I'm going to put down what I know and my opinions. I'm sure others may share theirs and correct anything I got wrong.

CP4s do not like low quality fuel, air, water, DEF, and bad luck. This is because it uses the incoming fuel to lubricate itself before pressurizing that same fuel to send to the injectors. When the CP4 encounters any of these things it creates excessive wear or damage creating metal "glitter" that it sends to the injectors ruining them as well and contaminating the entire fuel system making the whole ordeal very expensive. Disaster prevention kits separate the lubricating fuel from the pressurizing and injecting fuel and generally filter before the fuel cooler to contain the metal shavings. In theory this means only the CP4 needs replaced rather than the entire fuel system (in essence).
Here's the thing though. That only helps after a failure and only prevents your bad day from getting worse. It also doesn't prevent water, bad fuel, or DEF from getting to your injectors. These things can and will still wreck injectors meaning the disaster prevention kit didn't save you like you thought it would.
A step beyond this is replacing the failure prone CP4 with the DCR from S&S. This pump appears to be more robust meaning it won't fail as often, but it also will send bad fuel to the injectors without a care in the world. It isn't compatible with the disaster prevention kit except for the return side filter.

So in order of magnitude of how to prevent fuel system failure in my opinion:
1. Buy fuel from a quality station, drain your water out of your separator regularly, change your fuel filters regularly and correctly with quality filters, be sure to prime your fuel system well before starting, and pay attention and don't put the DEF nozzle where it doesn't belong (you're ahead of this one).
2. Use a fuel additive that separates or disperses water, is not alcohol based, and raises cetane.
3. Add to or upgrade your fuel filtration ahead of the CP4.
4. Add a disaster prevention kit and/or replace the CP4 with a DCR.

 

We have a big diesel shop in my little hometown. I talked to the owner directly earlier this summer. I also went into the shop area and talked to a couple of technicians one day when the owner wasn't there. I wanted to get a feel for how common these fuel system failures really are. Everybody I talked to said the same thing; they see more emissions failures than fuel system failures. They recommended deleting for reliability/dependability and leave the fuel system alone. Said to keep the fuel filters changed regularly, watch where I get fuel, and roll on.

In the end I elected to have them install the S&S disaster kit anyway, and here's why: IF the fuel system fails without one it's a $12k to $15k repair bill. It's not the same situation as if a thermostat goes bad or a MAP sensor goes bad and you're out $100 bucks. Nope, if this fuel pump fails you're going to cry when you get that $15k invoice. It's just NOT worth the risk. Put the disaster prevention kit on the truck and eliminate that fear. If the pump does go it's only a new pump now. Much easier to swallow. Maybe the CP4 will live forever. But if it doesn't.....

 

Much of what I read in this thread is incorrect.

See the diagram. The dpk ONLY filters the return line back to the tank, nothing more. You are not going to filter the high pressure side before the injectors, think about it. If your cp4 goes out(and grenades), you will need to replace the injectors, rail, lines, and pump. What this does for you, is allows for you to get in and out of the shop in 1 day for about 7-8k-ish.

No removing the cab to replace the hard lines, no dropping tank to clean, etc. The pulling of the cab is difficult and time consuming. You are cutting your bill in half, for a $400 kit.

If you want to look closer, search s&s dpk on Google images. I wish it did more, I really do. But in reality, you cannot stop metal shavings from the pump from reaching your rail or injectors. And btw, you never need to change the filter unless you have a grenade event. I changed mine once like an idiot. Then someone brought it to my attention that the fuel has already been filtered twice to a low micron level. The Donaldson filter will not be filtering anything on a daily basis.

 

I did the Gen 2 kit on my 19 f450. Like it because it prevents with filters on both sides of pump. Statistically the issues are pretty few and far between but high enough to be concerning like 5-10% I think. That’s enough to convince me. I’m off any warranties at this point so just a precaution. I did full delete for same reasons, and use opti lub always.

 

I have always used OptiLube for the last 10 years in my JD tractor. Now I am using it in my 2020 F450 purchased earlier this year.

 

Imagine 10% of 5 million Super Duties built from 2011 to 2024 experiencing failed CP4s. That’s 500,000 failed pumps over 13 years which equates to 105 failed pumps every day since 2011.

