Fiat Ducato Fuel Filter Failure

[bubble63]

Something always puzzled me , why can't you just stick something like this in its place. It's a filter, what else do you need.
http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&alt=web&id=191408922722&globalID=EBAY-GB

It needs a sensor at the bottom for the ECU

 

[chaser]

It needs a sensor at the bottom for the ECU

Cheers always wondered, I have one on a 07 pug and , tempting fate I know but we have changed it twice now at home without the special tool, and it's been ok, didn't know anything was hard about it till reading on here.
Now thinking of getting a spare.

 

[bubble63]

Cheers always wondered, I have one on a 07 pug and , tempting fate I know but we have changed it twice now at home without the special tool, and it's been ok, didn't know anything was hard about it till reading on here.
Now thinking of getting a spare.

Yep carry a spare

 

[Newfie]

Ok
I think yours will have steel filter then

Ok thanks, I guess the steel filters don't have a problem then?

 

[Geo]

Cheers always wondered, I have one on a 07 pug and , tempting fate I know but we have changed it twice now at home without the special tool, and it's been ok, didn't know anything was hard about it till reading on here.
Now thinking of getting a spare.

Nothing hard at all, you dont know the secret of how to fit them so they fail 3 months after a service like wot we professional fitters do
It was the 2 failures a week reported on here as opposed to the 10,000 a week that get fitted and didn't leak that got Techno into a flat spin thats all

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[Techno]

The majority of leaks were blamed on not using the correct tool. A tool that you don't use and refused to even acknowledge its existence saying Fiat don't recognise it but even the Fiat manual uses a similar if much more expensive item rather than a vice and grips

 

[Geo]

Boring!!!

 

[Abacist]

Well we are off for a few days so I went to fill up with diesel and gas and when I got home I thought I must have left the grey tap on the dribble as there was a trail of liquid up the road. But it wasn't that! It was this damn plastic fuel filter housing. Last time I changed it myself with the right tool and a brand new torque wrench and its been fine for about 10k miles. I took it out and the top had worked loose such that it was only hand tight.

Ordered a whole new unit this time so that I can carry a spare. What a pain in the arris! Someone could surely make a few bob creating a foolproof replacement for this piece of junk!

 

[bubble63]

Ditto!
If you read back I had exactly the same experience, almost to the mile
The tooling ,the torque, the care.... nothing stops the inevitable leak!

Fit new , carry a new spare

Agreed .... junk

N

 

[Lenny HB]

Ordered a whole new unit this time so that I can carry a spare. What a pain in the arris! Someone could surely make a few bob creating a foolproof replacement for this piece of junk!

I thought you could fit the later metal one.

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[Techno]

Four years next February since I did mine

 

[gus-lopez]

Have you used it?

 

[Techno]

Have you used it?

That equates to circa 16k

 

[Abacist]

I thought you could fit the later metal one.

Evidently not - I checked through the threads and the consensus was that the later model fuel filter is not interchangeable and all the connections and pipework are different.

 

[PeteH]

The issue IMV. is the quality of the SEAL ring. which on mine exhibited all signs of having been deteriorated probably by contact with fuel?. But also by temperature? It is fitted in what is possibly one of the most consistently Hot parts of the Under-bonnet?. I purchased a new Unit and fitted it Sept 2016, As of today no leaks. To satisfy my curiosity I purchased the tool and dismantled the old one. What I found is that the Seal ring was "loose fit" on the body. (see pictures). I suspect that additives used in modern fuels are not compatible with the material used in the manufacture of the seals?. BTW, fitted a fresh filter and seal to the old body an it resides in a Locker as a "get out of jail card".

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[Abacist]

Four years next February since I did mine

You must be lucky! It hardly requires any expertise. I was worried that plastic tool casing was going to break as it was flexing so much as I torqued it up.

Pretty Gobsmacked that it must have worked loose. The seal was still in good nick and tight around the housing.

 

[Techno]

You must be lucky! It hardly requires any expertise. I was worried that plastic tool casing was going to break as it was flexing so much as I torqued it up.

More likely you are unlucky

 

[AndrewL]

Our filter started leaking again today. It had been replaced by an AA patrolman in October last year, and the van has hardly been used since!

Fortunately we now carry a spare, after reading the advice here. Since the leak was quite spectacular we called the AA out again - but this time it was simply a case of swapping the units.

Needless to say I have already ordered another one to keep as spare!

 

[knokinonabit]

Now I know you will find this hard to believe, but my fuel filter started to leak today.
I knew you would be gobsmacked .

I moved the MH forward so that I could cut the grass where the rear overhang sits over the lawn, left it running, cos I wasn't going to be long, and when I went to put it back I found I had my own diesel river in the garden. At least I wasn't stranded by the side of the road somewhere.
Having had a minor panic attack I remembered that it had been covered on a thread on the forum, so I looked it up.

Thank you @Techno for the effort that you put in to this subject, and to all the other contributors for their input as well.

I will be ordering a new filter housing tomorrow morning.
Probably two, so that I have a new spare one.

Does the new filter housing come complete with a filter already fitted, or will these need ordering, along with the special tool, as well ?

 

[Techno]

YES. Unit is ready to go

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[knokinonabit]

YES. Unit is ready to go

Thank you Andy.

I didn't wake you up did I ?

 

[Techno]

No matey
Of course once you have a spare it will never leak again like mine

 

[knokinonabit]

Thank goodness for that.

I'm off to bed now as I can rest easy knowing I'll get it sorted tomorrow.
I'll post how I got on. If I can do it anyone can.

 

[knokinonabit]

No matey
Of course once you have a spare it will never leak again like mine

Sods Law.

 

[knokinonabit]

Update.

Two new filters on order and they will be here tomorrow.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/272249221940?clk_rvr_id=1501953076330&afsrc=1&rmvSB=true

I decided not to fanny about with a repaired filter as with my luck it would leak anyway .
So there is one going on and one going under the front seat.

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[knokinonabit]

I ordered the removal tool anyway.
I wouldn't be happy until I had looked inside the old unit.

 

[Jimbohorlicks]

If you have ordered the removal tool you may as well repair the old filter , you can buy the filter and o ring from europarts. You then have 2 spares

 

[knokinonabit]

If you have ordered the removal tool you may as well repair the old filter , you can buy the filter and o ring from europarts. You then have 2 spares

Spookily enough, that is what I intend to do

 

[Dorset Diver]

If you have ordered the removal tool you may as well repair the old filter , you can buy the filter and o ring from europarts. You then have 2 spares

Having gone through a very comprehensive investigation of this problem with DVSA and Fiat in 2015 I would strongly recommend that you do not use aftermarket filters for this job; only Fiat spares. The housing is of "marginal" design and very "fussy" regarding the parts used, especially the seal. Fiat would never admit there was a problem but the investigation proved that to my satisfaction based on many years investigation experience as a Senior Air Accident and Defect Investigation Engineer.

 

[knokinonabit]

The good news is that the new filter I ordered arrived today.
The bad news is that I ordered and paid for two and only one turned up.
This was swiftly resolved with a quick phone call to the supplier, and another was sent off straight away and will be with me tomorrow.

The filter that I received is now fitted to the MH and all is working fine.
Strangely, someone that we know posted on Facebook that the filter on his car had done the same thing, and yes, it is the same type.

So all is well at knokinonabit towers.

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