fuel filter keeps plugging if temp >= 10F

[silvan]

I've been dealing with a new problem this year. I never had to deal with additives or cold weather issues before, because I guess my old boss used to take care of that stuff for me. I've been through temperatures as low as 0 F (sorry northern and western people, I realize that means I have never experienced true cold, and I'm totally fine with that) and never experienced a fuel filter plugging with wax in the 10 winters before this one.

This winter, every time the temperature gets below about 10, my damn fuel filter chokes up within a couple miles of pulling out in the morning.

I won't drag this out by talking about everything before today. Let's just start with today, with where I am trying to figure this out.

On the fuel before last, I added 64 ounces of PowerService to 198 gallons of fuel, which was mixed in with the remains of the 102 gallons (out of 300 total) that had been mixed with 128 ounces of PowerService.

On the last fuel, I added 96 ounces of PowerService to 205 gallons of fuel, mixed in with the 95 gallons remaining from the previous mixture.

According to the bottle, this should have been more than sufficient for the temperatures involved.

I got up at 5:45 and went out in my skivvies to fire up the truck. It was plugged in, and started right up. It was 6 F outside. I waited for the oil pressure to come up to 32 PSI, and then set the cruise, and bumped it up as high as it would go, which on this truck is between 900 and 1000 RPMs.

I let it run like that for 45 minutes while I showered and whatnot. When I went out, I looked at the fuel filter (one of the types with a plastic bell jar where you can see the fuel) and there were no bubbles, no floating white crap, and it looked perfect, with the fuel about halfway up, which is where it had been in above freezing temperatures.

I pulled out and got about three miles up the road before the engine started missing. I coaxed myself to a patch where I could get away from the guard rail, and have room to stand beside the truck, and looked at the fuel filter.

It was all the way to the top with foam, like if you shake the **** out of a beer bottle. After I shut it off, some of the bubbles started to settle out, like when said beer bottle starts to settle down to a pure piss colored liquid again; a lot at first, and then gradually all of it.

So I switched out the fuel filter, coaxed the truck back to life, and looked at it. It went all the way to the top immediately, but it wasn't foaming. I pulled out and tried my luck from there, and I made it to the foundry, and through the rest of the day uneventfully after that.

The owner of the truck says this happened once before, and the first time it happened to me was the second time in the truck's history. Now it has happened to me four times.

It's really starting to piss me off, because it makes me late, dammit, and I hate being late.

So what am I missing here? Not enough additive? Something else?

I guess if you get down to it, a $5 fuel filter is cheaper than another bottle of this overpriced additive, but changing out a fuel filter on the side of the road in the freezing ass windchill is not a fun job, and I'd rather not have to deal with this every time the temperatures dip below 10.

It's really confusing, because this stuff seems to be happening like I'm in YellowKnife or something. 6 F is cold, but it's not *that* cold. WTF is going on?

[allan5oh]

Are you putting in #1?

I've never used additive. I always shut my truck off, even when it's -30 out. I've never had a problem.

Do you actually see wax clogging the filter?

Most winter problems I've seen is water clogging stuff up. I can honestly say I've never seen a wax problem.

One major problem we have around here is if you go far south and drive in a lot of rain, a lot of moisture starts to build up in the tanks.

Then they come north, and the tanks start going down.

The water freezes on the side of the tank, then they go fuel up and melt all of that water instantly.

Don't make it 10-15 miles down the road. Then they blame where they fueled up, meanwhile everyone else doesn't have a problem.

[silvan]

Are you putting in #1?

I'm putting in whatever comes out of the pumps at the Love's in Max Meadows, VA, and the Pilot at White Pine, TN. I don't know if it's straight #2 or a #1/#2 blend.

Do you actually see wax clogging the filter?

Not in so many words, no. I don't know if it's wax or what. I just came to that conclusion after some research on winter fuel problems. The time before last, I shined a light into the tanks, and the fuel looked very cloudy, and the condensation on the inside of the cap was frozen solid.

Most winter problems I've seen is water clogging stuff up. I can honestly say I've never seen a wax problem.

I could believe I have a water problem. What do I do about it?

I run a regular loop, fuel at the Love's on Tuesday morning, and the Pilot on Thursday evening, putting in an average of about 190 gallons at a whack. I do this because this cycle is what I have worked out as the optimal way to minimize the time I have to waste in truckstops.

[allan5oh]

Clouding is definitely not good. I'm also wondering about the bubbles, this may indicate a fuel system leak. Allowing air in is never good. Thick fuel plus this problem would starve the engine of fuel.