That does not account for the pumps that were lost on GMs between 2011 and 2016 or Rams between 2019 to 2020 before they recalled 350,000 trucks to remove the CP4.

There’s probably 1 million+ failed CP4s.

Get that thing off your truck and get the DCR installed.

 

Just wanted to add the diagram above to the discussion.

 

You think the kit is effective or not? I know you have an engineering mind so like to hear thoughts

 

Ya that’s the kit I installed. So was it worth it or I got scammed with the Gen 2 kit lol? Hey at least I “feel” better. The install was not fun but not horrible.

 

I think that it effectively provides the added protection as advertised, and since cutting lines was eliminated (version 2.1), it is well designed. That is based on the assumption that the CP4 failures (scuffing and particle generation primarily) are not typically in the "pumping element" area of the pump. That is my current understanding of the issue anyway.

I haven't come to terms yet on the "odds" of experiencing a CP4 failure. My current belief is that with proper fuel and preventative maintenance, the CP4 failure rate is pretty low. That said, I tend to like to protect myself against things (even if the "odds" are low) that can strand me or get stupid expensive ....... assuming that the installed cost to do so is reasonable. That leads me to wonder (with proper preventative maintenance) what the expected service life of a CP4 pump should be. Avoiding the crazy high repair bill is very important, but so is the idea of avoiding the unexpected failure, especially on a long trip. I keep my trucks longer than most people do, so maybe that is a bigger issue for me than for many people.

I think that emission system failure rate is even more disappointing, obviously not as disastrous.

All that said, I still would like to have a 6.7L one of these days.

 

The S&S crew can sell you all day long on how great it is. That is their job, to sell units. They sold me one. But I'm not naiive to how the pump is designed and what the actual results will be. My friend had the kit and his grenaded. Guess what the result was? New high pressure components... take some time and really look at how these are designed. Or believe an "engineer/salesman" on his word. Hey, faucci said we needed to shut down the country. Covid is resurgent this summer, why no shut down? Forgot to follow the science?

 

That’s a great point bismic on additive. I always use opti lube. I bet of that 5% failure rate of the system that 100% of those folks were NOT using additive. Doubt there any way to know but dang that info would be nice. And I bet everyone who is smart enough to buy the kit is already running additive! Chicken or egg lol?

Well to all, S&S had some good videos that helped convince me. They deliberate failed one and drive it like 100 miles. That was a convincing video to me. If you’re on the fence I’d watch that. After pump was toast it took down NO other downstream parts. They ground that pump ball way up to simulate massive failure. That video sold me

 

6.7 cp4 blew up on ours with proper maintenance and additives. Wasn't Optilube though thoughts on switching to that for a 6.7 and a 6.0? and what variant would you recommend it's hot over here (cali) so gelling isn't a worry.

 

Thanks for all the feed back. Will be looking into the S&S DPK

 

Well to all, S&S had some good videos that helped convince me. They deliberate failed one and drive it like 100 miles.

Did they put all the shavings in the pump or did they clean it before reinstalling? 100miles enough time to contaminate the high pressure system to where it stops completely like someone who has been driving 1000s of miles?

They are the same as banks. If you are skeptical of banks, you cannot overlook S&S...

Everyone loves a good snake oil salesman when it solves a problem that may or may not exist...

 

Considering the returning fuel (liberation fuel) from the pump is going to pass through a 20m screen, then the 10m primary then the 4 micron secondary, it shouldn’t trash the injectors.

 

I see people all for the DCR pump, then some are not really sold on it. For someone like me who still has the CP4 with 87,000 miles on it, I'm still after the "best" route to go to prevent an expensive disaster. I do all the preventive measures, good fuel, additives, no DEF since I'm deleted... and have no problem paying the DCR price, just want the best way to prevent complete fuel system replacement. Oh the decisions!!!

 

Well… I’ve got a lightly used CP4 if you need one. 😂😂😂

 

Bottom line is these pumps are garbage and Ford should have never selected these for the their 6.7L. Please tell us where in the Ford owners manual it recommends or requires a fuel additive, a "disaster prevention kit" or how anyone can be assured that the are buying "good fuel". BTW there is a class action law suit against Ford for this CP4 problem https://fordauthority.com/2023/01/ford-power-stroke-lawsuit-filed-over-defective-fuel-pumps/. These assholes must be owned by Boeing.