Fuel Filter change at every 7,500 miles

[Ngrgs42]

I have a 2022 Ram 3500 HO with a 50 gallon fuel tank with about 16,000 miles on it I already had one fuel filter change on it at 6,5000 miles on it, I have to change the fuel filter at the same time as the oil change, I have gone to the dealership to asked is this normal and they say because I tow the fuel filter wouldn't last the 15,000 miles which I already know that but it should not be only half the mileage of what recommended, I did ask when I was last there if all the software was up to date and they said it was plus they are having me write down all the mileage when I tow, I have had other brand that the diesel filter would last way longer then this while towing. Any suggestions on how to fix this issue. FYI I run Shell diesel in it as well as Chevron when towing and not towing.

Andrew

 

[Blythkd1]

So you're saying you've had filters plug up, necessitating the need to change them?

Or the dealer shop is just telling you that you should change them more often if you tow with the truck?

 

[UglyViking]

Fuel filters should be changed with oil filters and oil. If you're towing heavy and often, then you you may want to look at changing your oil and filters at the "severe" interval recommended by the book (which I believe is 12k miles).

I go by the dash recommendation, but that is up to you. That said, assuming you're not getting bad fuel, or water in fuel regularly, I don't see a need to change them at that frequency.

 

[Ngrgs42]

I tow about 6 times a year and 2 of those are about under 1,000 miles each and 3 are under 50 miles and the last one is under 200 miles. The dash in my truck has the fuel filter life 9-10% lower than my oil filter life which is weird and is always that way.

 

[AH64ID]

Fuel filters should be changed with oil filters and oil. If you're towing heavy and often, then you you may want to look at changing your oil and filters at the "severe" interval recommended by the book (which I believe is 12k miles).

I go by the dash recommendation, but that is up to you. That said, assuming you're not getting bad fuel, or water in fuel regularly, I don't see a need to change them at that frequency.

That is for B5-B20 use, otherwise there isn't a severe rating for oil & filter or fuel filters.

I tow about 6 times a year and 2 of those are about under 1,000 miles each and 3 are under 50 miles and the last one is under 200 miles. The dash in my truck has the fuel filter life 9-10% lower than my oil filter life which is weird and is always that way.

Oddly enough I just changed my oil & filter and fuel filter and my fuel filter already shows 2% less life than the oil, and it's only been 1,600 miles. I changed my oil at 1,565 miles last time so the oil and fuel filter lifes were different for the first change. I'm going to continue to watch this.

@Jimmy07 there isn't a setting in the PCM/BCM for the 12K mile interval on fuel filters for B20 is there?

 

[Blythkd1]

I've got 53k miles on mine on the 3rd set of fuel filters. I go 2 "fuel filter lives" on mine. One oil change I just change the oil and reset filter life on both. Next change I change everything. Running about 10k on the oil changes. I haven't had any trouble. You'd have to get some pretty crappy fuel to need to change the filters in 10k miles.

 

[Ramsomair]

what he said

 

[relbus]

I've got 53k miles on mine on the 3rd set of fuel filters. I go 2 "fuel filter lives" on mine. One oil change I just change the oil and reset filter life on both. Next change I change everything. Running about 10k on the oil changes. I haven't had any trouble. You'd have to get some pretty crappy fuel to need to change the filters in 10k miles.

Man , I’ve done fuel every 10k for as long as I remember. No way I’d roll the dice pushing fuel filters that long

 

[Blythkd1]

These filters are a bit expensive to throw them away when they're still perfectly good. If you never push it, you never know how far they'll go.

I used to run my Duramax 30k miles, sometimes more.

 

[AH64ID]

Man , I’ve done fuel every 10k for as long as I remember. No way I’d roll the dice pushing fuel filters that long

10K is too soon, unless you have an issue.

A used fuel filter is more efficient than a new one, up until it hinders flow.

I haven’t been able to find it recently, but Cat used to have a white paper for not over servicing fuel filters. They pretty much told maintainers to follow the recommended interval and stop changing them early.

 

[UglyViking]

I wish people understood how filters worked better. They are designed for a full lifecycle, not just a degrading one. Meaning that their filtration ability is more like a bellcurve than a linear degradation. Early in the filters use, it captures some small particles and most/all larger ones. As the filter membrane captures more and more it becomes almost "sticky", which allows it to trap additional particles, and obviously as more particles are trapped in the membrane, the ability for larger and smaller particles to pass through becomes harder. This process basically continues until it's at it's maximum efficiency, allowing enough of the liquid to pass through while trapping the most particles. Eventually, the filter will start to clog, and while it is trapping more and more particles, it won't allow enough liquid to pass through. For oil filters, this means it will just use the oil bypass valve (the same valve that operates during startup) but for fuel filters there is no bypass to my knowledge.

 

[Blythkd1]

And with fuel filters, if you get a load of bad fuel, it doesn't matter if you just changed the filters yesterday. If you don't get any bad fuel, the filters may easily go 50k miles or more. For those that don't run many miles, I could support changing them annually.

All over-servicing them does is drain your wallet, and at the price of these fuel filters, they do it pretty fast. Coming from GM and their pathetic fuel filters, I'm glad to have Ram's real fuel filtration, but at the price I'm not going to over-service the fuel filters. If I'm ever out on the road and start losing power, my rear filter is easily changed on the cab/chassis truck. I know that's not the case on regular pickups though.

 

[H3LZSN1P3R]

Changing your oil and fuel filters early is only making oil company's/ filter company's richer its not doing anything for you.

 

[jeffn]

I tow mid to heavy 60% of my miles and I have never changed fuel filters at 7,500 miles.

Fuel and oil both go 12k for me, on average. I pump 50% of my fuel from my aux tank through a separate filter, and sometimes I push the RAM filters beyond 0%. I do the filter and fluid changes, more than once in a parking lot while I had downtime, it is quick and easy after the first time with the right tools.