PART 1 - 1999 to 2003 ford 7.3L diesel fuel leak interior smell, fuel filter bowl rebuild $save$

Driving my 7.3L diesel moving through the air everything was fine but I began to smell raw fuel smell when I came to a stop with the heat on. The heating system was drawing the fumes right inside.
I discovered a fuel leak. This leak was enough that I also had a drop in mileage. Inspecting for the leak I discovered a puddle of fuel down in the engine valley. It was coming from the bottom of the fuel filter bowl, the water drain valve. It is a tight space so instead of taking half the engine apart I decided to just pull out the fuel filter bowl to rebuild it instead.
It's cheaper to but an entire O-ring kit than it is to buy a new aftermarket water drain valve. The age of the O-rings are the main factor on why it leaked, the O- rings are hard and brittle. The change in the weather, a cold snap they began to leak.
In this video, I'm showing how to remove, repair and rebuild the fuel filter bowl saving big money. This is an easy job that if you take your time should only take a few hours. I hope this helps get back on the road.
Here is a link for where I bought the O-ring kit www.riffraffdie...
Click the link for part 2 at the end of this video. Like, Share and Subscribe because you never know what I'm going to do next.

[@charlesbunyard5267]

Where did you order the kit from please

[@ZeroFuelRequired]

Charles Bunyard these people are great and shipping is quick. www.riffraffdiesel.com/complete-fuel-bowl-seal-kit-99-03/ thanks for the question and good luck.

[@vmoore3263]

Thanks

[@carolynntucker1506]

@@vmoore3263 ⅜

[@scottyvincent]

@@ZeroFuelRequired Clay at RiffRaff is the best!

[@Afishyaknotoh]

I swapped out the o-rings for the separator valve yesterday without removing it and it was a real pain in the shoulder. I wish I would have seen this yesterday. I don't even know why I clicked on it today, but your voice is easy to listen to.

[@ZeroFuelRequired]

Ha ha , thank you for the comment.

[@StevenBlackStallion]

This is happening to my ford excursion 7.3 now. the deal was charging in Orlando no lie 299.08. Your video will save me 280.08. lol THANK YOU. PLEASE KEEP Posting more about the 7.3's

[@ZeroFuelRequired]

I'm glad I could help, there are more videos coming soon. Thank you for the comment.

[@StevenBlackStallion]

Zero Fuel Required I will be here following.

[@bluetwo7282]

Is that $299 to rebuild rings or to replace whole fuel bowl ?

[@ILYMAD66]

Wanted to thank you for your videos on this project. I was to able to change my O rings and get the right parts from riffraff because of you! I hope you getting some kind of something from them because you are increasing there sales. Anyway thank you again my man!

[@ZeroFuelRequired]

Nope I get nothing from RiffRaff. Just like all my videos that's I've made from day one, I make them to help people like you do a project correctly the first time, even if they've never picked up a wrench before. I make money from the KZbin advertisements, that's all. I'm glad my video helped, thank you for the comment.

[@qodebrojames]

Thank you so much for the detailed breakdown of how to remove and replace the drain valve o rings on the 7.3 powerstroke. I recently did the return line from the bowl to the rear of the passenger side head and then the bowl started leaking insanely worse so I'll be tackling that within the next week or 2 thanks to these videos cheers!

[@ZeroFuelRequired]

Riffraff sells the complete o-ring kit and get the Fluorosilicone o-ring for the fuel drain valve. Thanks for the comment and Good luck.

[@mine0002]

nice job of explaining...you're totally right to get all the o-rings at one time

[@cubuffs85]

Excellent video! Originally thought this project would be beyond my skill set but your great tutorial made it very easy, thanks!

[@ZeroFuelRequired]

That's great. I'm glad my video helped. Thanks for the comment.

[@nathankoroush7918]

Just bought my kit, looking forward to getting the leak fixed. Thanks for the videos part 1 and part 2.

[@ZeroFuelRequired]

I'm glad I could help, thank you for the comment.

