Water in Diesel Check

Plane Fixer · Unread post by **Plane Fixer** » 22 Jan 2006, 21:25

Now this isn't really a problem, I'm just checking to see what other people have found. Since buying my ZX TD Estate many moons ago, I have stuck to the maintenance schedule (as shown in the Citroën maintenance paperwork) and have been checking the Diesel every 6000 miles for any water by bleeding the Fuel filter. I bought the car at 56000 and it is now just coming up for 144000 and I have never found any water in the Diesel. Am I just lucky? Do other people actually bother checking? Am I just wasting my time (and Diesel) by bothering to check this every time I service the car? I was thinking of just checking this when I change the Fuel filter (every 18000). Any opinions on this??

Unread post by **CitroJim** » 22 Jan 2006, 21:40

On all the Diesel Pugs and Cits I've owned (5) I have had the water in diesel lamp come on many times intermittently and have beld through the system regularly and like you, I have never seen an actual bubble of water in the diesel so bled out. I change the fuel filter twice a year and always clean the bowl right out and again have never found a trace of water.

I think it takes only a tiny bit of water to make the light illuminate as it works on the principle that diesel is an insularor whilst water conducts electricity. I guess a tiny sliver of metal or other conductive impurity could do much the same.

Is your lamp coming on at all? If it is than a regular bleed does no harm although I reckon about 20 miles-worth of diesel is lost each time!

AndersDK · Unread post by **AndersDK** » 22 Jan 2006, 22:32

On my second BX diesel (this being a turbo). Although BX diesels are earlier in design and do not have a sensor/lamp for water in the fuel - I have never bothered doing the water removal procedure.

I've never had a problem with water in diesel fuel - despite the rather large temp differences over the year here abouts.

Just lucky ? Naahh - seems in general that water in diesel fuel is no more that big a problem it used to be (knock woods).

Unread post by **Peter.N.** » 22 Jan 2006, 23:29

In the days when I ran Perkins 4/108 diesels and had my own fuel supply/pump, I regularly had sufficient water in my fuel system to stop the engine! That was before I found that a blanking plate on the top of the storage tank didn't have a gasket under it and every time it rained hard I got a gallon or two of water in the fuel. The engines used a CAV, DPA pump which seemed to be little affected by the water apart from the throttle sticking as the fuel control valve rusted, once the water had been removed it recovered quite quickly. Eventually the filter would fill with water, preventing the passage of fuel and the engine would stop.

That was then. When I had my first BX the front bearing failed on the pump due to water ingress, but strangly, since then I have rarely found any water in the system. I dont think the modern pumps are as water resistant! I think the Bosch are better than the CAV, but I dont think a common rail system would handle it very well.

Insect · Unread post by **Insect** » 23 Jan 2006, 12:14

I've had my ZX TD for 8 years, and in that time I've only changed the fuel filter once, and checked for water in the fuel twice (both negative). I've never had any problems and the filter change was just because I began to feel guilty about leaving it! My experience therefore is like yours. I suspect that most fuel these days is fairly clean and you'd have to be unlucky in getting a tankful of dregs at a filling station before any problem showed up.