7.3 fuel bowl delete

[surferdave]

Anyone delete their fuel bowl? If so what kit did you use? Where did you mount the fuel filters? Was it worth it?

Thanks
Dave

[Lilnuts2]

Haven't yet, but plan to, the driven diesel system is considered the standard for delete systems. Most mount the filters on the frame below the drivers door.

[JohnandMandi]

We had ours done in 2014 by Ujoint while they were doing other things for us, not sure what kit they used. Our filter is on the frame near the fuel pump. We ended up adding a second diesel filter that has a water separator bowl on the bottom between the frame mounted delete kit filter and the fuel pump. That was done in Mexico and it is how many of their big rigs are configured. We have never had an issue but we also changed our filters every 5,000 miles, when we change our oil, during our travels south. It was probably overkill but it works. For just US/Canada/Mexico we’d probably just upgrade the single frame mounted filter from the delete kit to one that also has a water separator bowl.

We changed the factory fuel filter once then had the delete kit installed. For us, it was worth it. No need to remove the air box or deal with the doghouse, which is huge since we live in the van. Would we do it if we weren’t traveling fulltime? Not sure, it’s not a cheap upgrade. We can say that when we pull into a Ford Service center the techs seem to appreciate not having to deal with the factory filter either but it’s never lowered the price.

[surferdave]

thanks, John, we ran into bad fuel issues from a pump in Guerro Negro last year that almost left us stranded in the middle of nowhere. Yep, it's pain in that ass to change that filter. The stock design is crap and full of leak-prone areas.

Did you do the pressure relief too

[TomsBeast]

Originally Posted by surferdave

Anyone delete their fuel bowl?

Why do you want to delete yours? Leaks? Do you plan on increasing fuel pressure to the injectors?


Mine leaked pretty bad, so I read up before I took the plunge, and rebuilt mine. I did it while replacing the mechanical fuel pump on my 1995 7.3, the idea was to try to stay as stock as possible, for long trip out of town serviceability. The factory fuel bowl must have 12 possible leak paths, it's thought that low-sulpur fuel is partially to blame, but by now the o-rings are old. It's fairly cheap to rebuild with low sulfur fuel compatible o-rings, if you are so inclined.



Once you remove the fuel bowl from the valley, replacing o-rings and a broken plastic drain valve, cleaning sediment from the heater element bowl and fuel inlet screen, replacing the plastic regulator is a straightforward 2 hour benchtop job.



Fuel bowl delete used to be real common when there were more 7.3's in service, the truck guys often wanted to 'turn up the wick' with more fuel delivery for more performance. The fuel bowl is known to be a performance bottleneck, with it's non-adjustable fuel pressure regulator. No way to increase pressure. And there's no sense installing bigger injectors if you can't supply them with additional fuel volume.

[surferdave]

Hey Tom
the main reason for deleting is easy access to the fuel filters, better fuel filters, and eliminationing all those leak points. Due to our travels, I want to keep as close to stock as possible but this setup is still very serviceable in fact easier to serivece. Not looking to change injectors or anything but have it read there is a noticeable performance increase and better mileage which at almost $7 p/g in cali every bit helps

[JohnandMandi]

Originally Posted by surferdave

thanks, John, we ran into bad fuel issues from a pump in Guerro Negro last year that almost left us stranded in the middle of nowhere. Yep, it's pain in that ass to change that filter. The stock design is crap and full of leak-prone areas.

Did you do the pressure relief too

Great question, we don’t know since Ujoint did the job according to how they had done other 7.3 vans at that time. They did install a fuel pressure gauge that routes from the old fuel bowl location but honestly it’s not the most useful since it’s under the hood. Great when troubleshooting while stationary but no real way to monitor while in motion unless we install some kind of light and wireless camera. We know why it shouldn’t be in the cab but if it had a little play we could rig it out the gap at the back of the hood and use a gopro on the windshield or hood to view it in real time if needed. Probably the juice isn’t worth the squeeze but comparing the physical gauge to the computer would be nice.

We’re particular about our air box, we happened upon a brand new one years ago, so not having the techs remove it or even change the air filters has kept it perfect. Our original one had a broken tab and when we originally had the van serviced the techs would either not reinstall the filter cover properly or crack/brake the tab(s) or their slots. We bought the new air box and instruct the techs to not touch it. We have to supply our own fuel filters so the techs have to get them from me so I cover exactly what we want and don’t want performed. Only issue is, with two filters, the system cannot be primed from the fuel pump. The fuel filters must be filled with diesel before being installed. If we only had one with a water separator it could be primed as normal.

[1der]

When we did our swap to Aerotanks 4x4 compatible diesel tank Jake recommended adding a frame mounted filter. He said change the top o' the block filter once and then just deal w the frame mount filter /separator. That allowed us to keep all the stock stuff (pre heater/sensors, etc.) at the fuel bowl.

We have been running that set up for 60k mi without any issue, including a month in Baja.

If I had to do this again I would probably do a dual filter setup mounted on the frame and run a finer filter in the second position that matches the engine mounted filtering spec.

[surferdave]

interesting that you kept the old bowl. I may do a hybrid too. I think first I will do the dual filters on the frame and then eventually delete the bowl altogether. I have heard of guys filling the bowl with marbles when running the setup you have. seems kind of scary in case one breaks. This is a great article
https://expeditionportal.com/forum/t...-3-van.145717/

[TomsBeast]

Originally Posted by surferdave

interesting that you kept the old bowl. I may do a hybrid too. I think first I will do the dual filters on the frame and then eventually delete the bowl altogether.

There's a way to install a pre-filter on the frame, 20u size maybe, and keep all the stock stuff. Course enough to not restrict fuel flow, a known killer of injectors, but small enough to catch 'the big stuff', tank flakes, sediment from Baja pumps, before it gets to your valley filter. This should extend the service life, and reduce the service interval of the factory valley filter, which yeah, is a PITA to replace in a van.


The dual filter set ups require a guy to really take the plunge, which from my point of view, is not a bad way to go, it's just no the path I chose.



Just know that moving the fuel filter to the frame rail doesn't eliminate valley leaks. The HPOP itself, oil line connections, the oil pressure actuated cold start flapper on the turbo (a super common leak), the cross over lines, HPOP oil port plugs in the heads, are all potential (often realized) leak paths that pool in the valley. Heck, I bet if I spill a Pepsi in my cupholder, that winds up in the valley as well! (kidding) Any fluid collecting in the valley pools and stinks at run temperature, then flows out the valley drain hole on the passenger side rear corner the block, exiting out the bottom and looks as though you have a rear main seal leak.



The folks at International were not as brain dead as some mechanics think; They put everything that will eventually leak, in the valley. Then gave the valley a drain for oil and fuel leaks to dribble onto the ground in a controlled manner.



My only real complaint is the valley can hold a couple cups of fluid behind dams, before the level is high enough to find the drain hole and exit under the vehicle. It makes the cabin stink like Diesel and motor oil until you fix the leak(s) At least a small eventual leak doesn't dribble oil or fuel onto the exhaust manifolds or hot side of the turbocharger turning our vans into a 'mosquito abatement device' or dribble down the sides of the engine ruining the engine mounts.


I just realized I know entirely too much about this topic, LOL