I have a 2000 Excursion 7.3 and the guy I bought it from put an inline filter on the frame rail. Does anyone know if this is even necessary? Thanks

 

Is it causing an issue? If not, I would leave it alone and change it out at service interval.

 

Necessary? No. But to change it back to stock will not be all that easy unless you have a donor vehicle for the stock parts to return it to stock.

 

Fuel line? Pre pump?

If so, looks like the hutch mod was done.

Necessary to keep future maintenance easier outside the tank without having to drop the tank again.

 

no issues other then I was wondering if it was a bit redundant. Was wondering if other guys have needed an inline filter for some reason?

 

could I not just use a rubber fuel line? I know to do it proper would be a bit of work but I hear 3/8" line fits right over the stock steel line.

 

Hutch mod? I would have to research what that is lol.

 

Ford put 2 mesh screens in the tank on the sending unit. They get clogged over time, robbing your fuel flow. The plastic pick up foot also deteriorates over time and falls off. This will cause you to run out of fuel around 1/4 tank. You have 1/4 fuel left in the tank but the pick up foot can no longer reach it on the bottom. The Hutch mod, named after our own member here on FTE, deletes these screens, runs the return line away from the pick up line to remove agitation/air in the system, and puts an aftermarket filter/screen at the same/similar micron rating on the frame rail so should your filter/screen ever need maintenance again, you can do it easily on the frame rather than dropping the tank again. Some have run the mod without an inline filter, but you're risking catching any debris that may hit your pump and cause failure there.

https://www.guzzle7pt3.com/hutch.php


There are several variations of the mod, including different filters some elect to use. I don't recognize the filter in your picture. It looks similar in size to the Wix 33972, but is not see-through like the Wix (unless it's just THAT dirty), which helps with visual inspection. Some have gotten carried away selecting a good filtering element, which sounds beneficial, but this puts excessive strain on the pump. You want something that is similar to the screens that were taken out of the tank - fine enough to catch large debris before hitting the pump, but not too fine causing the pump to work harder than it was designed to. The worm clamps are doubled in your application, which arguably should be rotated 180* from each other and should be fuel injection clamps instead of worm clamps to get a better seal and reduce the chance of introducing air into the system.

 

besides an inline filter how can you tell if it had been done after the fact?

 

The inline filter is the markings on the wall that the mod has been done. The only way to know how it was done by the PO (i.e. knowing if pick up foot was replaced or deleted as well, if the Harpoon mod was also done, which is cutting the filler neck tube allowing more diesel to be pumped into the tank) is dropping the tank again to see for yourself. The mod makes the engine run smoother/quieter. If you're still having a cackle sound, I'd be highly suspicious of that fuel line size and the clamps. That line looks 3/8" and the hardline is 5/16" IIRC. I would bet replacing with 5/16" line and going with fuel injection hose clamps would seal any outside air from getting in and smooth out any cackle noise.

 

Well, on second look that hose may be the correct size. The gap in the hose looks to be due to the bend in the hardline. But, I'd still be weary of the worm drive clamps.

 

Hello I do not want to start a new tread, so I hope you guys don't mind me humping the leg on this one.

I just bought a 2000 V10 Excursion with 230K miles on it. I got it not running and just finished replacing an obviously bad fuel pump unit.
I went to replace the fuel filter but it is completely rotted out and one end of it broke off in the connector.
The other side of the rotted out fuel filter is still stuck on the connector and I am using PB Blaster and the fuel line release tool to try to work it loose.
My question is can I just cut the original Ford connectors off and use rubber fuel line or the higher pressure fuel injector rubber fuel line and a couple of screw type hose clamps to make a repair?
Or do I have to buy all new original fuel lines and replace everything?

Thanks