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Agreed with above. I like the simplicity of reassembly and knowing it will suck the last dregs of fuel if I need it to. Some like SkiSkyJason ditch it every time, but then the tube length must be precise. Matter of preference I suppose. Mine was still pliable so I reused it, no issues.
I had the same question. So what are the pros and cons of replacing them in our trucks when we drop the tank? Expensive little part...
For me it's not the expanse. I don't want to put the same part in again just to see it fail down the road. Has the plastic been re-formalized for the new diesel?
Here's the thing. If you do the mod, you can lower the depth of the fuel pick up line so that you're not losing any capacity in the tank.
But the big key is, you lose the screen that is spread out wide in case there is any debris in the tank. If a 1/4" piece of debris gets sucked into a 1/4" line, then you have no fuel. If a 1/4" piece of debris gets sucked against a 1 1/2" screen, then you still have plenty of fuel.
The reason I say this is because I've dealt with 2 trucks now that the rubber foot was disintegrating when the hutch and harpoon mod was done so the foot was just discarded, and they later came back with a clogged or partially clogged fuel pick up line. (I've dealt with several more that never had an issue, at least yet). The latest one is my old 02 that my son in law now drives. He's working an odd shift over the weekend, so we used compressed air (with the fill cap removed) blown back into the tank to clear the obstruction and get the fuel pressure back up. We'll be dropping and cleaning the tank this week.
If you need to get back up and running, no issues skipping the foot. And I don't know for sure, and this is pure speculation on my part, but based on failures I've seen on tractors and older trucks, I'm guessing that foot and biodiesel don't get along well. If they haven't changed the composition of the foot, I'd be tempted to create my own foot / screen so you don't start the process all over again. Just be sure not to use any galvanized metal or screen when you do it.
I wrapped up the Hutch mod. I ran a 3/8 line down to the bottom of the tank and left a 3/8 gap. I also notched the tube.
99 percent of the time, I fill the main tank with my auxiliary tank that also has a filter. I'm not to concerned with debris at this point. Worst case I can drop the tank and add a foot if need be.
I wasn't concerned either when I ditched my pick up foot. And it did take a few hundred thousand miles of driving before it ever became an issue, so you may have a long wait before anything gets clogged if your truck acts the same as mine did.
But the issue is still there, and as long as you know about it and understand it, then you're good. You could probably buy a high pressure schrader valve, cut the end off, pull the hose off your inline filter and stuff it in the valve in the line with a hose clamp. Then use the 25¢ air compressor at the closest gas station to blow air back into the tank and dislodge the obstruction. Just be sure to remove the fuel cap from the tank first so the air has someplace to go.
I guess I should have added that mine seemed fine at 220k or so when I did it. I reattached the foot, but pulled the screen out as I added the Racor filter externally.
I did the hutch mod 7 or 8 years ago. It was late when I started and when I discovered that my pick up foot was in pieces it was too late to get a new one so I put it all back together without one. Since then I've ran my truck down below the "E" a couple times and haven't had any issues. So yes you can run without the pickup foot.
