The purpose of this thread is to try and see just how many diesel owners have NEVER had this problem....If this is not you,,,there are plenty of other threads for you to choose from.I just did my first filter change on my 2011 Dmax. 19,800 miles and 2 years. The filter minder still indicated 49% life remaining, but the 2 years was up.Drained the filter completely into a clear glass, and there was absolutely no water present. It was never drained while in service either. This is consistent with my diesel ownership experience dating back to 2001 and 134,000 miles on my first Dmax. I've never had any water present or problems with fuel PERIOD.With all the threads on many forums on this problem,,,it got me to thinking. Is this a problem that 99.999999% of us will never have?Is it a case of the internet giving the few that experience it a much louder voice than they would have had in the past, making the problem seem much more common than it really is?Everyone knows that when someone has a problem that they will get mad and make as much noise as possible...I am the same way.But it is also true that those that don't have problems don't often write on forums about what to them is a non problem.Well this thread is for you.If you have never had any water in your fuel, please state so and how many miles/years of diesel ownership you have.Please note: This thread is not in any way meant to trivialize those that have had this problem..Those people deserve to be angry, and in many cases better treatment than they have recieved.

Me. 280,000 miles. 7 years.Drain it every 6 months or so, never saw the WIF light.I did check the service record of the previous owner, and confirm that it was never a problem. Said owner was quite careful to buy from major brand dealer --- known good reputation and tight control over filling stations. There is signs of what appear to be rust (yellow, rust like stuff) that is on the filler cap that I can take to be rust, or microbial growth.Never had a water problem with water. Had problem with fuel gelling in cold thought.

Huntindog wrote:Drained the filter completely into a clear glass, and there was absolutely no water present. It was never drained while in service either. This is consistent with my diesel ownership experience dating back to 2001 and 134,000 miles on my first Dmax. I've never had any water present or problems with fuel PERIOD.With all the threads on many forums on this problem,,,it got me to thinking. Is this a problem that 99.999999% of us will never have?Is it a case of the internet giving the few that experience it a much louder voice than they would have had in the past, making the problem seem much more common than it really is?No visible water is not a firm indication that there is not a tiny amount of water in fuel in the .1% range that do not show up as a gooey emulsion.Think of buying a shampoo that is clear --- it contains a really well emulsified water and oil mixture.To me, it is a rare problem -- somewhat as rare as a bad tank of gasoline.How many Class 8 trucks have you ever seen stopped on side of the road from bad fuel?

3 different diesel trucks, since 2005, over 200,000 miles, never had any water in my filters.

Huntindog wrote: I just did my first filter change on my 2011 Dmax. 19,800 miles and 2 years. The filter minder still indicated 49% life remaining, but the 2 years was up.Drained the filter completely into a clear glass, and there was absolutely no water present.... Like the Dentist said, “just because you don’t have pain, it doesn’t mean there isn’t a problem.” Water and Diesel are a problem. You do realize that old one was a non-paper media OEM coalescing filter that removes 99.9% of emulsified water droplets? I hope you replaced it with the same or the Racor equivalent. Know also, unlike most other retail available filters, that filter does not have a bypass when clogged. Performance will wane or stop altogether at end of life, in case you don’t believe the DIC % left. It’s the best available filtering to use in a stock configuration. The WIF sensor on the HD is a joke. If it ever does activate, you've got a serious amount of water (in 4 HDs and 100s of 1000s of miles, I’ve seen it once, 10 minutes after a fillup). You'd be hard pressed to find any HD owner that witnessed any water exiting from that drain valve. They can develop leaks, are ineffective, and many owners delete it with a plug instead.NewsW wrote: How many Class 8 trucks have you ever seen stopped on side of the road from bad fuel?How many have you seen that don't have extensive filtering and water separators for fuel?

2nd diesel since 2002, no water issues. What this problem being talked about has made me do is buy fuel only at large chain stations (no tiny mom and pops and I will drive miles to make that happen)and keep reciepts with mileage on them. Gives me a recourse if it does happen.

Who has NEVER had water in diesel fuel?? | Good Sam Community

107 Replies

Charlie_D_
Explorer
Aug 20, 2012
Not questioning your numbers but I don't understand how you can get 19,800 miles on a filter and have 49% remaining on the service life indicator.

