How Difficult Is It To Change The Fuel Filters?

Goose55 · May 1, 2023

My 3500 is coming up soon to have the fuel filters changed. Seems the dealership wants quite a bit to do this. How difficult is it to do this myself?

stevenP · May 1, 2023

I know the dealers here want like $450 to do it. And the OEM filters are only around $200 for both of them. I did mine on the GEN4 truck I had. It wasnt that bad, little messy with some dripping fuel. I know these Gen5 trucks use the same front filter cartridge as the gen4 trucks did, but the rear is no longer a canister. Its now a cartridge type filter from what I see. The only thing I would suggest is there is a special socket to remove..and reseat the front filters housings plastic top cover that is very much a must. I almost stripped mine out, on re-assembly w/o that socket.

My dealer told me that I could run the percentage down to pretty much zero, before changing. I did mine at like 20%.

jejb · May 2, 2023

Not hard at all, with the right tools, as StevenP says. I just put an oil pan below the rear one to catch the fuel that spills out once loosened. I'd never pay anyone to change them personally.

Fake-Account27 · May 2, 2023

I have a 2018 Cummins and the fuel filters are easier to change then the oil. The filter in the engine bay is very easy to get to, and the one in the rear is above the drive shaft.

There are plenty of very good youtube videos out there showing you how to do it. I buy mopar filters on amazon.

Dean2 · May 2, 2023

Suggest you buy your filters from Mopar direct. There have been a ton of counterfeit filters being sold on Amazon and they have caused a lot of issues for those that bought them. Just one of the threads I remember reading about that. Also, my suggestion is stick to OEM, everything I read by folks that did a bunch of research comes outwith that recommendation.

Starts then dies right after

The other giveaway, see your rolled edge at the top of the filter? Yours is unpainted bare metal silver. Mopar filters are painted as seen below.

www.ramforum.com

Oil Filter Fail

I did my first oil change on my 2020 ram eco-diesel. I immediately got random low oil pressure warnings. The filter I used was Mopar OEM 68507598AA. Based on another forum post, I took it off, threw it away, and put one on from the dealership. Now, everything is OK!

www.ramforum.com

Choupique · May 2, 2023

It's not horribly difficult to do. It's tricky to do without getting diesel all over yourself because the water separator is high up under the bed.

crash68 · May 2, 2023

The +'19 HD trucks use the same rear filter as the EcoDiesel.
Use a gallon size ZipLoc freezer bag to remove the rear filter into. Just loosen the housing and then slip the bag over and unscrew the housing You can change the filter without dripping fuel all over the place.
The housing removal tool is nice to have but a rubber strap wrench works too

Razzman · May 2, 2023

Last time dealers were low or out of stock, I got OEM filters from Diesel Filters Online - 6.7 LITER DIESEL FUEL FILTERS

jejb · May 3, 2023

I ordered the 3 filter kit for my 22 CTD from Geno's yesterday. All in stock, reasonable price and I know it's genuine Mopar stuff.

chri5k · May 3, 2023

My tips.

The hose on the front filter drain is too short and pours fuel all over the front suspension / steering. I slipped a piece of 3/4" clear plastic tubing over the OEM one and zip tied it to the frame. Now the fuel goes right into the drain pan instead of all over the truck.

The rear filter water drain has a hose barb but no hose. I add a piece of hose to it when changing the filter. The threads on the water drain do leak a bit of fuel but most of it goes down the tube into the drain pan.

Fake-Account27 · May 3, 2023

Dean2 said:
Suggest you buy your filters from Mopar direct. There have been a ton of counterfeit filters being sold on Amazon and they have caused a lot of issues for those that bought them. Just one of the threads I remember reading about that. Also, my suggestion is stick to OEM, everything I read by folks that did a bunch of research comes outwith that recommendation.

Starts then dies right after

The other giveaway, see your rolled edge at the top of the filter? Yours is unpainted bare metal silver. Mopar filters are painted as seen below.

www.ramforum.com

Oil Filter Fail

I did my first oil change on my 2020 ram eco-diesel. I immediately got random low oil pressure warnings. The filter I used was Mopar OEM 68507598AA. Based on another forum post, I took it off, threw it away, and put one on from the dealership. Now, everything is OK!

