I can't believe that a ENGINEER rich company like ford could not find a better place to mount the primary fuel filter on my 4wd pickup. I don't think there is a tighter place on the whole bottom side of the pickup. If they would have went just one foot back on the very same frame rail the filter would be a hundred times more accessible, with nothing in front of it. I am planning on relocating mine, and I don't care what it costs to replumb it.(let me know if anyone has already done this) I made me a drain hose by tapping a 1/8 pipe thread in the factory plug (replacement plug is $14 by the way) (checked on it first before I drilled mine) and installed a right angle brass fitting with a shut off and then put a hose fitting on the end of it face down. I leave a one foot section of clear hose on it which almost lets it to the ground for draining the water from the filter. I simply tuck the hose in cross-frame hole for the tranny when not in use.

2005 F-250 Superduty King Ranch 4x4 automatic, with a ranch hand front bumper

 

The Fumoto people would make a fortune if they could design a valve for this application.

 

I have just drained the seperator in my 2003 6.0 Ford and have found wax? alot of it, is there a chemical I can use to eleminate this wax from the fuel system?, My draining the seperator did not turn off the WIF indicator light, could the wax have anything to do with my problem. I also understand that the oil companies change the chemical make up of the fuel according to the geogrphic local and current time of the year, could this have anything to do with the WIF light or the wax? I have 160,000 miles and never had a problem. Thanks.

 

i had a bunch of white looking stuff like calcium looking stuff but I was not sure what it was, but ended up replacing the fuel pump and it had the stuff in it. ($400 for pump, labor and tow)

 

My 2004 has a steel drain plug also and I drained it with full tank and it drained about 30sec, had the front end on ramps about 12inches in air.I also brought my truck new.

 

Ford put together a video on their filters. I thought it should be included in the threads on the filter changes. The first part is on their oil filter, the last part is on their fuel filters.

Here is the link (thanks to Troy Buenger) - thought it should be available in this Tech Folder thread:

https://www.powerstrokediesel.com/index.aspx?PageId=417#

Go to the page in the link and then choose to play the video:

"Why Motorcraft<SUP>®</SUP> Oil and Fuel Filters?[/URL]"


and ...........................


here is their info on fuel filter changing:

https://www.powerstrokediesel.com/do...ge%20Guide.pdf

and

https://www.powerstrokediesel.com/do...0Intervals.pdf

 

May be a helpful hint to keep the fuel from running so much. Start with taking the upper filter off first and leave it off till later. Also undo the gas cap. this will relief the fuel pressure and keep it from having a vacuum that keeps pulling the fuel out.

 

Fellas,
I just changed my fuel filters. I noticed when I removed the plug from the HFCM filter (one on the bottom) there was a lot of grit that came out and was stuck on the plug. The filter looked ok (had about 12k miles on it) and the inside of the fuel bowel looked good. However, I could stick my finger inside the plug hole and fill grit inside there and kinda looked like rust.

Truck runs great, starts great and currently I do not have any problems.

Is their a way to clean out all that grit? Is this typical or a sign of a potential problem?

Also, the fuel bowel and filter on top of the engine looked perfect. No sign of derbris or grit in there.

Thanks, any input is appreciated.

 

You can remove the cover:

 

I was shocked the first time I drained mine. Posted this thread at the time:
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/8...n-my-hfcm.html

I don't think you need to open it up, unless you just want to. You just want to start draining it every month like the manual says, and it will probably clean itself up. It helps if you install the aftermarket finger plug.

Once I started draining it regularly, I don't get any suprises any more.

 

BP,
Thanks for the feedback. I went through the post from your link. The stuff in your pics is Exactly like what I drained. I will start draining that monthly and see if that clears up the problem. Where can I find this finger plug your talking about? Messing with this is a PITA

Thanks

 

Easiest thing is probably to just go to www.partsguyed.com. He's got it right on his specials page for a decent price. But they are available lots of places, including International dealers.

 

I read your post and it was very helpful. However. It doesn't say how to get the drain plug off if you doo strip it. Any suggestions?

 

Some have been successful JB Welding the allen wrench to it.

Some have had such a time they just went ahead and ordered a new cover plate for it.