XTOAK

I've seen several posts from drivers who have changed their fuel filters and found the filter to be black. Can anyone explain this?

I just changed mine at 5,000 miles and it was black as midnight...will it be just as black if I changed it at 15,000 mile intervals or is it something to do with the engine break-in, new tank, etc., that makes the first filter black. I'm not a chemist and don't fully understand the properties of diesel so hopefully someone can shed some light on this.

By the way, anyone about to undertake a fuel filter change shouldn't be worried about the complexity of the procedure. Simple, easy and a breeze to start up. When I'd change the filter on my Duramax (that I traded for this terrific truck), you had to "prime" the filter by pumping a lever by hand about 30 times...with this Dodge, just turn the key without starting it for about 30 seconds. Fired right up. What a great truck!

bulabula

Was there a particular color you were expecting to see? Or no discoloration?

Mine was a dark gray color when I pulled it (10.6k miles; or around 600 gallons of fuel I think), and the new one that replaced it was white. The discoloration is due to the dirt particles in the fuel that the filter media caught rather than from any chemical process going on in the filter housing. The more fuel you run through it, the more dirt it collects, the darker it will get. The condition of the fuel storage tanks where you purchased the fuel from probably has the biggest impact on fuel filter cleanliness; fuel age is probably also a contributing factor. I'm sure the chemists here will chime in with other factors as well. I would believe that you would see some discoloration even if you ran a few hundred gallons of "clean" tap water through it.

Now if you're running off-road #2, you may find it to be a nice dark shade of red. Or a brighter red if you didn't put much fuel through it.

Yes, this self-prime feature on the '03's makes starting it afterwards a breeze.

Badunit

Someone else noticed this same thing and the assumption was plastic dust/particles from manufacturing of the fuel tank.

bulabula

[quote author=Badunit link=board=20;threadid=18673;start=0#msg175212 date=1061475712]
Someone else noticed this same thing and the assumption was plastic dust/particles from manufacturing of the fuel tank.
[/quote]Really? Is that industrial debris? I wouldn't think it would be from tank deterioration - hope not anyway. If it is industrial debris, I would hazard a guess that the 2nd filter would be clean after the next changeout? I'll find out in about 8k miles.

clifford

I have been a marine engineer for 35 years. Fuel comes in alot of colors, from clear to really black looking. It depends of where the fuel comes from.

phox_mulder

First time I changed mine I posted the exact same question.

I was figuring it wouldn't be the driven snow white that the new one was,
but wasn't thinking it would be black as coal either.

First change at 10,000 miles it was coal black.
2nd change at 20,000 miles it was dark gray.

Give me 7,000 miles and I'll report what it is at 30,000 miles.


phox

Mark Thomas

[quote author=phox_mulder link=board=20;threadid=18673;start=0#msg175370 date=1061506147]
First time I changed mine I posted the exact same question.

I was figuring it wouldn't be the driven snow white that the new one was, but wasn't thinking it would be black as coal either.

First change at 10,000 miles it was coal black.
2nd change at 20,000 miles it was dark gray.

Give me 7,000 miles and I'll report what it is at 30,000 miles.


phox
[/quote]
I found exactly the same thing at darn near that exact same milage 8)

XTOAK

In regards to the question as to what color I expected it to be, well, I assumed it wouldn't be white like a new filter but certainly not black. I get my diesel from the same supplier day in and day out, they're a high volume supplier and I can see as I'm topping it off that the diesel isn't black, brown or beige, thus, why should the filter be black?

I'm not freaking out over it as much as trying to learn a little something about my truck. I was just shocked to see it at 5000 miles (very little idle time) and thought perhaps folks need to be more worried about changing the fuel filter early on than an early oil change. Just a thought...and a question.

Cat Cracker

Mine was a medium grey @ 10k. Ha! I was a poet and didn't know it!!! I rhyme all the time

CC.

Nevada

I change mine every 3,500 miles (I know it's overkill) and it is dark grey every time.

ck1

because of this thread I changed mine last night and yep at 7800 miles BLACK.....glad I did cuz there was a few pieces of "stuff" in the media...it might be my imagination (only drove 12 miles since changing it) but my idle "miss" went away....taking the 5ver out next week. very curious if it will help in the mpg and towing dept....
Cameron

Hoss

Does anyone change it every 15,000 miles like the manual suggests or does everyone change it before then?

ck1

after what I saw last night...I will go 10k MAX...I do feel tho being that this was the first filter change for my truck that it would be more "restricted" due to all the new stuff floatin around the system during ther manfacturing process..we shall see when I change it again. also, my truck sits ALOT due to a very short commute for me I choose to drive one of my other vehicles...so maybe its more algae than anything I dunno!
Cameron

bulabula

I'll prob keep doing mine at 10k intervals.

dkosheba

My guess is that the first one is the most important as it might have some shavings, or debree in it from the tank manufacturing process. Dealer told me not to follow the 15K recommendation and that 20K was more acceptable because we have good clean diesel at most truck stops in Michigan.

Sorry that I did not follow the manual, but first change was at 20,743 miles on my 2001 Ram. I just changed it again this summer for the second time at 51,753 miles.

I remember the first time it being clean and thought I could have gone longer, but the second time it was a little blacker, but still not totally plugged up. Working on getting a FP gage now to monitor this, and the tank sucking pump so I know when to change it. (I mean when to change the pump). It will probably fail like everyone else’s.

Don