Fuel Filter Leak

[naim32]

Car : Ford Galaxy 1.9TDI yr 2001 (mk2)

 

I have a fuel leak at the fuel filter. It seems to be originating around where the control valve goes into the filter.

The filter was recently changed during a service and this is when it started leaking.

I changed both the o-rings on the control valve but this has made no difference.

 

For the original o-rings there was a blue one and a black one.

Does anyone know what the difference is?

Is it really that important to replace them with exactly the same? I just fitted two black o-rings I had from an o-ring kit.

 

Also the filter has no bracket and is only held in place by the fuel pipes. Is this normal for the galaxy? The pipes seem to vibrate the control valve so I guess any bad fit of the o-rings will be opened up.

 

The filter itself seems to be cheaper afermarket one. Has anyone had any similar problems with these. I'm thinking that maybe the hole where the control valve fits is distorted and this is why the orings are not sealing the join.

 

BTW I have reclamped all the pipes to rule out bad hose connections. There is only fuel on the control valve pipes but I think that this is just coming from the control valve itself.

[Mirez]

On mine the fuel filter sits inside a plastic circular holder (like a drink holder!) which has a nut and bolt to tighten it so the filter is clamped. I would say the O rings are the most likely cause, they need to be able to withstand diesel - but the area they sit needs to be spotlessly clean for a good seal. Where it sits into the filter there is a butterfly clip that holds it in place, I would also examine that and check for slack. If need be "adjust" where the clip locates on the top of the filter.

[insider]

The o-ring material won't really matter. The blue one was probably fluorosilicon but even the usual nitrile o-rings are OK for diesel and certainly wouldn't have degraded in this short a time anyway.

It's more likely to be the fit. Are you certain your o-rings were exactly the same size as the originals?

[naim32]

The o-rings came out of a selection kit.

I picked the nearest match to the originals, the new ones being 2mm thickness.

The older ones looked less than 2mm but I thought that they may just be squashed like worn o-rings.

 

When fitting the valve, it felt like a tight fit, tighter than with the originals. The leakage however seems the same with both the old and new orings.

 

I did a search for the valve on ebay and part of the description said that it was common for these to crack during a filter change. Has anyone experienced this?

 

Also I'm thinking of doing a bodge repair by running a small bead of silicone sealant around the base of the valve to try and seal the gap between the valve and the canister.