I got in my ultra reliable F250 the other day, started it up, pulled out on the street and it died. Wouldn't start. Tried the typical things on the side of the road, swapped the CPS, put in a new fuel filter, nothing. Get it back to my shop, rebuilt IPR, nice & clean, checked ICP sensor, has a small amount of oil in the plug so replace it, still no start. Tried to read codes with my cheapie scanner, kept getting a link error message, so I pulled the ECM, sent it off and had it tested, they "confirmed" it was bad and couldn't be repaired so I ordered a new one with a new IDM. All new electronics, still no start. Check fuel pressure at bowl, 60 PSI, right where it should be. Pulled HPOP oil lines, pressure tested each side with air pressure to see if any huge oil leaks, no problem there. Pulled valve covers to look at UVC wiring, all good, injectors all exhausting oil correctly and no high pressure oil leaks at injector o rings. Verified with Auto Enginuity setup that HPOP, bowl pressure, IPR cranking pressure and duty cycle are all correct. Kept batteries charged thru this whole process, oil always fresh in this truck. Finally start looking into fuel filter housing to see if it has any clogged screens or passageways when I discover the plastic stem that the filter sits on has a check valve in it and the plastic piston at the top is cracked and I can visibly see the steel rod that opens the valve sticking thru. The first pic is the problem I saw with the piston being cracked. The second pic is the pin on the bottom of the fuel filter cap that pushes the valve open when the cap is screwed into place. 3rd is the stem after I took it out (remove two screws that hold fuel heater in bowl, tube has o ring sealing it into place, just pulls out). 4th pic is of the valve assembly that is inside plastic stem. The whole intention of this valve is for it to maintain the pressure inside the fuel rails while the filter is being changed so it will start easier after a filter change. I just removed the valve assembly, reassembled it and the truck started right up. The major error I made was assuming that since the bowl was receiving 60PSI of fuel pressure that it was making it to the fuel rails. I would say in these types of complex problems if you're taking a pressure reading to take it at the rail and not the housing. I searched and searched for all the no start problems I could find and never saw this particular issue mentioned so I felt compelled to put it out there. I've ordered a complete o ring kit for the fuel bowl plus a new stem assembly (kind of a dilemma for me whether I want to replace the valve though - the only time the valve is supposed to be closed is when the cap is off so having the valve removed assures me this would never happen again at the trade off of possibly harder starts during filter changes). I was also surprised at how dirty it is inside the housing so removing the whole thing to reseal it will let me clean it really good. I hope this helps somebody.

 

Here's the first pic that didn't upload correctly; look in the center and you can see the corner of the cracked piston

 

Great info TallTruck. Thanks for sharing.

 

That's a tricky one to find, for sure!

I removed my spring and parts, keeping only the post for the filter to work properly, when rebuilding my fuel bowl. A buddy suggested it and I haven't looked back

 

Thanks for posting the pics and the solution!

 

What an excellent comb over of your vitals! I pulled that valve out of my fuel bowl about 3 years ago to ease fuel flow.. I know ill never run my truck without a fuel filter anyways.. Again, good find