Sorry to make my first post a cry for help but I am at wits end with my 2004.5 CTD. About 7 weeks ago I filled up my tank and within about 3 miles the water in fuel light came on. I drained the filter and the light came right back on.

I took the truck to the dealer and had them flush the system. I got the truck back and drove it about 12 miles to work. I left work to come home and the truck wouldn't start. I called the dealer and they towed it in. Got a call the next day - injectors are bad all 6 need to be replaced. Worked with the station to get them to pay for the work. 5 weeks later I got them to agree and I ordered new injectors.

I decided to replace them with 50hp from Industrial because they were a lot less expensive than the $635 the dealer quoted me. Got the injectors replaced and drove the truck away and about 20 miles later the truck dies while doing 65mph on the freeway. Get it started again and off the freeway had the shop owner meet me and we nursed it back to to his place. Diagnosis 0 psi fuel pressure. Replace with the lift pump with the Raptor 100, the fuel control actuator, and clean the injector pre-filters. All of the fuel lines are new.

I got the truck back this past Saturday and it is still idling rough, then on Sunday it won't start in the morning. I had to catch a ride to work, but when I got home I started messing with the fuel pump. I turned it up (don't have a guage) and it started. I drove the truck to the shop again today and took out the pre-filters and they were dirty again. Cleaned them and checked the fuel pressure, 40psi. I turned it down to 25 and started to drive it home, water in fuel system light came back on. Got home drained the water and the truck started fine. Came out to my truck after work this evening and it won't start again. Mess with the pump and let it crank for a while. After playing with the pump a little bit, the truck started and idled fine and throttle seemed responsive.

I am so fed up with messing with this, What else can I do to try to figure out what the heck else is wrong with my truck. At the shop today we had it on the OBDII and everything seemed fine, only code was water in fuel. I am going to add a 2 micron system on it Wednesday (hopefully it won't be too late). Please help I am new to the diesel world but have a Jeep that I have done most of the mods on it myself so I am semi competent.

(If I forgot something please let me know)

 

This might be a dumb question but when they flushed the system did they drain the tank?

 

X2. Surely they drained and cleaned the tank! That would be my first thought. Secondly, you could check for an additive from a very reputable company like Amsoil or PowerService, etc.

I would definitely buy fuel from another station. I don't know that going to a smaller filter will solve your problem. If you are getting lots of trash/water in your fuel it has to have already been in there (not sure how long you have owned the truck) or it came from the pump at the service station.

 

Yup they dumped 34 gallons of fuel. I will look for a fuel cleaner. I am going to try to run it a little more and keep cleaning out the pre-filter. I don't want to replace another set of injectors

Anything else I need to look at?

 

Keep a detailed list of everything , the place that sold you the bad fuel needs to pay , this is not uncommon , also try to find a sneaky way to find out if they had other complaints , ask the youngest newest employee , while your there was a gasser .

 

They did have other complaints and the station has stepped up, I just need to figure out how to get it fixed and then I will get them to reimburse me.
Is there any additive that I can safely put in the system?

 

Well probably the 1st thing [ but it may be to late now ] is to identify what the contamination was , different additive for different stuff , water , maybe the fuel delivery truck put the wrong fuel in .

 

The most dependable solution to water contaminated fuel is to install a commercial truck or tractor style water separator before your transfer pump. They are not cheap, but absolutely essential with today's fuels.

Water is a huge problem with the current diesel formulation, as when the industry went to the ultra-low emission fuel they started adding methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE), which has been banned from gasoline because it is a very strong solvent and eats every form of synthetic rubber, even Viton. MTBE is also an exotic alcohol, and has a very strong affinity for water. So, we now have serious water contamination problems in our diesel in the US.

A bad distributor fuel plant mix that adds too much MTBE creates a solvent that will suck every bit of water out of your fuel system and chuck it in the injection system, and then starts dissolving your fuel hoses to boot.

Check around, if you are having problems so are many others that purchased fuel from that dealer.

As a side, never let the new diesel contact your skin, it is a super solvent and the MTBE will carry fuel right through your skin. Just like DMSO does for vet medications, only a whole lot more dangerous to your health.

 

OMG!

This is like Amityville + The Excorcist = diesel fuel.

 

Sources please?

I cannot find anything showing MTBE in commercial fuels.

 

Well I figure I would update this....

I am still trying to get my truck back to 100%. I am on my 3rd stock fuel filter. The truck will start to run rough and I pull the filter, clean the filter canister, and put a new filter in and it starts to run better.

It seems like there is a fair amount of particulates in the fuel and I need to drop the tank and clean it. The dealer said they flushed the system. Later to find out they flushed the lines but not the tank. They just drained it.

Thanks again for the responses!