Thankful for a fuel pressure gauge!

[gassernomore]

Well the past couple of days my pressure started out at 13 then it went upto its usual 17. Once driving it, it would drop 4 or 5 psi! :wow:I change my fuel filter at every oil change, it was time to do it. Put the new filter in and it is right back to the steady 17 psi. Now I see how people kill their VP when the lift pump goes out and they don't have a pressure gauge!

[Mopar1973Man]

Hmmm... That's odd... I'm running AirDog 150 with 2 micron filter and only change the filter once a year (30K miles). Even then I was only losing 3 PSI...

[gassernomore]

I know it is overkill on the filter change. It helps me sleep better at night knowing I changed it! Where I worked before we had a fleet of bobtail diesels that the CEO thought it was unneccessary to change the fuel filters. I saw too many of the trucks have serious fuel related problems. This is the first time I have had a problem such as this. Wondering if it has been bad diesel?

[flman]

Yeah, you never know, you might have showed up after the fuel delivery truck, dumped in a new load, and stirred up the storage tank? Yeah, but you gotta have that gauge.

[Mopar1973Man]

Well... Its possible it a bad tank of fuel or the station you buying form has poor filters at the pump. At least I buy fuel with confindence because I know the owner of my local store and understand when and what type of filters he uses on his pumps. But when I travel out and about I normal hit the bigger diesel places like flying J or simular with high volume of diesel traffic this insures the fuel is fresh and the pump filters are kept up to par. Stop in a quiet mom and pop place and take a risk for cheaper fuel...

[edcasey]

I know exactly what you mean about the fuel pressure gauge. Last year I stopped at a gas station in Augusta Maine. Within a few miles I noticed my fuel pressure was down a little. By the time I got to the New Hampshire boarder, my fuel pressure gauge was reading 5 psi going up hills. I thought for sure my fuel pump was dying because both my fuel filter and prefilter had less than 500 miles on them. But sure enough, after a few minutes of troubleshooting, I figured out my in-line prefilter was clogged. I always carry an extra so I replaced it. This was a 140 micron screen that got clogged in a very short time from one tank of bad fuel. The funny part is there was absolutely no change in engine performance. Without the gauge, I wouldn't have been aware of a problem and would have kept driving with very low fuel pressure.