You may have to change your fuel stops.

Getting rid of water should be part of maintaining the vehicle. I know my tanks have plugs that you pull out, drain a gallon of fuel or so, then plug it back in. You'd be surprised how much water and junk is in there. Remember water is always on the bottom where you cannot see it.

Your fuel filter base, is it a water separator? It might have a drain cock on it, drain it once a week or so for a few seconds.

How often are you changing the primary filter(the one with the bowl)?

[Kranky]

Clouding is definitely not good. I'm also wondering about the bubbles, this may indicate a fuel system leak. Allowing air in is never good. Thick fuel plus this problem would starve the engine of fuel.

You may have to change your fuel stops.

Getting rid of water should be part of maintaining the vehicle. I know my tanks have plugs that you pull out, drain a gallon of fuel or so, then plug it back in. You'd be surprised how much water and junk is in there. Remember water is always on the bottom where you cannot see it.

Your fuel filter base, is it a water separator? It might have a drain (*(^ on it, drain it once a week or so for a few seconds.

How often are you changing the primary filter(the one with the bowl)?

Looks like the censors won't allow you to post the term "drain cock"

(drain kock)

Yeah, you're right that it may be a water condition.

Gelling shouldn't be occurring at that temp with anti gel added to the fuel in the proper amounts.

[allan5oh]

I agree split, but he did say the fuel was clouding.

[silvan]

I'm changing the fuel filter when the level gets to about 2/3 of the way to the top of the bowl, or whenever it freezes and dumps me on the side of the road. Lately, the latter. I would normally go through a fuel filter every 10K miles or so, but I'm getting a lot less now. The first time this happened, the fuel filter only had 500 miles on it.

I noticed bubbles in there the other day though, all above freezing, or well out of the big risk zone. It runs fine, a beautiful example of Cummins's finest engineering, but maybe the bubbles indicate a small air problem.

I tightened the little primer cap at the top about half a turn. Maybe I need to replace the O-ring in that or something. The last few filters I've had didn't have a new O-ring for the primer cap, and that one has been on for several cycles.

Draining water out the drain penis, yes, I use the drain penis when I come in, if I expect it's going to be really cold the next morning. There's a drain penis on the fuel filter assembly.

(I'm laughing my ass off, because it won't let you say "c o c k" but you can say "penis." )

[Kranky]

I'm changing the fuel filter when the level gets to about 2/3 of the way to the top of the bowl, or whenever it freezes and dumps me on the side of the road. Lately, the latter. I would normally go through a fuel filter every 10K miles or so, but I'm getting a lot less now. The first time this happened, the fuel filter only had 500 miles on it.

I noticed bubbles in there the other day though, all above freezing, or well out of the big risk zone. It runs fine, a beautiful example of Cummins's finest engineering, but maybe the bubbles indicate a small air problem.

I tightened the little primer cap at the top about half a turn. Maybe I need to replace the O-ring in that or something. The last few filters I've had didn't have a new O-ring for the primer cap, and that one has been on for several cycles.

Draining water out the drain penis, yes, I use the drain penis when I come in, if I expect it's going to be really cold the next morning. There's a drain penis on the fuel filter assembly.

(I'm laughing my ass off, because it won't let you say "c o c k" but you can say "penis." )

What if it was a female fuel filter?

Guess you'd have to open the drain vagina.

:shock:

[flatbedder]

with biodiesel becoming more common everywhere our company learned that it starts to gel at 25 degrees so you need to be a little more cautious of what your pumping. The additive we use requires three times the amount of use for bio than regular so its a whole jug at a time instead of a third of the jug to treat it for cold temps. Hope this helps

[heavyhaulerss]

when ever you buy a new filt. it should come with 2 -o- rings one for the top under small screw cap & a big one for under the large bottom screw cap. these areas need to be cleaned as to not allow air into sys. bubbles indicate air in sys. also open drain on bottom every night just a few seconds to let any debri/ water out.

[allan5oh]

I think the cold is just amplifying your air leak problem. The thicker fuel is harder to pump, therefore it sucks in more air instead of fuel.

[Blind Driver]

Have you tried draining the water (if it is water) out of the fuel filter?

[Darin Younce]

This may be entirely out of whack but I just had to change my water seperator. I is entirely seperate from the fuel filter on my truck . It was so clogged that I could not blow thru it . Now understand my truck is a class7 kodiak7500 but I just wonder if you have a seperate filter( water seperator) as well.