# Water in fuel gen 2



## Barry Allen (Apr 18, 2018)

There is a drain on the bottom of the fuel filter housing. You can unscrew the drain to let out any water captured in the fuel filter housing.

Buy fuel from better locations. You are getting garbage fuel if you are repeatedly getting that message.


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## oregon_rider (Jul 21, 2017)

It is common on diesels that sit for a long time. 

The algae thrives on the boundary layer between the water in your fuel and the diesel fuel. So as Barry said - buy better fuel from a high volume station and keep your tank full to avoid condensation inside the tank.

In rigs with larger fuel tanks they will polish the fuel. An external machine is hooked to the fuel lines and recirculates the fuel many times through external filters to clean the fuel.

If the severity is low you can use a fuel additive called a biocide to kill the algae. 

Bio Kleen Diesel Fuel Biocide - Power Service

How much fuel is in the tank right now? 

If it is severe - You might want them to drain the tank if it's only a couple of gallons. Then fill and treat with biocide. Use stanadyne performance formula to improve water separation along with a biocide to kill the microbes in the tank.

I would change the fuel filter after you get things cleaned up.

Jeff


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## Barry Allen (Apr 18, 2018)

Algae requires sunlight. Inside your fuel tank is pitch black. There is no algae growing in your fuel.

You can get MICROBES in your fuel that need water to grow, but microbes in the fuel do not cause the WIF warning to come on.

Treat your current vehicle with this: Bio Kleen Diesel Fuel Biocide - Power Service

Do this for a couple tanks of fuel, and promptly change your fuel filter.


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## MRO1791 (Sep 2, 2016)

Good advice already posted above.. Yes, micro-organisms do grow and thrive in various oils, diesel included. They just need a bit of water, and food (diesel), and you have a problem. They can be difficult to remove and the sooner you take action the better.. and expect many filter replacements in the process. Better fuel is a start going forward, as well as keeping you tank full during long periods of storage.. this is true for all vehicles, gas included (for gas a fuel stabilizer is recommended as well.. longer story on that).. a partly full tank has an air volume that expands and contracts with temperture changes from day to night, which exchanges the air in the tank, and brings in moisture from the air, that condenses.. and you have water building up in the tank.. not good. Once I had to clean out a diesel tank on a boat that had been stored for years.. the contents looked more like pea soup than any fuel I've ever seen.. that is the massive build-up of these micro-organisms that feed on the oil in the tank... oh, and they often produce waste by-products that have been known to attack even CU-NI piping, sometimes called metal eating bacteria (thought they don't eat the metal, the strong acid waste they produce from eating the oil is what attacks the metals). 

Basically, do something about this and don't let it fester, or it can become far worse than it has been thus far.


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## Diablozoe (Sep 24, 2016)

Thanks for the info. As I stated this is my 2nd cruze diesel and my 5th diesel vehicle. I’ve used the same filling stations for all vehicles. A shell station and a truck stop behind where I live. Sure I could have got a bad batch of fuel. The car does not sit at all. I purchased in early 2018 and I’ve got over 34,000 on it. Fuel filters have been changed when it was required. I’m just not understanding why this vehicle has this issue and no others do. Other then the cruzes my trucks sit for long periods of time. But algae in the tank will definitely give off this MIL code? And why do is it intermittent? It will show up, then not again for months. I did use a bio kleen biocide. Is the fuel filter easy to get at?


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## MRO1791 (Sep 2, 2016)

Diablozoe said:


> Thanks for the info. As I stated this is my 2nd cruze diesel and my 5th diesel vehicle. I’ve used the same filling stations for all vehicles. A shell station and a truck stop behind where I live. Sure I could have got a bad batch of fuel. The car does not sit at all. I purchased in early 2018 and I’ve got over 34,000 on it. Fuel filters have been changed when it was required. I’m just not understanding why this vehicle has this issue and no others do. Other then the cruzes my trucks sit for long periods of time. But algae in the tank will definitely give off this MIL code? And why do is it intermittent? It will show up, then not again for months. I did use a bio kleen biocide. Is the fuel filter easy to get at?


The fuel filter is under the car, just forward of the driver side rear tire, by the fuel tank. There are several threads on issues with removal of that fuel filter, be sure to read up on that. If it is not too tight, it's pretty easy, but if it won't budge, it can be a bit tricky, but not too crazy. The same filter housing as Gen 1, but Gen 1 is on the passenger side rather than driver side. Otherwise basically the same. Also, apparantly uses the same filter as the newer Duramax full size trucks, but a much longer change interval..


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