www.ramforum.com

I had never had an issue on amazon before, but looking at the most recent reviews it seems counterfeiting has become a more recent issue. Shame since they cost twice as much on other sites, but I need this truck to last a long time

djsapr · May 4, 2023

I'm new here - what brought me to the forum was this very issue. Today I paid my dealer $575+ to replace the filters - a job that took less than an hour and $300+ in labor. I was charged $250+ for the filters. Yikes. I am fairly mechanical and have seen some of the YouTube videos so I could probably do the work myself next time. I have ordered stuff from Geno's before so I am comfortable with that, too. My question is this- how essential is it to change the filters so frequently? I'm getting a message for a filter change about every 18,000 miles. I put a lot of miles on my truck (83,000 now) and it seems like this frequency of change is a bit extreme- or is it? I have not looked to see what Geno charges for the filters but surely I could get the fuel filter and water separator for less than the $250 I paid today. Right?

jejb · May 4, 2023

I placed an order from Geno's a couple of days ago for the 3 filter CTD kit. All in with tax and standard shipping is $160. Figure another $70 for the Rotella T6 5-40.

I have the opposite issue you do. I don't put a lot of my miles on my puller every year, but still change everything at the 12 month mark. Figure it's cheap insurance, and I want to stay within the warranty requirements too.

Scottly · May 4, 2023

My local dealer gets $420 for both fuel filters and an oil change. Adding the cost of filters and oil, I'll let their lube rack monkey take the diesel bath on that job...I'll be in the waiting area having a doughnut.

Choupique · May 4, 2023

djsapr said:
My question is this- how essential is it to change the filters so frequently

EXTREMELY IMPORTANT! It's the most important maintenance item on your diesel truck. It's also important to regularly drain the water separator. Water in the fuel system means death for the fuel system, and that is north of $10k repair that warranty will likely not cover. It's less of an immediate failure issue with the CP3 than the CP4, but water will still shave massive amounts of service life off of the HPFP and injectors.

Change them religiously and use OEM filters.

06 Dodge · May 4, 2023

djsapr said:
I'm new here - what brought me to the forum was this very issue. Today I paid my dealer $575+ to replace the filters - a job that took less than an hour and $300+ in labor. I was charged $250+ for the filters. Yikes. I am fairly mechanical and have seen some of the YouTube videos so I could probably do the work myself next time. I have ordered stuff from Geno's before so I am comfortable with that, too. My question is this- how essential is it to change the filters so frequently? I'm getting a message for a filter change about every 18,000 miles. I put a lot of miles on my truck (83,000 now) and it seems like this frequency of change is a bit extreme- or is it? I have not looked to see what Geno charges for the filters but surely I could get the fuel filter and water separator for less than the $250 I paid today. Right?

IIRC owners manual calls for fuel filters to be changed every 12 months or 15K same as the oil unless using more than B5 then OCI is shortened to 12,500 miles, sooner if prompted to by EVIC..

jejb · May 5, 2023

Scottly said:
My local dealer gets $420 for both fuel filters and an oil change. Adding the cost of filters and oil, I'll let their lube rack monkey take the diesel bath on that job...I'll be in the waiting area having a doughnut.

Oh yeah, the oil bath. I always install a valve in the oil pan on the first oil change so I can control the oil coming out. I drain directly into old 5qt oil containers from the last oil change. Very neat/clean way to do it. I've used Fumoto and No-Spill. Both work great.

The Best Quick Oil Drain Plugs - No-Spill Systems

Upgrade to convenience with our Quick Oil Drain Plug – no more messy changes or stripped pans. Effortlessly replaces your existing plug, no special tools needed

nospillsystems.com

Scottly · May 5, 2023

jejb said:
Oh yeah, the oil bath. I always install a valve in the oil pan on the first oil change so I can control the oil coming out. I drain directly into old 5qt oil containers from the last oil change. Very neat/clean way to do it. I've used Fumoto and No-Spill. Both work great.

The Best Quick Oil Drain Plugs - No-Spill Systems

Upgrade to convenience with our Quick Oil Drain Plug – no more messy changes or stripped pans. Effortlessly replaces your existing plug, no special tools needed

nospillsystems.com

I hear what you're saying...But I just don't trust such things.

jejb · May 5, 2023

Scottly said:
I hear what you're saying...But I just don't trust such things.

I understand, although I've never heard of a failure with a Fumoto or No-Spill system. I've been using them since 2001 on my diesels. I'll tolerate the small risk to save $200 on each change.

chri5k · May 5, 2023

Not a fan of the Fumoto for farm / off road truck. Saw one get knocked off by a branch on the farm. All the oil came out pretty quick. I suppose they would be OK for a pavement queen.

The low profile No-Spill valves look interesting. $45 + the drain hose seems a bit pricey to not get a little bit of oil on my hand.

How Difficult Is It To Change The Fuel Filters?

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