Hi Folks,
I just got my HAYNES repair manual yesterday as I have no owner’s manual. I was reading in it that I should be draining water from the fuel filter/water separator once a week. I went to do this (doing everything the book said to do) and nothing came out of the drain hose. I did hear a faint “gurgling” sound, but no water or diesel fuel came out of the end of the drain hose. Is this something I should be concerned with? The book doesn’t mention what to do if this happens. The truck starts right up and runs fine the entire time I run it. Thanks for any input on this matter.

My Best, Greg

 

Same deal for me, short of cracking the cannister top I had no joy in draining anything out the drain vlv. I suppose that means I have no water.....

 

If you open the drain, then turn on the ignition, the fuel pump will start, and will force "stuff" out of the drain hose.

 

I think you'll find very few people ever drain this seperator unless they are having a specific problem. I havent drained mine in at least 100,000mi.

 

I drain mine every oil change but I must say I have never seen a drop of water in the fuel that does drain out. I collect the fuel into a bottle and let it sit for a few days to see if any water drops coalesce and haven't seen any water so far. On my truck the fuel does drain out by itself if I wait for about 15 secs.

 

today's fuel will usually have no to never water in it (not like the old days) when it was always there

 

I drained my canister......once in 1999.
I have NEVER had any water present in the canister when I changed fuel filters so I gave up.
Plus it makes a mess.
Pick your fuel stations carefully and use a diesel fuel additive to keep things clean.

 

Don't count your chickens to fast guys!

I've actually have seen my WIF light lit! Also drained out about 2 oz's of water. I've only had this one time.

The deal is if you have local fuel stations without a roof (your know what i mean) to cover the pumps. Then I suggest moving on. What happen from what I can figure out through fuel logs. Is that I bought fuel at the place right after a rain storm and the nozzle was full of water. So it go dumpped into the tank... Opps... So if the fuel pumps are standing in the weather without a roof to cover them... I highly suggest that you don't buy there! No matter how cheap the fuel is!!!

The station I do busines with now... He wipes down the pumps and keeps them clean. Compared to the other station...

I know that gasoline is a different creature but here is a good reason to watch for these stations... The top of the lid has ice on it.. I was sitting inside under the topper of my truck and this formed up overnight. Not to mention the truck was parked in my garage! But what had happen was the fuel can had tipped over and was leaking slowly in the back of the truck. When I went to the shop the next morning I could smell fuel and found this...

 

I said usually and mostly and on the average and mostly and on the once upon a time every once in awhile someone will get h02 but........not on the average.
On my semi it dont get like it did in the 70s and 80s.....and I go thru about 6 to 800 gal a month

 

I havent drained mine in over 2 years.

On a side note, about water getting into the pumps (pre fillup), many if not all pumps have no type of filtering system between the pump and the undergroudn tank. So one could lead to believe that if water got into the underground tank, then it could also get into your tank via the pump. Just something to think about.