How often should a diesel filter be changed?

The performance of a heavy-duty truck depends on the quality of the diesel fuel delivered to its engine, and a critical component in ensuring fuel quality is the fuel filter. Optimal filtering performance comes from a high-quality fuel filter that matches the engine specifications and gets replaced as needed. Fuel filters have a limited lifespan, so it is essential to know when to replace your diesel fuel filter to obtain optimal performance from your engine and truck.

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Recent years have brought changes in diesel fuel, diesel engines, and system components like fuel filters, so this blog post provides a guide to regular maintenance and the signs suggesting the need to change your fuel filter.

The Importance of a Diesel Fuel Filter

The fuel filter plays a crucial role in heavy-duty diesel engine performance by removing contaminants and ensuring high-quality diesel fuel reaches the engine. With today&#;s high-pressure fuel injection, it is more important than ever that the fuel filter minimizes the air, water, and other contaminants. Without effective filtering, these impurities damage the engine over time and degrade performance and efficiency. In addition, since replacing fuel filters is far less expensive than replacing damaged fuel injectors, it is common sense and intelligent business practice to monitor and replace your fuel filters as needed.  

Identifying the Need for a Diesel Fuel Filter Replacement

There are two primary methods to identify the need to replace your fuel filter. One approach is consistently checking the fuel filter as part of your regular maintenance practices. While consistent checking is necessary, it cannot prevent fuel filter problems resulting from contaminated fuel or other challenges. Since some fuel system challenges are difficult to anticipate, knowing the warning signs that you may need to replace your fuel filter is essential. So, here are a few warning signs of the need to replace your diesel fuel filter and reduce the potential for future engine problems. 

Decreased Fuel Efficiency or Performance

A drop in fuel efficiency or performance is among the first indicators of a worn-out fuel filter. A clogged filter restricts fuel flow to the engine and affects the fuel system&#;s ability to deliver the proper fuel volume to the engine consistently. Insufficient fuel flow can cause the engine performance to suffer because the engine does not always inject fuel at optimal levels. As the engine strains for fuel, it may also receive more than optimal, reducing fuel efficiency. A drop in performance when accelerating or on a grade and a decrease in fuel efficiency that shows up at the pump suggests the need to check your fuel filter. 

Strange Engine Noises

The inadequate fuel supply from a clogged fuel filter can cause the engine to sound like it is choking. At the same time, the increased strain on the fuel pump can create a buzzing sound as the pump tries to pull fuel through the obstructed filter.

Difficulty Starting the Engine or Rough Idling

Diesel engines require the most fuel when starting, and a clogged fuel filter can keep the engine from obtaining the fuel it needs to start. Likewise, a truck that shakes when idling or operating at low speeds indicates the engine is not receiving enough fuel, and the fuel filter is the likely culprit. The roughness when idling may also be more noticeable due to reduced road noise, vibrations, and other distractions that occur while operating the truck.

Filter Maintenance: How Often Should You Check?

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Regular maintenance is vital to keeping your diesel engine running smoothly. As a rule of thumb, you should check your fuel filter for signs of wear and tear every time you change the oil, but you should check more often when operating under severe conditions or using lower-quality fuel. 

As they say, application matters and the severity of your operating conditions will affect your fuel filter replacement interval. If you think about it, the amount of work a fuel filter performs is a function of the fuel consumed rather than the miles driven, with the result that the fuel filter on a concrete mixer should be checked at a lower mileage interval when compared to a highway truck because the cement mixer burns more fuel per mile.

Fuel quality also affects fuel filter life. Contaminated fuel requires fuel filters to block more particulates than when handling cleaner fuel, so filters start clogging and become less effective at lower miles. Likewise, you should check your fuel filter more often when trucks operate in winter conditions due to the impact of cold temperatures on diesel fuel.

Changing Your Diesel Fuel Filter

Replacing your diesel fuel filter is a straightforward task you can perform with a few simple tools. Changing your air filter while the truck is in the shop is ideal. AirDog recommends carrying a spare set of filters to change the fuel filter (and water separator) whenever needed. Of course, any time a fuel filter is changed, the process should occur in a safe location, and the used filters should be disposed of properly. For a comprehensive guide to replacing your AirDog fuel filter, refer to How to Change Your AirDog Fuel Filters. 

The Importance of Routine Truck Maintenance

Like regular check-ups for your health, routine maintenance is crucial for most machines and systems, including your truck. Keeping your truck running and achieving its uptime target often comes down to taking care of the basics. Few aspects of properly maintaining your diesel engine&#;s optimal performance and fuel efficiency are more fundamental than replacing your fuel filter when needed. Achieving your targets is achievable by paying attention to the warning signs discussed earlier and following the recommended replacement intervals. 

The fuel filter is a key element for protecting an engine and ensuring good performance. It represents a barrier against impurities and water residue which could irreparably damage the injectors, leading to high repair costs. Regularly changing the diesel fuel filter is an essential task to ensure the correct operation of the vehicle&#;s engine, most of all during winter.

