Fitting a new diesel filter

Scotty_Tradewind

Scotty_Tradewind

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The diesel filter I have immediatly after my tank which then feeds the engine, has always dripped at its connections and looks as if they've been butchered on all the nuts etc.

Can I fit any filter to replace it or must it in some way suit the engine and if any type will do where would you recommend for quality and value for the body of the filter and replacement elements?

ta
S.
 
Scotty_Twister said:
The diesel filter I have immedietly after my tank which then feeds the engine has always dripped at its connections and looks as if it's been butchered on all the nuts etc.

Can I fit any filter to replace it or must it in some way suit the engine and if any type will do where would you recommend for quality and value for the body of the filter and replacement elements?

ta
S.
Click to expand...

I replaced an old leaky CAV filter/seperator with an American Racor bought from ASAP Supplies Ltd, Beccles. It is very easy to change the filter element and there are no loose joint rings to bother with, without any mess and it doesn't leak. Bit expensive now that the exchange rate is poor.

http://www.asap-supplies.com/?gclid=CIDf4q-ktp4CFZQA4wodcERCmg
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Vetus Twin Unit Is A Good Option For On The Fly Change Out

http://viewer.zmags.com/showmag.php?mid=hggds#/page158/

I used the Vetus twin filter unit 75704VTE for my 80HP engine. The link above takes you to the Vetus page with sizing chart. I have twin tanks, single engine, but only use one tank at a time. The main advantage for me is that i can swap filters on the fly even from the same tank. The built in manifold allows any flow through option. They have a gauge which can tell you if the filter is getting dirty or if there is a blockage in a line, for example. They come with manifolds and valves ready to go.

I changed out last year from a twin CAV unit. I also moved it to a position where I good get better access. The old unit was in the saloon, so i have now moved it into the engine bay. The gauge is turned around so it can be seen from the companion way.

I am happy with it.
 
You can get a CAV easily from a scrap yard. They are commonly fitted to a variety of diesel engined cars and the throughput of a car engine is way higher than a 2 cylinder marine engine. As pointed out earlier, the spin on Racor are a lot easier to maintain - it would be worth asking at your local scrappy. Cars are rarely scrapped because of fuel filter problems so as long as the casing isn't cracked or deformed they will be OK.
 
parsifal said:
I replaced an old leaky CAV filter/seperator with an American Racor bought from ASAP Supplies Ltd, Beccles. It is very easy to change the filter element and there are no loose joint rings to bother with, without any mess and it doesn't leak. Bit expensive now that the exchange rate is poor.

http://www.asap-supplies.com/?gclid=CIDf4q-ktp4CFZQA4wodcERCmg
Click to expand...

I will second that - I think the CAV filter was a piece of design rubbish (for boats). I had to get some new flexible pipes made up to fit the new RACOR 500 filter from an organisation in Cosham whilst I waited. If you need their name, ask and I will dig out the invoice. Changing element on the racor is a peice of piss, and totally clean.
 
Scotty_Twister said:
The diesel filter I have immediatly after my tank which then feeds the engine, has always dripped at its connections and looks as if they've been butchered on all the nuts etc.

Can I fit any filter to replace it or must it in some way suit the engine and if any type will do where would you recommend for quality and value for the body of the filter and replacement elements?

ta
S.
Click to expand...

One of these?
Thrustplateinitial.jpg


I always struggle to get mine leak-free. I think that trying to get a gasket to seal on angled faces is the fundamental problem. A slight wipe of sealant on the gasket sometimes helps but cannot be relied upon. The whole situation is made more precarious by not knowing how tight a bolt holding a glass bowl can be tightened.

Replace it if at all possible.
 
Good point Vyv re the glass bowl. For that very reason I carry a spare glass bowl just in case of crisis time and you hear that horrible splintering sound just as you slip tightening up that bolt! I sleep so much better now!
 
Severnman said:
Good point Vyv re the glass bowl. For that very reason I carry a spare glass bowl just in case of crisis time and you hear that horrible splintering sound just as you slip tightening up that bolt! I sleep so much better now!
Click to expand...

Not only when tightening it up. One broke on me when we were anchored in early September a few years ago. The filter had not been touched since launching in March. We woke to a fearful smell of diesel, to find the bilge half full of it. I didn't have a spare bowl but we managed to bodge it up with Milliput sufficiently to get us back to port. Thanks to a clean bilge we decanted all the leaked fuel back into the tank, with no consequences.
 
Ok, but which Racor filter?

