Orange "Clay" in fuel filter

[Blacktruck-1]

Changed my fuel filter and found some nasty looking stuff in there. The drain petcock was completely clogged and the water sensor float was glued to the bottom of the plastic piece by what appeared to be orange clay! Looks to be similar to the stuff found on baseball fields, Georgia etc. The stuff stained my driveway and I had to dig it out and blast it with brake wash and compressed air.

I've seen this mentioned a few times here and was curious as to how many of you have found this crud in their filters and if it is rust/sediment or actually clay. None of it was stuck on the magnet in the float so it might be clay--that means someone might be playing a pretty sick prank at some level in the manufacture of delivery of these trucks.

I've never seen this crap in the Racors on my Navistar work truck. We use a mobile fleet fill service so the stuff doesnt sit in the ground around here anyway.

Orange clay is a rare thing here in South Florida.

[odoh]

Clay? How could clay get into the fuel? Hmm, yrs ago, when we dipped the storage tanks for water contamination, we stuck a piece of clay on the end of the dip stick. Show up in a vehicle? Tuff to understand that one. ~ odoh

[IHRAracer]

Well, I am im North Carolina and have had no problems. Go to Car-Quest and get you a good fuel filter. The way to change is: take the filter assembly and remove it completly from the block and remove it. Fill the filter full of automatic transmisson fluid and reinstall it where it was. Hell you ready to go.

[Blacktruck-1]

odoh--must be a couple of hundred pounds of it in the tanks around here. I buy from high volume retailers on SR997. A major trucking route so the stuff doesnt stay in the ground long. Did you use a commercial product or just scrape it off the bottom of your shoe?

IHRAracer-- :confused:

[odoh]

:D :D :D It was com'l but for me that was (lemme see) 37yrs ago.

The more I hear, the more paranoid I'm becoming to where I purchase fuel. :( I'm gonna plan on an annual filter change to be safe. Good thread. ~ odoh

[ 07-17-2002: Message edited by: odoh ]</p>

[1BADDMAX]

When I changed my filter about 3 weeks ago it had some orangeish brown looking crud. It wasn't caked up or anything. It was just little amounts. This is the second time I've changed my fuel filter. I will probably change mine every 10k miles now.

[Amianthus]

Your "clay" might be algae that you sucked into your filter from your tank. That happens when you don't flow enough fuel (like your under-powered, over-cylindered chevy's tongue.gif ). :D

Seriously, it comes from fuel that sits too long in the storage tank. I would recommend two things for you. First, switch places that you get your fuel. Find a place that goes through diesel quite regularly (i.e. truck stop, Co-op, really popular station). This is why these places are so highly recommended on bulletin boards. It helps avoid these problems because fresh fuel is always in the tanks.
Second, I would begin a biocide treatment regimen. Go to the store and find a good biocide for your truck and use it. If you are worried about the additive issue, ask yourself this. What method of repair are the "technicians" going to use to cure an algae problem? Odds are it will be some kind of biocide. Not to mention, if you don't have an algae problem, the treatment won't hurt.

[SoCalDMAX]

Hey trouble maker! "under-powered, over-cylindered chevy's", I resemble that remark! :D :D

Good to hear from ya! So this clay looking stuff is actually algae? I thought it was normally black and slimey. Or are there multiple types of algae?

My Toyota Corolla diesel's fuel filter was full of dark red "coffee grounds", (it probably grew in the car's tank, it only took 12yrs to put the first 32,000mi on it!) And no wisecracks about it being underpowered, either!
Any suggestions what the "coffee grounds" might be? Rust was my first guess.

Regards, Steve

[Blacktruck-1]

As in a previous post I buy fuel from major retailers on a major trucking route. Everything down here has been replaced with fiberglass tanks for underground storage. We live on our water supply so steel tanks went the way of the 6.2 motor a few years ago. The stuff actually had the water sensor float glued to the bottom of the plastic housing.

The algae i've seen in the racors at work was a brown schmag-- :D nothing like the stuff in my filter.

[ 07-18-2002: Message edited by: Blacktruck-1 ]</p>

[6.6L&94ImpalaSS]

Algae, sounds more like fungus to me. Is it like rubber? What color fuel do you use? That would explain the orange color. When fungus is alive it will take on the color of the fuel. If it is dead it will be black or gray. Sounds like yours is alive :eek: Amianthus is right, I would treat your tank with biocide, then replace the fuel filter again after a few days. Definitly change the place you get your fuel.

Diesel Fuel = food source for bugs!

Mike

[SledZep]

Amnathius, how sure are you about it being Algae?
I have almost 11k on my truck and I am about to change the fuel filter for the first time. I normally buy from only 2 places 98% of the time, both busy. If I have it is there someplace a sample could be sent to like an oil sample to tell what it really is?
If you are sure, I will not have to send it.

SledZep

[Blacktruck-1]

Not rubbery--heavy orange sediment. Just like Georgia clay. Stained the heck out of my hands and driveway. I suppose it could be fine rust sediment.

[Amianthus]

I'm not 100% sure that it is algae. I haven't seen the thing first hand. It's just a possibility. I have seen algae in two colors, though. Dark greenish snot color and a light reddish-brown color. It would be logical to extend that to include red. But I don't know how red it is. The color could come from the bulk tank that way also. But being that it's fiberglass, and rust wouldn't be my first guess, I would think that the reddish color could also be from someone mixing tax-paid fuel with off-road fuel (red fuel). Do you use the same fuel that the mobile fill guys bring to your work? That could be it too. I doubt it though. The clay consistancy leads me to believe that it's algae. Again, don't take my remote diagnosis as gospel. It's just something to look into.

Both remedies are easy and if not the cause, won't cause harm to the truck(sorry I missed the part on the station). And you won't be out a huge sum of money for more drastic repairs.

Zep, I wouldn't send it in unless you have a problem. Most oil labs can also sample diesel fuel and tell you what it is and what may be wrong. But I wouldn't waste the money unless you run into a problem and you are going after the station owner in need of proof. It's just an expense that I don't think is justified if you don't have a problem.

Coffee grounds? Could be. But rust would be my first guess in a vehicle like that.

And as for the "under-powered, over-cylindered" stuff, just color me a trouble maker. :D

[Jake99Z71]

It doesn't matter if you buy from a place with high volume sales, it should help but not always. We have a local Truck Stop that sells high volume and we are always draining water from the seperator. Now we have a new fuel contract for a different station and no longer have water problems.

[DucksnDiesel]

When I changed the fuel filter last weekend (18K miles), I had maybe a teaspoon of orange-brown gunk in the drain valve area of the filter. I also thought it was dirt in the fuel, but algea makes more sense. Most of the stations I fill up at move a large volume of fuel. I'm just glad the filter caught it. I just cleaned the water sensor/drain valve with some clean fuel and put it back in.