fuel issue, algae or bacteria in fuel tank

[Kim Petersen]

we went south for the winter again, Christmas in Dallas, then on to Arizona. after leaving Dallas after Christmas, check engine light came on, lost power, it would maintain 45 mph, 1800 rpm. tho, gauges all read good, engine sounded good, pull over and shut down, when I restarted warning lights were off, it ran normal for a couple of hours, then lost power again. after an emergency roadside mechanic checked engine for us. he changed fuel filter,blew out radiator fins, and recommended a new air filter. This happened on and off the whole trip back home to South Dakota. even spent time in a Caterpillar dealer, replaced boost sensors, and still have issues. especially right after refueling. makes me think bad fuel (we always fuel up at a truck stop) or algae or bacteria in fuel. how can I know and what can be done to clean it, if it is in fact contaminated?
thanks in advance,
I doubt I am the only one who ever had this type of situation.

 

[Eagle5]

Hi Kim,
I have had very good results with Sea Foam. It is good for both gasoline and diesel fuels, but my experience is only with gasoline engines.
Eagle5
P.S. I use it in my main 55 gallon fuel tank, primarily so that my generator runs well. I use one ounce per gallon, so a pretty-much empty tank takes three 16 ounce bottles.

 

[bigb56]

You can cut open a filter and have a look. Microbes in diesel fuel will look like black pepper. Depending on how bad it is, you can treat with a biocide like Biobor JF and keep changing filters till it's better. On the other hand if you have a lot of fuel and it is contaminated badly you can have it cleaned up by a process called "fuel polishing" where they run it through a filtering system and back into your tank. Some creative folks have been known to rig up their own fuel polishing setup.

 

[Morich]

This can be a bad one if you are not able to find a really good shop. Like most problems that are intermittent, it will be difficult to find if it is not doing it at the time the shop is looking.
Old saying? You can't fix it if it's not broke!!

Then there is the problem of finding a real actual good shop, not just one that goes through the motions and sells lots of parts!

If the problem is there when they are looking, there are tools to look at all the parts and each cylinder to tell them which exact one needs work or if it is a problem common to ALL.
But that can go against the idea of just throwing something at the problem and moving on to the next one!
This may be a time to get face to face with the shop foreman, explain the hit and miss factor and ask how they sort the question. If they come back with a ready answer like, "we always change this" and that fixes it, make an excuse and get out of there!
If they are kind of slow on the answer and mention they will have to hook it to a scope, etc. and do some tests, you are closer to the right folks!
If they mention it CAN be hard to sort, they at least do tend to be honest!

 

[Pelledan]

There may be another fuel filter in you system that is typically overlooked. In Winni's 2004-2006 production years the Cummins 5.9L was the base engine of choice. In those years the fuel system used a 104 micron fuel strainer in the fuel line before the fuel went through the primary filter element. That pre-filter was clandestinley located attached to the inside of the passenger frame rail, just above the right rear suspension air bag. It's a small metal cased filter, about 2" in diameter and 3" long. If you have this in your fuel line, it is most likely plugged and is your problem. Dan

 

[Kim Petersen]

There may be another fuel filter in you system that is typically overlooked. In Winni's 2004-2006 production years the Cummins 5.9L was the base engine of choice. In those years the fuel system used a 104 micron fuel strainer in the fuel line before the fuel went through the primary filter element. That pre-filter was clandestinley located attached to the inside of the passenger frame rail, just above the right rear suspension air bag. It's a small metal cased filter, about 2" in diameter and 3" long. If you have this in your fuel line, it is most likely plugged and is your problem. Dan

thanks, I'll look for it, My bus has a Cat engine, but that doesn't mean it won't have this type of fuel strainer.

 

[Retired24]

we went south for the winter again, Christmas in Dallas, then on to Arizona. after leaving Dallas after Christmas, check engine light came on, lost power, it would maintain 45 mph, 1800 rpm. tho, gauges all read good, engine sounded good, pull over and shut down, when I restarted warning lights were off, it ran normal for a couple of hours, then lost power again. after an emergency roadside mechanic checked engine for us. he changed fuel filter,blew out radiator fins, and recommended a new air filter. This happened on and off the whole trip back home to South Dakota. even spent time in a Caterpillar dealer, replaced boost sensors, and still have issues. especially right after refueling. makes me think bad fuel (we always fuel up at a truck stop) or algae or bacteria in fuel. how can I know and what can be done to clean it, if it is in fact contaminated?
thanks in advance,
I doubt I am the only one who ever had this type of situation.

If the check engine light comes on, then after shutting the engine off for awhile ,then on the restart the check engine light is off and engine runs normal for a few hours I doubt you have an algea problem. If the filters are.plugged with algea, shutting the engine off won't change it. You need to have a competent diesel shop hook up to it and find what trouble.codes are.causing the light to come on.
It might be cheaper to pay someone to fix it now then throw parts at it and maybe a tow truck too.