for older duramax owners

[lostcause]

on the duramax engines there is a hand pump built into the fuel filter housing to pump up and bleed the system after filter changes. the beveled edge seal rings on mine started getting bad a couple years ago and it was nearly impossible to pump up the system. this is a non-serviceable part from gm, and to buy the whole housing it was something like $638 if i remember correctly - it included the housing/pre-heater/pump, new filter, and water sensor unit. needless to say, i had no interest in paying this price, so i've used a mityvac hand pump attached to the bleeder screw hole to pull the fuel for my filter changes since then. once i had the filter and the supply line filled with fuel the built in pump was strong enough to finish pressurizing the system.

i did a search for the seals a couple years ago and didn't find anyone with a drop-in replacement part. apparently i wasn't alone with the problem though - there were lots of people with the same problem. just recently i checked ebay for fuel filters and i saw ads selling hand pump seal kits for $10-$20. i don't know when they started selling them, but i have checked filter prices occasionally, and never noticed them until now. i plan on grabbing one soon to try out. i just figured i'd post in case there was anyone like me here who had issues with the hand pump and didn't want to replace the housing. $20 is worth a gamble to see if it will work.

 

[Diamondpilot]

on the duramax engines there is a hand pump built into the fuel filter housing to pump up and bleed the system after filter changes. the beveled edge seal rings on mine started getting bad a couple years ago and it was nearly impossible to pump up the system. this is a non-serviceable part from gm, and to buy the whole housing it was something like $638 if i remember correctly - it included the housing/pre-heater/pump, new filter, and water sensor unit. needless to say, i had no interest in paying this price, so i've used a mityvac hand pump attached to the bleeder screw hole to pull the fuel for my filter changes since then. once i had the filter and the supply line filled with fuel the built in pump was strong enough to finish pressurizing the system.

i did a search for the seals a couple years ago and didn't find anyone with a drop-in replacement part. apparently i wasn't alone with the problem though - there were lots of people with the same problem. just recently i checked ebay for fuel filters and i saw ads selling hand pump seal kits for $10-$20. i don't know when they started selling them, but i have checked filter prices occasionally, and never noticed them until now. i plan on grabbing one soon to try out. i just figured i'd post in case there was anyone like me here who had issues with the hand pump and didn't want to replace the housing. $20 is worth a gamble to see if it will work.

Also while you are at it the make a mid for the cheap plastic bleeder screw. I did it to my neighbors 07 after to started leaking and losing prime.

I also just did a mod to the poorly placed oil drain plug. I got a valve with a short hose that prevents oil from running all over the cross member that hangs down so low and the skid plate. Makes changes a breeze and no more 20 minute mess to take care of.

Chris

 

[lostcause]

Also while you are at it the make a mid for the cheap plastic bleeder screw. I did it to my neighbors 07 after to started leaking and losing prime.

I also just did a mod to the poorly placed oil drain plug. I got a valve with a short hose that prevents oil from running all over the cross member that hangs down so low and the skid plate. Makes changes a breeze and no more 20 minute mess to take care of.

Chris

good to mention that... i forgot about it because i bought a new bleeder screw last year - the previous owners had it serviced by someone who had chowdered the plug up pretty badly. the built in screwdriver slot was nearly worn off and the rest of the screw wasn't much better. when you say "cheap" you're certainly referring to the quality of the part and not the price. i needed it right then, and the price from a gm dealer was about $14. i'm sure they are cheaper over the internet, but i was doing a filter change right then and didn't want to wait.

as far as oil changes, i do that truck about once a year due to minimal use, so i can't even remember the drain pattern. i can say that my 6.0 is equally well placed - when you pull the plug it drains all over the head pipe. once the flow slows down it drains the other way and starts to fill up on the skid plate. it's got to be a feature of gm engineering because my older 5.7's had the filter right over the front drive shaft universal so the oil drained down through when you pulled the filter.

i guess they all have quirks. i know someone who recently had to replace rear a shaft universal in a ford. the joint was staked in, and aside from the hassle of even finding the joint the cost was about 3x the price of any other universal and replacing it also resulted in a snapped yoke.

 

[bdeboer]

Merchant Automotive has metal replacement screws for the bleeder. I replaced the on my 2008 with this.

Merchant Automotive : Duramax and Allison Specialists - Duramax Truck LMM 2007.5 - 2010 VIN Code "6" ____________________________

They also have had link in their emails to a youtube video on rebuilding the filter housing. I haven't actually watched it though.

 

[Diamondpilot]

Yes, I was referring to the fact a service part is plastic. Some plastic is ok but one that required a screw driver is never going to last.

I remember my Dodge 2500 had rubber stoppers instead of metal screw on plugs in the diff sight plugs. Granted, no pressure but I would have gladly paid a few dollars more for real plugs.

Chris