metal in filter housing

[CAdiesel]

Any thoughts on how I could get little flakes of what seem like aluminum (they're not magnetic) in the filter housing. My thoughts are the lift pump ate itself. Unfortunately I didn't notice them when I replaced the filter and it seems like they got into some if not all of my injectors. Causing at least one to overheat and melt the glowplug.

[grancito]

A glow plug will only melt from electric burn out, a sign of a bad plug, unless they all burn out, meaning over timed, had that on my 1982. When I bought the GMC truck, it came with fine aluminium flakes in the fuel system. It was dropped off for me to collect, and it would not run. The flakes got through the filter and jammed the IP, which had to be replaced, the injectors were not affected. I cleaned the filter housing with rag, replaced the filter and put an extra filter in the line, got the unit from a marine supply. I recently had the fuel tank out and open, the flakes are in there, I have no idea where they came from. I hope this helps your mystery.

[CAdiesel]

Thanks Grant. I did add a filter after the factory one. Looks like I’ll be dropping my tank soon to investigate.

[grancito]

You will need help to hold the tank, even empty it will be heavy. It is bigger than my truck tank, that is heavy, I used the transmission jack, and did the job without help. Clean the end of the filter sock if it has a relief valve, mine was plugged with the flakes, seems like the sock blocked, so the fuel bypassed through it.

[CAdiesel]

So I haven't dropped the tank yet, not really looking forward to or in a hurry.

Right now I'm trying to flush the IP. It seems like the flakes didn't plug it up because it ran before tearing into it. The reason I took it apart is because it was smoking pretty bad. Took the injectors apart and found one that was plugged with metal flakes but all the rest were clean, at least visually. Back to flushing the IP... I have everything hooked up except the hard lines and return lines are not connected to the injectors. I have clear tubing to direct the spray from the engine so when I crank it over I get no fuel out the injector lines. I have bled the air out of the stock filter and run fuel through the secondary filter. What am I missing?

[grancito]

While reading your post, in which the wording has me confused, it did give me a brain wave, as to where the flakes are coming from, and as in both our cases, not stopped by the filter, but are in the tank. They are made in the IP, and go through the return line to the tank. The first stage of the IP is a vane pump, I wonder what the cylinder is made of. I think I understand what you are doing and can't think of why there is no injection. I am going to look for the phone number of the supplier of my IP, he was helpful and may be able to answer the aluminium flake mystery.