I understand how use and mileage are calculated but after 82,000 miles on my 2006, I constantly average about 15,000 miles and 23-25% remaining on my DIC. That equates to every other oil change.
NewsW
Explorer
Aug 20, 2012
Lagarto_Roca wrote:

NewsW wrote:
How many Class 8 trucks have you ever seen stopped on side of the road from bad fuel?

How many have you seen that don't have extensive filtering and water separators for fuel?

The "extensive" filtering is not extensive when corrected against these factors:

A) Service interval --- much longer than light duty vehicles measured in both hours and mileage and fuel used.

B) Volume of fuel used / filtered.

C) The water holding volume is larger --- because Class 8 trucks just can't be pulled off the side of the road and have its water separator drained.

But --- put 10 gallons of water in a Class 8 tank, and unless it is immediately stopped to drain fuel or supply switched to alternate tank, it will get past the filter.

Furthermore, these filtration systems tend to be equipped with a clear bowl, so there is a visible indication of WIF that can be seen each time the operator fills tanks / gets out of cab.

Most light duty vehicles do not have this.
Paul_Clancy
Explorer
Aug 20, 2012
2nd diesel since 2002, no water issues. What this problem being talked about has made me do is buy fuel only at large chain stations (no tiny mom and pops and I will drive miles to make that happen)and keep reciepts with mileage on them. Gives me a recourse if it does happen.
Lagarto_Roca
Explorer
Aug 20, 2012
Huntindog wrote:
I just did my first filter change on my 2011 Dmax. 19,800 miles and 2 years. The filter minder still indicated 49% life remaining, but the 2 years was up.
Drained the filter completely into a clear glass, and there was absolutely no water present....

Like the Dentist said, “just because you don’t have pain, it doesn’t mean there isn’t a problem.” Water and Diesel are a problem.

You do realize that old one was a non-paper media OEM coalescing filter that removes 99.9% of emulsified water droplets? I hope you replaced it with the same or the Racor equivalent. Know also, unlike most other retail available filters, that filter does not have a bypass when clogged. Performance will wane or stop altogether at end of life, in case you don’t believe the DIC % left. It’s the best available filtering to use in a stock configuration.

The WIF sensor on the HD is a joke. If it ever does activate, you've got a serious amount of water (in 4 HDs and 100s of 1000s of miles, I’ve seen it once, 10 minutes after a fillup).

You'd be hard pressed to find any HD owner that witnessed any water exiting from that drain valve. They can develop leaks, are ineffective, and many owners delete it with a plug instead.

NewsW wrote:
How many Class 8 trucks have you ever seen stopped on side of the road from bad fuel?

How many have you seen that don't have extensive filtering and water separators for fuel?
eHoefler
Explorer II
Aug 20, 2012
3 different diesel trucks, since 2005, over 200,000 miles, never had any water in my filters.
NewsW
Explorer
Aug 20, 2012
Huntindog wrote:

Drained the filter completely into a clear glass, and there was absolutely no water present. It was never drained while in service either.
This is consistent with my diesel ownership experience dating back to 2001 and 134,000 miles on my first Dmax. I've never had any water present or problems with fuel PERIOD.

With all the threads on many forums on this problem,,,it got me to thinking. Is this a problem that 99.999999% of us will never have?
Is it a case of the internet giving the few that experience it a much louder voice than they would have had in the past, making the problem seem much more common than it really is?

No visible water is not a firm indication that there is not a tiny amount of water in fuel in the .1% range that do not show up as a gooey emulsion.

Think of buying a shampoo that is clear --- it contains a really well emulsified water and oil mixture.

To me, it is a rare problem -- somewhat as rare as a bad tank of gasoline.

How many Class 8 trucks have you ever seen stopped on side of the road from bad fuel?
NewsW
Explorer
Aug 20, 2012
Me. 280,000 miles. 7 years.

Drain it every 6 months or so, never saw the WIF light.

I did check the service record of the previous owner, and confirm that it was never a problem. Said owner was quite careful to buy from major brand dealer --- known good reputation and tight control over filling stations.

There is signs of what appear to be rust (yellow, rust like stuff) that is on the filler cap that I can take to be rust, or microbial growth.

Never had a water problem with water. Had problem with fuel gelling in cold thought.

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Who has NEVER had water in diesel fuel??

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