I have a prefilter exactly like that illustrated by Vyv Cox which I would dearly love to change for all the good reasons cited here and in a previous, recent thread. It seems that a Racor filter will improve things but which one? Looking up the ASAP site as recommended shows half a dozen Racor "funnel" filters, but which one would be suitable as a prefilter on a Volvo 2002 in a Sadler 29? Are there any converson problems?
 
As others have said, the CAV is a PITA. Can you imagine trying to sort out aligning 3 different elements with slightly different sizes of O rings in a nice steep chop while a lee shore approaches apace?

After losing my engine at a point where I really didn't need the hassle, I went to my local scrappy and got a couple of matching filter holders for £15 each, added isolating taps from ASAP and a bit of pipe and I now have two spin-on filters in parallel. I run on one and the other is primed and ready to go, so if the active one blocks, it takes about 10 seconds to switch over. I doubt if the whole job cost as much as a single Racor conversion.
 
Hi Vyv,
I notice you have rubber pipe. Can I run this all the way from the diesel tank to the filter/seperator and then on towards the engine?
If so what fittings do I need at the top of the filter, from the tank and from the engine end to fit the rubber pipe to and what pipe?

Whilst I have the attention of the diesel experts, I mentioned in another blog that my diesel tank breather occassionally seeped out diesel.
I still havn't solved this yet and I'm confused as to why it happens now and again anyway ???
My plan is to remove the original if I can get to it... in a very confined spot that even a childs hands cannot get to, clean out the outlet and connect a new pipe and try and route it higher than the original and try to always keep the new pipe going upwards until the end where I will put a turn on it.
How high off the top of the tank should i go, and what i/d pipe would be advisable?

I've also had the offer of a brand new Vetus filter/seperator head with filter for £60... is that good? I notice the replacement filter is not cheap to replace each time though.

ta
S
 
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Scotty_Twister said:
Hi Vyv,
I notice you have rubber pipe. Can I run this all the way from the diesel tank to the filter/seperator and then on towards the engine?
If so what fittings do I need at the top of the filter, from the tank and from the engine end to fit the rubber pipe to and what pipe?

How high off the top of the tank should i go, and what i/d pipe would be advisable?
Click to expand...

The diesel hose on my boat has always been rubber. I guess a solid material might be better but it has survived pretty well for 25 years. Most automotive diesels have some non-armoured flexible hose somewhere in the supply, so it seems this is not seen as especially unsafe. The cutoff valve is accessible from outside the engine compartment. I was just reading David Rainsbury's piece in the Dec PBO where he used bike brake cables to improve the access to his valve, seems like a good idea that I may copy.

My filter came with hose tails so was easy to fit. Most chandlers sell hose specifically for fuel, although I would avoid the clear nylon stuff which hardens badly in a relatively short time. If you were going to install a hard-piped supply I would talk to a motor factor about what fittings they can make up for you. Most piping on cars seems to be made in CuNiFer these days, a much better material than pure copper. They will also supply the best diesel hose.

My tank breather is only a couple of inches above the top of the tank. Nowadays you can buy a filler that has a side branch for attachment to the breather pipe. This would overcome your problem as any leakage would go straight back into the tank.
 
Scotty_Twister said:
Hi Vyv,
I notice you have rubber pipe. Can I run this all the way from the diesel tank to the filter/seperator and then on towards the engine?
If so what fittings do I need at the top of the filter, from the tank and from the engine end to fit the rubber pipe to and what pipe?

Whilst I have the attention of the diesel experts, I mentioned in another blog that my diesel tank breather occassionally seeped out diesel.
I still havn't solved this yet and I'm confused as to why it happens now and again anyway ???
My plan is to remove the original if I can get to it... in a very confined spot that even a childs hands cannot get to, clean out the outlet and connect a new pipe and try and route it higher than the original and try to always keep the new pipe going upwards until the end where I will put a turn on it.
How high off the top of the tank should i go, and what i/d pipe would be advisable?

I've also had the offer of a brand new Vetus filter/seperator head with filter for £60... is that good? I notice the replacement filter is not cheap to replace each time though.

ta
S
Click to expand...

Scotty - see a few post higher - Hypose in Cosham will make up the hoses whilst you wait. I don't think there is any point in having metal pipes as the bowl of the Racor is plastic and therefore could melt in a fire. Therefore it is important to have an external fuel cutoff.
 
I connected mine with copper pipe because I took the opportunity of relocating the filter and installing a new pipe run.I ordered the copper tube and fittings from ASAP Ltd together with the filter. May not be the cheapest source for fittings but it's easier to get everything from one supplier.
 
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