[@bryantbaecht1579]

Doing mine right now. I broke one of the ears off of my fuel regulator housing, so had to get another. FYI, Oreily's has the Dorman kit ( 904-458 was about $58 ) which includes the 2 o-rings, housing, internal parts, etc, and for kicks and grins, I looked up and Dorman also has the fuel shutoff kit as well ( 904-202 for about $32 ). Rock Auto also has an Ultra-Power one for $24. Good to know if the unthinkable happens!

[@ZeroFuelRequired]

@bryantbaecht1579 I like the fluorosilicone o-rings and hopefully it'll be a long time before I have to rebuild it again. It's good to know the parts are easy to find other places. Thanks for the comment and for the info. Good luck on your project.

[@bryantbaecht1579]

@@ZeroFuelRequired Thank you and thank you for the videos! They are a great source of good info!

[@ZeroFuelRequired]

@@bryantbaecht1579 you're welcome. Thank you for watching.

[@bluetwo7282]

Great video 👍 thanks for fantastic demonstration 🙏

[@mrsmel269]

great video !!! just got this problem on our 2000 we only have about 2000 miles on here sense we picked her up . hope your having a great day

[@ZeroFuelRequired]

I'm glad to help. Follow the video and you'll be back up and running in no time. Riffraff ships the kit very quick. And get the Florosilicone o-rings for the valve And it'll be a long long time before you ever have a problem again with it. Good luck. 😊👍

[@mrsmel269]

@@ZeroFuelRequired thank you its was ordered about 20 min ago ;-)

[@stitchthisditchthat259]

@@mrsmel269 did you fix it?

[@mrsmel269]

@@stitchthisditchthat259 yes i did. been good for 2500 miles . i got a video i just havent posted it mines 1hr + was not hard to do just go slow and take your time

[@blackburd]

This is why I love KZbin. My 7.3l has a huge leak this morning and as soon as I log on I've found a detailed explanation of the job. I would like to talk to the guy that said those bolts have to be 22 inch pounds, not 20 or 21. How do they come up with these numbers?

[@ZeroFuelRequired]

Ha ha you are so right. Well good luck on your repair and in the comments I put the link to riffraff diesel for the o-ring kit I bought. They ship pretty quick. Thanks for the comment.

[@appliancerepairshorts]

Great job. Nice choice of water. Looks like Fiji

[@ZeroFuelRequired]

Oren C yes it is lol. The only water I drink. Thanks for the comment.

[@piewolfe]

I've read Fiji can cure Autism in children... Magic Healing Waters ?

[@user-sk9hl7si7l]

such a bullshit lmao.well marketed overpriced H20

[@donaldburgess3591]

Excellent video. Very well done.

[@jrwalker1048]

Great video

[@ZeroFuelRequired]

Thank you for the comment.

[@toddb930]

Thanks for the awesome video! Hope you don't mind my asking, but what part of the country are you located? There's just a slight accent I can't place.

[@ZeroFuelRequired]

Haha I'm in South Jersey. Near the very bottom below Atlantic City.

[@8082Speed]

Where did you get your engine cover? This is a great video by the way. I’m rebuilding mine this afternoon.

[@ZeroFuelRequired]

The engine cover is factory for a 2000 Excursion and most of the F-series trucks with a 7.3 a lot of people throw them away because it's one more thing to removed when changing fuel filter or working on something else on the top side of the engine. You can probably find one dirt cheap. Thank you for the question, I hope this answers it. Good luck on the rebuild.

[@piewolfe]

The yellow gunk @17:34 might be a silicone based lubricant. It never dries out and it doesn't react to plastics or rubber. We used it in lab testing materials at over 600 deg F.

[@ZeroFuelRequired]

piewolfe it may be. 17 years in a vehicle in diesel fuel it caked on all the surfaces. When scraped off it flaked, so it dried somewhat of that is what it is. I thought it could be some kind of residue left over from diesel fuel itself. Your explanation makes more sense.

[@piewolfe]

The plug @7:48 seems to also be dual purpose, fuel heater and water in fuel sensor.

[@ZeroFuelRequired]

piewolfe yes it is water in fuel sensor and part of the fuel heater. Just hope it never goes bad, it's almost $100 for that one sensor.

[@willieg8224]

Awesome video! Thanks

[@ZeroFuelRequired]

I'm glad I could help. Thank you for the comment.

