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

I_am_still_wayn
Explorer
Jul 10, 2013
I had a 1982 VW Rabbit Diesel (185,000 miles), a 1994 Dodge Ram Diesel (165,000 miles), 2003 Ford Diesel (65,000 miles), 2005 Dodge Ram Diesel (50,000 miles), and a 2007 Dodge Ram Diesel (35,000 miles) and never had water in the fuel.
whjco
Explorer
Jul 10, 2013
Knock on wood, I've had one diesel truck for 13 1/2 years and the other for 7 1/2 and haven't had any water in the fuel in either one.
Goose2448
Explorer
Jul 10, 2013
I have not had any in my personal Duramax, But I still run a Donaldson WS with clear bowl and change it at 10K, but gallons used would be better. I forget what the spec is, but you will use less fuel in 10K unloaded then 10K loaded.

I have pulled water out of my uncle's Duramax and out of different concrete pumps and equipment. I check my filter once a week, roughly 2 tanks(68 gals) right now. Its not if, its when. With out tanks being at or below sea level, rainy season upon us, and stations not changing their filters, I am not risking my fuel system, even with a good filter.
Passin_Thru
Explorer
Jul 10, 2013
That is a ridiculous question as tanks get condensation in them and I have pulled many without any water and drained a lot out too. I've driven 2.4 million miles and you can't predict by 19 K on 1 filter. I usually get around 11 K on a filter and some may have a teaspoon or so in them. Wait til you get water in it and then the temp goes to 19 degrees. BTW/I have a John Deere 455 mower/snowblower/rototiller, weights 1000 lb. and I have a big yard in N VA.
45Ricochet
Explorer
Jul 09, 2013
sc3283 wrote:
none for me...my 04 Dmax has 71k on the clock

my lawn equip has never had any

my Monaco has not had any

not to say I never will...but havent as of yet

:B Diesel lawn equip ? You must have one big lawn :W
sc3283
Explorer
Jul 09, 2013
none for me...my 04 Dmax has 71k on the clock

my lawn equip has never had any

my Monaco has not had any

not to say I never will...but havent as of yet
jfritz_drfritz
Explorer
Jul 07, 2013
99 f250 7.3l psd 220,000 miles no water ever
2011 f450 pickup 6.7l 25,000 miles no water ever
wintersun
Explorer II
Jul 07, 2013
I have never had the problem with a truck but it was a common problem with my boat. Having a partially full tank sit with a truck that sits unused for periods of time will make it a lot more likely that there will be water in the tank and that is where the special fuel stabilizing additives are well worth the expense.
Huntindog
Explorer
Jul 02, 2013
Airstreamer67 wrote:
A while back I read a report from a guy who saw water running into a service station's fillup port during a heavy, flooding rainstorm. The station was being refilled with diesel from a tanker truck at the time, and the water was going in with the diesel. I guess the tanker's driver was in a hurry and couldn't wait until the flood stopped. Got a schedule to keep, you know.

That picture haunts me.

Fortunately, it doesn't happen often. But that's very thin gruel to serve for the victims.

I am fairly certain that was what it looked like, but not what was happening.
All the tanks I have seen have a metal cover. Like a small manhole cover. Under that is the actual cap for the tank. The tanker hose connects directly to that fitting. Water can drain into the area under the small manhole cover without entering the tank. It has a drain system that carries it away. But with the hose making a solid leak proof connection with the tank, no water etc. can enter it.
45Ricochet
Explorer
Jul 01, 2013
I just had to see who awoke this old dog :W But while I'm here a couple of weeks ago the delivery driver unloaded his tanker full of diesel into the regular tank at a station over by Fairchild air base. Amazing how fast the cars littered the side of the road.