CAV filter housing replacement

There is a knack with these, firstly dont panic, next fit the new rings, including the small one on the bolt.

Importantly the lid and bottom rings are different sizes, fit the bottom one first, smaller di and slightly wider. themn it leaves the correct one for the lid.

Easy way of getting the old lid rubber out is use a fine pair of pliers , lightly stab into the ring squeeze together and pull down.

I have 5 , 2 on each main engine and one on one of the generators, changed at least once a year for over 30 years. so know it works.
 
I had trouble for several years with mine & finally got annoyed when my farming cousin called me a "spanner monkey". farmers often have to change them in the field & do so with the greatest of ease, with no problem whatsoever. There are, after all, hundreds of thousands of them in use the world over.
They actually work very well
It turns out that my problem ( he told me from afar) was that I had a CAV ( now Delphi) clone. i went to a decent automotive company , bought the real deal & it works first time every time
One thing to note, is that it is not necessary to crank it up too hard. Just a light turn on the spanner, once all the seals, smeared with a coating of oil, correctly seated & away one goes.

Mine is mounted on stub bolts with nuts that I can remove & then lift the filter clear of an awkward bulkhead in the engine bay. The flexible hoses are long enough to allow me to lift it over a bucket. Then I can dismantle it, with excess fuel easily collected for disposal. Re assemble, then re fit it to the back of the bulkhead.
 
Last edited:
CAV filters are easy enough to change in good light, when you aren't in a hurry and, most of all, when you do them regularly. Now do when you haven't done it in a year, in the dark, with the boat leaping around and while your crew is screaming about the rocks getting closer...

After mine clogged at an inconvenient, but fortunately not dangerous time, I dumped it, then went to a car breakers and got a matching pair of spin-on jobs. ASAP supplied a bit of pipe and some taps and I now have two filters in parallel. I run on one and, if that one clogs up, I can switch to the other in seconds. I haven't actually tried it, but I reckon I could change a clogged filter while the engine's running. Side benefit, I now treat my filters as non-service items. The last one I changed did me 10 years before I decided it was getting a bit too rusty.
 
Stemar said:
CAV filters are easy enough to change in good light, when you aren't in a hurry and, most of all, when you do them regularly. Now do when you haven't done it in a year, in the dark, with the boat leaping around and while your crew is screaming about the rocks getting closer...
Click to expand...

Never mind the dark, daylight is bad enough. Lumpy sea, head down, smell of hot diesel, trying not to to chuck up, convinced me CAV 296s have no place on a boat. Replaced mine with a Baldwin spin-on.
 
Fascadale said:
Do yourself a favour and replace the whole wicked contraption of O rings etc with a simple spin on conversion

I paid £43.80 for the new top fitting, new filter with bottom water tap, p&p

Speak to Ian Currie at SSL diesel Parts | Filter parts heads and bowls

No relation, satisfied customer
Click to expand...

I did the same...simple job...I use spin on filters for iveco van (I had two) no messing about with rubbers and bolts, and worrying about air leaks or over tightening...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top