[@matthewchapman3507]

I’m having the same problem on my 97 power stroke, but I was told it could probably be just the valve. My question is... I know this video is titled “1999 to 2003” but the process is basically the same for the 97’s right?

[@ZeroFuelRequired]

The fuel bowl is different and valve is basically the same but longer. Rebuilding the whole fuel bowl is similar. I'm sure there are videos for a rebuild for 97s on youtube if you need it. There's plenty of places to get the kits. I buy from riffraff. Here's riffraff for your truck. www.riffraffdiesel.com/fuel-system-o-rings-sleeves-hoses/ get the Fluorosilicone for your drain valve they are extra insurance. Or you can get your rebuild from www.dieselorings.com/1994-1998-ford-7-3l/fuel-bowl-parts.html they are both good companies to buy from and ship them quick. I hope this helps and thanks for the question.

[@matthewchapman3507]

Awesome! Will this kit also include the paper that you have in the video? Or did you get that separately somewhere else

[@ZeroFuelRequired]

@@matthewchapman3507 yes it should have the paper to identify the o-rings.

[@jrwalker1048]

Thank you!

[@iowareddneck]

Thanks

[@carlosjimenezcedano1753]

Muy buenos videos grasias

[@austinscott3476]

How do I find that rubber line to drain into a catch pan I can’t seem to find mine, sounds stupid but I just got the opportunity to get my dads truck and all I have to do is fix the leak and don’t have the funds to have a mechanic to do it for me.

[@ZeroFuelRequired]

There is a possibility if you can't find the line someone removed it. But if you go to 11:14 in the video you can see I'm pointing at the drain valve. It's usually the reason for fuel bowl leaks. In the video I'm pointing at the bottom of the valve there the outlet you would have a rubber drain line hooked to. So if you are standing in front of the truck looking at the fuel bowl, on the back left side you'll see a the little yellow handle that opens and closes the valve. Follow that yellow handle down and you should see the outlet where the rubber hose is hooked up. If the hose isn't there you're going to need to get about a 4 ft length of fuel hose to hook it up and run it down the front of the engine to the crossmember. If the hose is hooked up to the drain valve you should be able to follow it down the front of the engine to the end of it. I hope this helps. Follow my video step by step and you'll have no problem rebuilding the fuel bowl to stop your leak. If that is where it's coming from. In the comments I've given the link to riffraff diesel for their fuel bowl o-ring rebuild kit. It's very inexpensive through them and you'll have it in a few days. I hope this helps, if you've got any other questions hit me up. Thanks for the question.

[@austinscott3476]

Zero Fuel Required thank you so much

[@ZeroFuelRequired]

@@austinscott3476 depending on the year of your truck here is the link for the o-ring kit. www.riffraffdiesel.com/complete-fuel-bowl-seal-kit-99-03/ they have parts for all years of Ford trucks. They are a great company and the only ones I know of that sells the o-rinds as a kit like this. Ford dealers you could spend almost $100 to get all the o-rings to rebuild the fuel bowl and you don't even want to know the cost from them to do the work lol. Check out my other videos for the Ford trucks, especially my oil change video it'll save you money and show how to do it right. The 7.3L engine is one of the best, a towing beast. If taken care of it can easily last a 1 million miles. They are not an engine you can just run and run and not maintain. Maintenance is the key to longevity but once you know what your doing you could have the truck for life. If your truck is an automatic transmission towing & heat is your enemy. Upgrading the transmission cooler and large volume mag hytec transmission pan is a big help. That would be a future project. There are many things you can do to make it better but get the truck and get it running and get some use out if it. The 7.3 trucks hold their value. I hope this helps and good luck.

[@Jennyfuz69]

@@ZeroFuelRequired hey! I'm working on an E350 van with a 7.3L engine. I can't seem to find any videos with that. Will this process work for an e350 not an F350?

[@ZeroFuelRequired]

@@Jennyfuz69 the fuel filter bowl assembly on the 7.3 should be pretty much the be same 2000 thru 2003. F250 F350 E250 E350.

[@kieran8720]

My valve won’t even drip lol. Doing the rebuild myself this week amongst other things.

