7.3 IDI fuel filter
 

I bought a fuel filter for my 94 F-250 the other night. I got home and was ready to change the filter. I looked at the filter in the box and it really didn't look like the one already on the truck. I bought the truck used so I don't know a lot about it. The filter on it now has a drain looking thing coming out the bottom of it and a wire terminal that hooks to a wire also. What the heck is that stuff for? Did I buy the wrong filter or do I have to connect the new filter to this stuff? Anybody?

wesley
94 F-250 7.3 IDI 4X4 35" Mud Terrains
:-X21

7.3 IDI fuel filter
 

What that is, is the bowl to remove water from your fuel filter. Water is heavier than diesel and will accumulate on the bottom. The bowl has a drain valve (twist type) with a hose to drain off to the side and not allover your exhaust, heads, etc. The wire goes to your instrument panel inside the truck, which will light up if water is indicated inside the bowl. So you never have problems, buy fuel from stations that have a lot of business, this means the fuel is not siiting for a very long time underground and moisture doesn't have time to accumulate.
The easiest way i have found is to remove the whole fuel filter/seperator in one piece, then once removed from engine compartment, seperate the two pieces and put on new filter. When it's time to start the truck, you may have to crank it for a while (if mechanical fuel pump) to get the filter full of diesel.
Hope this helps, I was once in your shoes and now it's second nature.

7.3 IDI fuel filter
 

The thing i find easiest to do is after i filled the fuel filter and bowl when it is in. To get the fuel to the filter, i bought a cheap tire air filler with detatchable hose and a screwed it off so i can use it on the screader walve and a boat primer bulb with hoses, and attach this to the schreader walve and pump this into a bottle until theres only diesel coming out, then i bleed nr 1,3, 5, 7injector try to start it and then loosen the nr 2, 4, 6, 8 injector until it idles like a clock in addition i added some small o-rings between the fastening bolt to the injector and the plastic return caps so they won't move loose, and to prevent leaking..

you know the last post in this thread was almost 12 years ago, rite?

I wonder how many times OP has changed his filter by now, if he still has the truck.

i would say at least 12 times if he still has it.
but i doubt that since he has not logged on since 06-10-2004

Fuel Filter Light on Truck won't turn over
 

Fuel Filter Light on and Truck won't turn over!
93 f250 - It is actually being towed home as I write this :-X18 but I was wondering what people's first thoughts were?
What should I check out? What can I try to do before I start replacing things?
Getting better at fixing this baby myself but the input from here always makes things simpler for me.
Thanks in advance

Stupidly, I didn't think of telling my wife to drain the filter - thought of it when she was half way home. Got it here - drained it and she started up no probs ....hoping that was it was.
:-X19

You provably got trapped water in the filter thats why it lights up, or the sensor is bad and you may have a airleak from it what kind of filtwr ype du you have?? A spin on filter or filter media that you insert into the filter housing ??

Just confused now
 

f250 7.3
So the fuel filter (or so I believed ) was getting worse and worse and finally the truck didn't turn over.
Went and got a new filter (screw on - looks just like an oil filter - with a drain nut on the bottom) and once I got the air out of the system she roared to life.
No problems for three days - then a short period when 'water in fuel' & 'fuel filter' came on - cranked a couple seconds long - turned over no further problems that day.
It has, over the the last week and half, gotten worse and worse until today - once more, it simply won't turn over. Exactly the same as before I got new filter on.
Checked going from front to rear tank - no difference

No white (or any colour) belching from exhaust. Schirvner(?) value shows decent fuel pressure/quantity. 3/4 tank of fuel (1/2) tank put in Tuesday (this being Thursday) Injection pump new last new --- and YES - all the fuel lines ARE the old grey originals.

The thing that is really confuses me is the working great then quickly but incrementally getting worse.

Hoping you all can give me some good idea's over the next 24hr or so because the vehicle is at my-in-laws and will be going back over o further trouble shoot Sat afternoon.

remove the fuel cap and try it.
i wonder if the tank vent is plugged and causing a vacuum in the tank preventing the pump from drawing fuel.

I had the same problem on my e350 7.3idi and changed the fuel filter but it returned, turned out i had to change o-rings on the injectors and replace the return caps and new fuel return lines, have not had any problems since,
But your problem could be the fuel tank selector valve, fuel filter bowl leaking air or the sealing o-ring on the fuel filter, if not check the fuel return caps for leaks or moist, it could be the o-rings on the injector or the return lines.
That is the most common cause usally, due to the heat and diesel eating away at the orings

thanks - jotting these down to take with me when I go back to the truck. Every bit of info helps
It's the 'getting better- then getting worse again bit by bit that confounds me. I'm even starting to wonder if the old filter was fine and it was something else - and when I changed the filter it did something which 'cleared' the system temporarily :\

how is it going ?? Have you found out anything yet??