Fuel Filter Leak - 2018 f250

[gmancanplay]

Yesterday I smelled oil, popped the hood, and noticed this wonderful site of a diesel fountain out of the top of my fuel filter housing.  Truck is under warranty, 2018, with about 6,000 miles.  

 

Called my local Ford dealership and they said that it wasn't covered since it's a maintenance item, and advised that it "should be OK" to drive to the dealership to replace both filters for $100.

Seems now my only options are to get it towed to dealership, replace filter myself, or drive this diesel spewing fountain to the shop.

 

Thought I'd share this experience/knowledge with you all.

[bbf2530]

1 hour ago, gmancanplay said:

Yesterday I smelled oil, popped the hood, and noticed this wonderful site of a diesel fountain out of the top of my fuel filter housing.  Truck is under warranty, 2018, with about 6,000 miles.  

 

Called my local Ford dealership and they said that it wasn't covered since it's a maintenance item, and advised that it "should be OK" to drive to the dealership to replace both filters for $100.

Seems now my only options are to get it towed to dealership, replace filter myself, or drive this diesel spewing fountain to the shop.

 

Thought I'd share this experience/knowledge with you all.

 

 

Hi gman. Unless they are specifically not covered under the Ford diesel engine warranty, a leaking fuel filter is most certainly covered while still under the 3 year/36,000 mile New Car Warranty. You need to call Ford Customer relations and/or have your service performed at another Dealership. And a tow to the Dealership would also be covered under the Complementary Emergency Road Service section of the warranty.

 

Would they tell you an oil leak is not covered under warranty, because oil changes are a "maintenance item"?

 

Let us know how you make out and good luck.

Edited May 26, 2020 by bbf2530

[akirby]

Just a guess but they’re probably saying it’s the o-ring or gasket that’s leaking not the housing itself.

[bbf2530]

1 hour ago, akirby said:

Just a guess but they’re probably saying it’s the o-ring or gasket that’s leaking not the housing itself.

 

Hi Allen. I understand what you are saying. However, it is actually irrelevant, since a leaking O-ring or gasket would also be covered under Warranty. It is no different than a leaking head gasket, O-ring in the HVAC system, or anything similar. They are all covered under the 3 year/36,000 mile New Car Bumper to Bumper Warranty.

 

Again, unless specifically excluded for some reason on diesel engines and/or F250 and above trucks. Or another possibility would be if the fuel filter had been previously changed or tampered with by someone other than a Ford Dealership. But the OP makes no mention of anything like that, so I assume it has not been changed or tampered with.

 

At this point, the best course of action would be for the OP to contact the Service Manager for an explanation, and then Ford Customer Relations if he gets no satisfaction there. He or someone else can also pore through the Warranty exclusions on F-250's and diesel engines to see if the fuel filter/O-rings/gaskets are excluded for some reason.

 

Hope that makes my explanation clearer. Good luck.

Edited May 26, 2020 by bbf2530

[akirby]

The fuel filter is a maintenance item.  It’s no different than the oil filter.  If the housing is cracked it should be a warranty replacement.  If it’s the filter that’s not a warranty replacement.  Should be pretty simple to figure out at the dealer.

[bbf2530]

21 minutes ago, akirby said:

The fuel filter is a maintenance item.  It’s no different than the oil filter.  If the housing is cracked it should be a warranty replacement.  If it’s the filter that’s not a warranty replacement.  Should be pretty simple to figure out at the dealer.

 

HI Allen. No, a leaking fuel filter is not a maintenance item at 6,000 miles. A leaking fuel filter, whether the filter itself or an O-ring/gasket etc, is a defect in material and/or workmanship. A clogged fuel filter could be considered a maintenance item.

 

And a leak is not a maintenance item in most any situation while still within the 3 year/36,000 mile New Car Bumper to Bumper Warranty., as I pointed out in my other examples. These are warranty facts.

 

Again, the exceptions I can think of at the moment would be if diesel engines or F-250 and above "work" trucks exclude the fuel filter/fuel system, or if there was obvious damage/tampering outside of normal use.

 

You are correct that the answer will be found at the Dealer or through Ford Customer Relations if the dealer is non-cooperative. Not through you and I. ?

 

Good luck.

Edited May 26, 2020 by bbf2530

[YT90SC]

The secondary filter is a sealed unit, the plastic is cracked. This is NOT an uncommon issue with 6.7 and I agree that it is a failure of the material, usually on the casting line of the part. However, getting Ford to cover it is worse than pulling teeth, and I think it is only 12/12 on the filter itself, but I could be wrong. The recommended replacement interval is 15k miles or 3 IOLM indicated oil changes, which ever is first, so it it doubtful that gman has had it done already.  

[gmancanplay]

I spoke with another Ford dealership today and their service manager said that they'd have to look at it, but yeah "most likely" it would be covered as long as there wasn't any aftermarket filter or other obvious things that might void warranty.  He said the best way to get it done was to call roadside assistance so that everything would be covered.

 

I didn't want to deal with towing, scheduling, and all that and needed it done ASAP, so I ended up just buying the fuel filter kit and replacing both (the upper and lower) myself.  It wasn't too terribly difficult.  I went ahead and changed the air filter as well, it was pretty dirty surprisingly.  At the very least, I'll be buying an extra upper filter to keep in the truck, and probably the plastic yellow drain valve for the lower filter as well since it seems so flimsy.

 

The filter that was leaking was OEM, most likely the original one on the truck.  I had just purchased this truck within the last 30 days, so I can't say with certainty.  Not the best start to my first Ford vehicle since a late 80's tempo coupe ?.  I love the truck and am hoping this is just a bump in the road.

 

Unfortunately because of the leak, now I have a strong diesel smell coming through the a/c vents, so if there are any recommendations for fixing that (other than time) I'm all ears!!!

[YT90SC]

Commercially available foamy engine degreaser, or Simple Green and water, or even dish soap like Dawn mixed kind of strong with water. If you use the canned stuff, make sure it is cleaned off and *dry* before you start the truck when you are done. Diesels will run on any flammable fume they can get ahold of and you don't want the degreaser propellant or cleaner itself to get sucked in and have a backfire through the intake from the glowplugs, or runaway.