Leaking filter assembly bleed screw - Yanmar

[Dalestr]

Well, Dinghyman, I saw the bleeders but assumed they were just bleeder screws but I now see they have the valve body as well so they are adapters.
One further advantage with vacuum bleeding is that you clearly see transition from gaseous mix to liquid in the clear suction tube. Then you just wrench close off screw valve. You do want the nipple to be vertical if feasible.
To Roger's comment above, the vacuum pump bleeder kits include a liquid collector/separator canister which can collect the bit of diesel while passing the air.

 

[rogerthebodger]

I don't use vacuum bleeding I have a priming bulb at the tank outlet so I just hand pump diesel from the tank through all my filters and strainers

 

[DinghyMan]

Well, Dinghyman, I saw the bleeders but assumed they were just bleeder screws but I now see they have the valve body as well so they are adapters.
One further advantage with vacuum bleeding is that you clearly see transition from gaseous mix to liquid in the clear suction tube. Then you just wrench close off screw valve. You do want the nipple to be vertical if feasible.
To Roger's comment above, the vacuum pump bleeder kits include a liquid collector/separator canister which can collect the bit of diesel while passing the air.

Yes, they just replace the bleed screws, banjo bolts, or blanking bolts in a filter housing or pipework, the clear tube that comes with them means you can see when your filters, pipes, or pump, has been bled and then shut them off without getting diesel everywhere - provided you remembered to put the other end of the clear pipe in an old water bottle or similar which also means you can put them in place and then either use a primer bulb or manual pump and as the diesel gets bled into a bottle it prevent any air back feeding into the system

I dont think you really need to have the nipple pointed vertically as there is a piece of clear pipe coming off it and most pump bleeders are mounted on the side of the injection pump and orientation makes no difference to how they work, filters tend to have the bleeders vertically but a lot of pipework and pumps are often horizontally, and usually in difficult to reach places

Like Rodger I much prefer the simpler priming bulb method to vacuum bleeding, and it means you dont need any extra kit

 

[Dalestr]

Priming bulbs are very good except when cold. I discarded my priming bulb after about 5 years as it was a very, very slight fire risk. In the US, these don't meet the ABYC standards for use in the engine space. Those standards aren't mandatory for recreational diesel vessels but it is more and more a pursuit of insurers. Some won't insure plastic bowl filters, for example, unless fitted with a proper heat shield.
I then used an electric 12V air bed inflator into the tank's deck vent to create the differential pressure, and that is a great method as both hands are free. You get at least 15" elevation with 1/2psi. But a vacuum hand pump via brake bleeder is devine where easily rigged. Let's remember that many primary filters are mounted higher than the tank. That's where the need is great. Many don't bleed the primary because they can't and that's risky behavior even with a self bleeding engine.

 

[ducked]

While I've found a cheap enema syringe effective for brake bleeding, and dont know what advantage dedicated "power bleeders" could offer other than "consumer vertue", I'd expect it to be less suitable for diesel engine bleeding, since the fuel will likely attack the rubber piston gasket.

Washing after use, and avoiding contact as much as possible, I suppose one might get a few goes though, and could regard it as disposable.

 

[Stemar]

If the thread in the filter body is stripped, might it be cheaper to get a spin-on filter system from a car and bypass the original one completely?

 

[Channel Sailor]

On one of my yachts the repair was to drill out the hole then cut a new thread for a larger bolt. It worked ok except the larger bolt head was then overtightened so that started to fail as well. Temporary fix was a soft ish polythene locking washer, until I replaced the entire assembly. Suggest do not reuse copper washers to often, just slip a new one on regularly. I vaguely recall I annealed new washers to ensure they were soft. I learnt to use another bleed point on a banjo type connection on the feed to the high pressure pump.

 

[biscuit]

I had the same problem : stripped threads. Previous owner a bit heavy handed. Metal is very soft. had to Helicoil it.

 

[Dalestr]

When using a vacuum hand pump on a brake bleeder, the hose should trend vertically from the bleeder and so you can view an interesting process while pumping gently. Initially this is just air as the filter fills. As fuel and air (mixed) emerge up the tube, the air separates and the fuel component descends. Bubbles keep emerging but the liquid does not want to climb until there is almost pure liquid behind it. When fuel starts to steadily climb the tube you are basically done and can close the bleeder valve. Now you can disconnect the pump and tilt the hose down to a jar to drain anyremnant fuel. There is always some air leaking past the bleeder threads but that is no concern.
You could use a large suction syringe as Ducked alludes to (which would need two hands) instead of vac pump — without it getting wet and some folks use an oil change vacuum reservoir, allowing it to get wet. There is a YouTube video showing that with just a plug removed from the secondary filter; search “bleeding a Yanmar 3GM30”. it works well because the lift pump acts as a check valve, but he apparently skipped bleeding the primary or the injection pump inlet. Not good enough for me.
In the photo below I show a vacuum pump with a liquid collector reservoir but as I described above, that is optional if just servicing the filters. Using vacuum there is no chance of fuel spurting.