7.3l idi fuel leak from filter

[mrabernathy]

i got a 1994 f350 with the 7.3l idi. bought off my dad recently had been sitting for 6 years.

i converted it to electric pump. facet duralift pump
problem is its leaking from the bottom of the fuel filter housing, the screw part that holds the filter in from below. my original one was chipped out on the aluminum casting, so i ordered a new one, but it did not have the water seperator or the electic plug, or the other plug in it, had to take out of the original one and install on the new one.

needless to say i broke the **** out of those. one was brass snapped off... lots of cursing.

so.. i ordered another one, with all 3 plugs pre installed, brand new. installed this one, and its leaking just like the others. thought it was the filter, cause i had tightened on it so much. so got a new filter, and new oring, and still leaking.

tried a more meaty oring, same diameter as the orignal just more meaty, from a jeep comanche fuel pump. still leaks....

stuck my phone down there while it was leaking to see where from exactly, and i believe its coming from the outer edges. as if the gaskets not sealing. soaked my phone in diesel.

so im thinking

1. the electric fuel pump is putting too much fuel to it, but shouldnt it just recycle any extra fuel back into the tank in the return line?

or idk. any thoughts its driving me insane. ive got way more in this truck than its worth, finally at the end, and its just bs.

 

[IDIBRONCO]

i believe its coming from the outer edges.

The outer edges of what? The filter or the water seperator? If all else fails, you could buy an aftermarket filter housing that uses a different filter from stock. Then you could mount that up and run your lines into and out of it. The electric pump shouldn't cause any issues unless it's a very high pressure pump.

 

[KCMeyer]

A popular place for the factory filter to leak after some age. Someone had a thread not long ago about fighting the same battle. You can change the filter to one that has the water separator built in and eliminate the pesky extra leak point on the bottom of the filter. That is a wix 33417. There is also one that has the electrical post, I don't have that part number in front of me

 

[mrabernathy]

It’s not leaking from the separator, leaking around the sealing edges of the filter.

 

[mrabernathy]

I will try that alternate filter today, hopefully that does the trick. If not the ford got me again for some hard earned cash. Haven’t been a 7.3l owner long, but I’m averaging about 100$/10 miles lol

 

[MtnHaul]

Sometimes it is less costly if you ask here before spending the money. Seems like somebody usually has a cheaper option for a lot of different problems.

 

[UMR_Engnr]

You might double check that it isn't leaking from the connector on top of the filter and just dribbling down the sides. This is the fuel heater and is a known leak point. If it is really coming from between the filter and filter head, when you replace the filter check the filter head sealing surface to make sure it's in good shape.