Draining the water separator
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Tuned
Joined: Dec 2015
Posts: 332
Likes: 26
From: Ohio
Draining the water separator
How much do you drain out? Until it stops?
I just drained mine, and drained about half a jar. There was no sign of water. It didn't seem to make much sense to keep draining it and wasting fuel.
I just drained mine, and drained about half a jar. There was no sign of water. It didn't seem to make much sense to keep draining it and wasting fuel.
Elder User
Joined: Apr 2017
Posts: 523
Likes: 0
From: Eagan, MN
I have not drained my 2017 yet, but in my 2003 I just let it run for 5 seconds or so.
Water should be at the bottom, so it comes out first. I drained it right on the ground. It took all of 15 seconds to do it once the hood was open to check the oil.
Water should be at the bottom, so it comes out first. I drained it right on the ground. It took all of 15 seconds to do it once the hood was open to check the oil.
Freshman User
Joined: Jul 2017
Posts: 47
Likes: 0
its not a bad idea to do that, but not needed if you only drain for a few seconds. I've always drained for about 10 seconds every 1,000 miles. I cycle the key once every single time I start though.
Junior User
Joined: Dec 2016
Posts: 71
Likes: 3
I just replaced my fuel filters last weekend, and the first step was to drain the separator until it was empty so I could get to the filter. My experience was that draining the separator will not drain your entire tank, just the separator amount.
When I do drain the separator for spot checking, I do so for 5-10 seconds. I do cycle the key once or twice as cheap insurance.
When I do drain the separator for spot checking, I do so for 5-10 seconds. I do cycle the key once or twice as cheap insurance.
Hotshot
Joined: Oct 2015
Posts: 19,695
Likes: 12,821
From: Wyoming
Rodney, are you sure the fuel tank would drain completely if the drain plug was left open? That doesn't make sense to me.
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Junior User
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 77
Likes: 1
I drained mine a week ago when the light came on. A bunch of brown crap drizzled out first, followed by fuel. Turns out I got a bad tank of fuel. Not sure what the brown is, but looks like rust from the bottom of the station's tank. Truck has been in the shop for a week now, having the tank drained and flushed, fuel lines purged, fuel filters and fuel pump. Frustration now is the fuel pump is on backorder, so probably another week before I get it back. Almost a $1000 repair, which the owner of the gas station says he will cover. Fortunately none of it got past the filters, or I would be looking at a 5-digit non-warranty repair. Glad I didn't ignore that Water In Fuel light!
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Prolocutor
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 13,618
Likes: 1,245
From: Western MA
That was the case on the on the 11-16's. Maybe they corrected this with the 17's redesigned filter? Many folks were surprised when they went to change their filter and the fuel just kept coming. It would siphon the tank dry. You had to unscrew the housing 3 full turns before opening the valve to prevent this from happening. If they corrected this, that is a definite improvement indeed!
On edit: Come to think of it, I guess they would have had to change the design with the new rectangular housing being unbolted apart as opposed to unscrewed like the previous gen. Partial unscrewing was the method to close off the fuel line from the tank. Oh, and for the new to 6.7 guys, be grateful for more than just this as an improvement in design. Many of the old style screw off caps would break when you went to loosen them so a lot of us had a spare in the garage just in case...
On edit: Come to think of it, I guess they would have had to change the design with the new rectangular housing being unbolted apart as opposed to unscrewed like the previous gen. Partial unscrewing was the method to close off the fuel line from the tank. Oh, and for the new to 6.7 guys, be grateful for more than just this as an improvement in design. Many of the old style screw off caps would break when you went to loosen them so a lot of us had a spare in the garage just in case...
Elder User
Joined: Apr 2017
Posts: 523
Likes: 0
From: Eagan, MN
I drained mine a week ago when the light came on. A bunch of brown crap drizzled out first, followed by fuel. Turns out I got a bad tank of fuel. Not sure what the brown is, but looks like rust from the bottom of the station's tank. Truck has been in the shop for a week now, having the tank drained and flushed, fuel lines purged, fuel filters and fuel pump. Frustration now is the fuel pump is on backorder, so probably another week before I get it back. Almost a $1000 repair, which the owner of the gas station says he will cover. Fortunately none of it got past the filters, or I would be looking at a 5-digit non-warranty repair. Glad I didn't ignore that Water In Fuel light!
Junior User
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 77
Likes: 1
No symptoms other than the indicator. I pulled over into a parking lot right away to drain the separator. When the light didn't go out after draining about 1/3 gallon, I pulled into a Ford dealership that just happened to be about 2 miles up the road.
Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 1,784
Likes: 8
From: Tomball, Tx