There are four main reasons for changing the diesel filter in winter:

1. Protection against extreme cold: in some climate zones, temperatures can reach very low values and, compared to other fuel types, diesel fuel is more susceptible to the formation of crystalline wax particles which could cause early clogging of the filter. Regularly changing it guarantees that the fuel flows smoothly even at very low temperatures.
2. Improved engine efficiency: a clean diesel filter allows the engine to operate more efficiently. When the filter is clogged, the engine has to work harder to keep the fuel flow regular, reducing functionality and increasing fuel consumption.
3. Reduced costs: regular maintenance of the diesel filter can help prevent the need for costly engine repairs. A dirty or clogged diesel filter can lead to long-term damage.
4. Longer engine life: keeping the diesel filter in optimum condition helps prolong the service life of the engine. A dirty or malfunctioning filter can indeed lead to internal engine damage.

What are the symptoms of a clogged diesel filter?

1. Decreased vehicle performance and efficiency, such as loss of power or difficulty accelerating.
2. Difficulty starting can be a sign of a clogged diesel filter, since the engine struggles to receive the necessary fuel. The engine may also stall at idle.
3. Engine warning light: if the fuel is not reaching the engine correctly, the warning light (check engine/MIL) could light up on the instrument cluster, causing the vehicle to enter limp mode or come to a stop.
4. Increased fuel consumption: with a clogged diesel filter, the engine requires more fuel to run correctly.

When is it important to change the fuel filter?

The frequency with which the diesel filter should be changed may vary depending on the vehicle and driving conditions. Normally, maintenance of the diesel fuel filter for a car or light commercial vehicle should be carried out every 15,000-30,000 km (10-20,000 miles), or at least once a year. In any case, it is recommended to follow the vehicle manufacturer&#;s guidelines.

High-efficiency water separation filters.

Choosing a diesel filter with high water separation capacity, such as those from the UFI Filters range, is of key importance, particularly in winter. Residual water in the fuel can freeze, causing damage to the engine injection system. UFI Filters&#; high-quality filters are manufactured with specific materials:

• Extreme with polymer fibres, such as the 60.H2O.00 or 26.052.00 filter for Stellantis applications.
• H2O with cellulose fibre coupled to synthetic or glass fibres, such as the 26.038.00 filter for the Volkswagen Group&#;s most popular engine, the EA 288 EVO 1.6 and 2.0 litre models.
• In order to further improve the performance of FormulaUFI.Extreme, the materials are often combined in different layers with hydrophobic barriers &#; Stratiflex, such as the 26.H2O range of filters.

The UFI Filters Group was a pioneer in developing high water separation capacity filters using DFM &#; deep filtration media &#; which separates the smallest water particles, down to 4 microns, from the diesel fuel, thanks to deep filtration according to the principle of coalescence.  These materials are designed to effectively separate water from diesel fuel, guaranteeing that the engine operates without clogging, even at low temperatures, but above all are compatible with the latest biodiesels.  It is very important for the filters to be designed to guarantee the greatest filtration performance even when using biofuels. Indeed, in biodiesel of vegetable origin, the higher percentage of water and bacteria can encourage the formation of residue and gelatinous sludges which can lead to clogging.

Although the presence of water in diesel fuel is regulated by European standard EN 590 and must not exceed the maximum value of 200 ppm (parts per million), sometimes the amount and size of water particles to be separated from the diesel fuel can be greater. Relying on a manufacturer like UFI with a strong OE pedigree guarantees that the product has been developed in order to maintain the highest standards of water separation, even in harsher conditions than those described in the regulations.

Technological developments have also led to different functions being incorporated into the filter. The modules supplied by UFI Filters as original equipment can be equipped with electronic sensors to monitor the temperature and signal the presence of water, and electric heaters to help with cold starting.

What happens if low quality filters are chosen?

In the aftermarket sector, there is the risk of ending up with substandard or even counterfeit filters, with unsuitable filter media that do not perform the function of separating the water from the diesel, or which do so inappropriately. UFI Filters&#; filtration systems, thanks to the company&#;s OE know-how, use the most advanced materials; these are resistant to bad fuel and biodiesel, and are manufactured using the very best raw materials and technologies. Buying a poor quality product to save money can seriously compromise the fuel injection system, leading to the risk of increased vehicle downtime and related financial losses, especially for those who use their vehicle for work.

In conclusion, diesel fuel filter maintenance is of fundamental importance, most of all during winter. Regular changes help protect the engine, improve vehicle efficiency, and prevent costly repairs. Moreover, choosing high-efficiency water separation filters is a wise choice to help ensure that the engine works optimally under all conditions. Paying attention to clogged diesel filter signs and following the manufacturer&#;s maintenance recommendations will help keep your vehicle in optimum condition over the winter and beyond.

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