TIL I was ruining my injectors by skipping the filter change every other oil change

I been running a 2007 Cummins for years. Always did oil changes myself every 5k miles like clockwork. But I only changed the fuel filter like every 30k miles cause the manual said that was fine. Last month I had a injector start knocking real bad on a job site out near Bakersfield. Took it to a shop and the guy pulls the old filter and it was nasty. Like black goo nasty. He said I been starving my injectors of clean fuel this whole time and that's probably what killed the injector. Now I'm out $1200 for a new injector and labor cause I was cheap on filters. Who else just does oil and ignores the fuel filter until something breaks?

2 comments

2 Comments

victorross3d ago

Man, that's rough. A buddy of mine ran a Duramax for years and he was the same way, figure the fuel filter was a "when it starts running bad" kind of deal. He actually drove a couple hundred miles once with a died filter he tried to clean out with some shop rags and brake cleaner because he didn't want to stop at a parts store. Ended up having to get the whole truck towed halfway across the state when the injectors started to misfire and the thing just died on a side road. He still jokes about it but I know it cost him close to what you paid.

emmag402d ago

I read somewhere that those Duramax injectors are REALLY sensitive to dirty fuel, so that cleaning trick was basically asking for trouble. The common rail system on those engines doesn't forgive any little bits of debris getting through. A tow bill plus new injectors makes a $50 fuel filter look like pocket change.