated, all diesels have this issue at the moment and although it is a high enough failure rate for the manufacturers to notice, it still isn't a "common" problem. If you get nervous, at 100k miles change the HPFP out. Cheaper than a whole new fuel system. You should also on at least MY2011 (not sure when the glow plugs were changed to a newer style) change the glow plugs out at 60k miles according to some techs I talked to. Apparently it's an easy job and the old ones break the tips off easily.

Personally I am waiting until I can drive some 2015's and then I will probably trade up to the 2015, which is the latest evolution of this motor. It has fuel system refinements and a Turbo refinement as well.

 

The only changes to the fuel system is a longer stroke for the injectors, I am not aware of any physical changes to to the pump or lines.

 

I guess the fuel system changes was PR, BS - not actual changes. I did specifically heard on several time by Ford Engineers at public events that it has a newer injector design for better atomization of the fuel, which required a higher flow fuel pump to keep up with it.... Same pump jacked up?

Regardless, I am in the market for a new truck... And decided to just wait it out for the 2015 rather than trying to get a 2014. I don't see the changes to 2015 being bad.

 

Pretty sure you're misinformed here. The injectors aren't like a HEUI design which uses an intensifier piston to pressurize fuel and send it into the cylinder. These have a finite limit to the amount of fuel they can spray in a single stroke, which is why a longer stroke would deliver no more volume.

These injectors don't operate that way, a piezo stack causes the injector to open and close. There's no stroke to lengthen.

 

I saw the below info online. I don't know the reliability of the info. Ford's 2015 Power Stroke Gets Huge Upgrades - PickupTrucks.com News

Here's just a clip on the fuel changes. The rest of the article is in the link above.

 

And I stand corrected! I apologize for the misinformation guys. Tom your knowledge of everything scares me.

 

Ok so I wasn't imagining things.