in the past year my fuel filter has needed to be replaced very often. something like every 5-10k miles. I can tell when its dirty because I can feel the truck isnt pulling as hard but I know thats subjective. What I wait for is normaly the truck pulls very hard to 3k rpm and only slightly less hard to 3400. When the filter is dirty it struggles to 2800-3000rpm and wont go any higher. this is all in 5th gear. the only causes I can think of is that last year when I was going through alot of hassesl with the truck, transmition, turbos and all is that it sat for about 6 months and didnt run much, also I put a new lift pump on. Is it possable the new lift pump is weak? and when the filter gets a little restriction the pump cant maintain pressure? Does anyone make an aftermarket filter thats either high flow or larger?

 

If it set for that long you might want to get some algaecide to run through it. Chances are that you have algae built up in your tank and it just keeps coming up and plugging your filters.

 

Algaecide only kills the algae, their dead bodies will still be there to plug things up.
Suggest you drop the tank and flush it out also.

Your fuel pressure could be low due to a bad overflow valve or lift pump.
Rather than throw parts at it might be better to measure fuel pressure.
Instructions> https://www.dieseltruckresource.com/...41&postcount=9

 

I dont supose theres a way to check it without dropping it? oh well at least thats only a 1 day job. Thanks for the tips.

 

Do you know where I can get this Algaecide for diesel fuels and what a good brand of it would be? I never really considerd alge in my fuel before. So it wouldnt hurt to put some in just to besure untill I can drop the tank this spring.

 

I would find some Racor Biocide, should be able to find at any tractor dealer. Here is a website that has it also. http://www.mwfi.com/Fuel-Additives/Bionical.html

 

Before you start putting a lot of work into this, I would take a filter that has just recently come off and cut it open. This way you can see what your problem is. If the stuff is really slick and slimy, it is algae, you should be able to tell what metal, and it is possible that you just have dirt in there. I agree that there is a good possibility that you have an algae problem but I have seen many other problems with tanks including ones where there was a hole in the top letting dirt in.

 

Good tip on cutting the filter apart. I just changed it again today after 4000 miles. I didnt get to cutting it up yet but I did keep some of the fuel from the filter can and it has a green tint on the top 1/4" of the fuel when it sits in a cup.

 

Please explain why ya have to cut the filter open , doesn't the non filtered fuel flow from outside to the inside , so looking on the outside would be where the dirt particles are ??????? Please correct me if I'm wrong , it has happened once before.

 

dont quote me on this but my guess is since its not just on the surface of the filter and the particles have penitrated it some. if you cut it to take a look at the cross section it just makes it easyer to determin what you have. more surface area to look at.

 

Green tint is normal diesel color. Algae is notibly brown/black and slimey as Dartmouth 12V noted. Asphaltenes which is also brown/balck shows up as a stain on the filter media.

 

I thought diesel was ususaly a little bit of a golden color and a layer of green floating at the top would be a bad thing.

 

How about low fuel pressure due to weak fuel pump or even plugging at fuel tank screen pick-up (bad load of fuel in past)? Never fill up anywhere when station tanks are filled by a tanker as all the rust and garbage gets stirred up off bottom. Perhaps pressure is marginal and extra drop across filter causes the problem. I would get one of those fuel pressure guage fittings and check it at idle etc.

 

yeah I never fill when the tanks are being filled. I know its the fuel filter being clogged because it constantly loses more and more power, when I change the filter its back to normal. However I have also thought like you suggest. I have a new lift pump and perhaps its under powered? and as soon as the filter gets a little clogged it cant push enough fuel anymore.

 

Did your problems start with the new fuel pump? They have an integrated pressure regulator (spring and detent ball I believe?) that may be set too low.