[@pitbull62]

the wrapper in your video shows dieselorings.com along with part numbers. i looked them up theyre about $6.50 as you said. the link to riffraff has similar but different part numbers and are $3.50 and not blue silicone. please advise i need to do this. i have fuel in my valley and leaking down by the engine/tranny union. thanks! ... the blue are said to be milspec

[@ZeroFuelRequired]

Regular o-rings come in the fuel bowl kit. The Fluorosilicone o-rings are extra because they are better. Here's their link at riffraffdiesel 2000 thru 2003 7.3 www.riffraffdiesel.com/fluorosilicone-drain-valve-orings-set/ I hope this helps. Let me know how you make out.

[@miami8089]

My 2017 is also leaking. Just noticed it. Is it safe to drive it 5-10 miles to the dealership?

[@ZeroFuelRequired]

I'm not familiar with 2017 leak, Is it diesel? How bad is it leaking, a slow drip drip your probably ok, Diesel is hard to ignite without being atomized. If it's leaking fast like a steady stream of fuel, you probably shouldn't drive it you'll leak all your fuel out before you get there.. get it towed. And The cost of fuel ⛽️ nowadays 🤮 lol. If it's gasoline don't drive it with a leak get it towed. Thanks for the question, good luck.

[@miami8089]

@@ZeroFuelRequired Thank you for responding. It’s a diesel and its small leak. I actually took it to Ford this morning and they said the actual fuel filter is leaking and will need to replace it. They’re charging $200 total. I figured this time I’ll let them do it, and next time I can do it myself. Thanks again.

[@ZeroFuelRequired]

@Miami 808 that's not that bad. Lately ford has been very reasonable on their prices. Normally I do 100% of all the work on my vehicles. My wife's 2016 explorer I took to ford for recalls, I figured get a price for trans fluid and filter change and rotate the tires. They said about $300. The Motorcraft LV trans fluid the cheapest I could buy it was $8.99. It was going to cost me $150 for fluid and filter alone before labor. I said do it. When we picked it up they charged me $237 for everything. It was very reasonable for a trans flush, fluid, filter and tire rotation. I looked at the bill and the charged me $4.25 per quart of LV fluid for 18 quarts and the cheapest I could get it was $8.99. I'll do the next trans service myself if I can fluid cheaper. If not, I'll let Ford do the next service too. Glad you got it figured out and thanks for the question.

[@bluetwo7282]

How often to change transmission fluid and is yours a diesel ? Thanks 👍 great info 🙏

[@miami8089]

@@bluetwo7282 That's a good question. How often should we change the transmission fluid? My truck has 44,000 miles and I haven't changed it yet.

[@tedenderpalmer6550]

Fluorosilicone o-rings are soft not the best for durability on moving parts, that shear, shred, I'd use 735 fluorocarbon. With that said I bet it's an improvement from stock.

[@ZeroFuelRequired]

The only Fluorosilicone o-rings installed in the fuel bowl are the two compressed between the drain valve and fuel bowl. There are no moving parts where they are compressed and it's a very common spot for fuel bowl leakage. Definitely an improvement over stock. I hope this clarifies this and thanks for the comment.

[@vmoore3263]

Ted Where is your video..........?????????

[@robbiefryhling5063]

What degreaser do you use on your engine?

[@ZeroFuelRequired]

I've used gunk foamy degreaser and power washer on the engine top to bottom. Smaller parts like the fuel bowl I used small amounts of lacquer thinner in a bowl or Tupperware with stiff paint brush, gloves and in well ventilated area. No open flames or anything that could create a spark, I don't want to become a fireball. I hope this answers your question.

[@bluetwo7282]

Isn't diesel difficult to ignite ?

[@jamesspalten5977]

I'm surprised you don't use nitrile gloves.

[@ZeroFuelRequired]

I tried years ago to use blue Nitrile, they break too easy, I tried hospital grade purple and mechanic grade black. They all break to easy. Nitrile break down way too fast when using chemicals like lacquer thinner and acetone, Latex break down also using chemicals but last longer. I've used the latex diamond grip over and over till they break. Diamond grip are my "go to" for gloves for years now. Thanks for the comment.