I have been reading after searching.

1990 CTD D250 auto, near stock.

Does the fuel heater seal with a standard o-ring or a special gasket?

I have finally attacked my truck as to why it will not start.

Due to some things, I made an access hole in the bed to get to the top of the tank and changed the rubber lines as I had developed a leak when the tank was full.

After priming and cracking injector lines, it fired up and ran well. Started right back up as long as it does not sit for too many mins. I have a seep at the top of the fuel heater I think. It will actually drip after a while of running. I need to fix this or do the stud swap and eliminate the heater.

The lift pump seems to work okay but will seep a little where the primer lever pivots. Is this bad enough to replace yet or keep watching it?

After going back into the shed after an hour, a drip had made a puddle under the tank. I found the steel feeder line to the motor had a hole in it near the front of the tank where it goes down beside it. AH HA I may have found the big leaker FINALLY!!!!!!!!!!! I will get some more hose and run past the hole.

Heck it has only been parked all winter.........I can drive a 2wd again now....

Opinions?

 

i think its a square cut o-ring, and i thought it came with a new fuel filter.

 

I mean the top of the fuel heater area.

 

It comes with a new stock filter but not with the larger ones without the WIF sensor.

 

I'd buy the $17 stud for running no fuel heater. Then you wont have to worry about the o-ring again.

 

I will have to look at one at the store. I can't recall ever having an extra gasket left over, maybe I forgot.......?

 

They thought you were talking about the freebie that comes with new filter, seals the dirt from entering the filter via the threads of the filter. Goes between the filter and fuel heater. The leak you have is from an old o-ring between the cylinder head and heater. This does not come with a new filter. Normally not stocked and has to be ordered. I feel if you have to wait for an order, might as well order the stud for no heater.

 

Read this thread for the stud part-number and an idea I came up with to remove (or install) the old one :

https://www.dieseltruckresource.com/...d.php?t=192367

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What are the pro's and con's of removing the fuel heater?

 

The heater is supposed to warm the fuel ahead of the filter in an attempt to prevent gelling/waxing.

In super cold climates, that may be necessary.

In the climate of most of us, the heater is un-necessary (in my opinion).


I was changing a fuel-filter on the roadside and the heater came loose with the filter.

After that, a few days later, it started pouring a leak.


I could have installed a new gasket/seal and probably been okay; but, as the heater wasn't even wired up, and it was just something else in the way, I switched to the heater-less stud and eliminated the heater.


One advantage to the heater being gone is the increased clearance for the fuel-filter, in that it doesn't hang quite so low.

 

I still gell up occasionally even with the "heater".

I'm not real sure how much that little heater does at -40* when cold fuel is flowing through it. Can't warm the fuel that much.

 

It's a square cut o-ring on top of the fuel heater. The only hard part about replacing it is finding a screwdriver big enough for the filter spud.

Why buy a $20 part to fix a $2 problem? The original seal lasted 15 years, will you still have this truck 15 years from now? I don't agree with removing the fuel heater. You may not need it, but the next guy might. For most of us the new gasket is as close to a permanent fix as we need, and the fuel heater DOES serve a purpose. Just because fuel will flow through the lines and pump does not mean that it will not wax the filter. Gel point is much lower than cloud point, if the fuel is below the cloud point it will wax the filter unless it is heated.

 

That said I'm not going to delete the heater. every little bit helps.

 

YES, I will still have my truck fifteen, or even fifty years from now.

Why would one get rid of something they do like in favor of something they don't want ??

 

I could not find a local Cummins dealer today (sat) and the Dodge dealer parts counter is closed.

Does anyone have the part # for the fuel heater gasket?

I did order a fuel heater delete adapter from my friendly Case/IH tractor dealer for $8.81. I had to order it, but it was cheap. They did not show the gasket that the parts guy could find easily.

I could not find the 9/16 socket, has anyone tried using a wood spade drill bit, 9/16 and a cresent wrench? Pretty crafty, eh? Might work.