Racor 500 fuel separator: clean bowl?

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BelleSerene

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I have a Racor 500-lookalike fuel separator/ filter before the secondary engine fuel filter. Just had unfortunate empty-tank run-out (a misreading fuel sensor had given me false confidence - that’s next on the list). Probably as a result of swirling dregs of tank, there was lots of black crud in bottom of racor bowl. I drained it - but still a layer is stuck to inside bottom inch of bowl. Little finger inside bottom vent won’t clear it.

Worth disassembling the device to clean it properly - or just refilling (with fresh 10 micron filter of course) and carrying on?
 
Also keep a good record of your fuel usage so you know how much you have in your tank.

As it is empty if you can get it out and steam clean it then do so.
 
If it's easy to remove, I would probably remove the filter and clean the bowl by removing the 4 screws. You should be able to reuse the old o-ring gasket if it was installed correctly in the first place. In one of my genuine Racors the gasket had not been located centrally and was crushed and unusable. However, I was rebuilding both completely so I had rebuild kits which included new gaskets.

If you decided to do a complete rebuild, and removing the bowl is 90% of the job, don't forget which was up the one-way rubber seal goes.

Richard
 
Just to add my tuppence worth. The 4 bolts on my Racor 500 have a quarter inch head. A 6mm socket is too small. A 7mm too big. As imperial sockets are hard to come buy I cut a slot in each bolt head with the angle grinder. I could then undo and reassemble with a screwdriver. I found the brown washer that fits on the end of the drain plug needed replacement. A new drain plug with washer is £20 from ASAP. To assemble you have to fit the washer onto the drain plug from the inside of the bowl. Not easy to do.
 
The biggest saving on the Racor was to fit a vacuum gauge. I rarely replace filters now.
 

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Talulah said:
Just to add my tuppence worth. The 4 bolts on my Racor 500 have a quarter inch head. A 6mm socket is too small. A 7mm too big. As imperial sockets are hard to come buy I cut a slot in each bolt head with the angle grinder. I could then undo and reassemble with a screwdriver. I found the brown washer that fits on the end of the drain plug needed replacement. A new drain plug with washer is £20 from ASAP. To assemble you have to fit the washer onto the drain plug from the inside of the bowl. Not easy to do.
Click to expand...

Indeed so .... they are Imperial on my Racors but those of us who work on classic cars will have a full set of imperial sockets and spanners. ;)

As for the drain plug seal .... you are quite right that fitting the new seal from within the bowl is a pain in the arse. However, I suspect that the OP's Racor copy must be made differently as he was able to remove the drain plug to get his finger in and I don't think that ours are removable in that way. :unsure:

Richard
 
BelleSerene said:
I have a Racor 500-lookalike fuel separator/ filter before the secondary engine fuel filter. Just had unfortunate empty-tank run-out (a misreading fuel sensor had given me false confidence - that’s next on the list). Probably as a result of swirling dregs of tank, there was lots of black crud in bottom of racor bowl. I drained it - but still a layer is stuck to inside bottom inch of bowl. Little finger inside bottom vent won’t clear it.

Worth disassembling the device to clean it properly - or just refilling (with fresh 10 micron filter of course) and carrying on?
Click to expand...
on the genuine ones, the drain plug is pretty large, have wound a turpy rag up the hole with more success than just a finger.
 
david_bagshaw said:
on the genuine ones, the drain plug is pretty large, have wound a turpy rag up the hole with more success than just a finger.
Click to expand...

On my genuine ones you can't remove the drain plug from the bowl from the outside which is why I had to fit the drain plug rubber washer from the inside. On mine the drain plug screws directly into a thread tapped into the bowl itself. Some of them appear to have an unscrewable carrier for the drain plug which you can remove to change the washer.

I've no idea which is the older model and which is the newer. I guess that having a removable boss increases the likelihood of leaks but makes changing the washer a whole lot easier.

Richard
 
Dont know if this is of any help, a pic I took in 2013, with the bowl held to get the light on the stress marks, when I removed one of my 500g for checking and prep for the brass nut and flame deflection bowls to meet the inland standard of the boat safety certificate , demanded by canal & river trust. The bowl is 1986, A plastic plug in which a drain screw with a hose nipple fitted in the thread at the bottom

However, without this I would have never found the evidence of engine room heat or maybe pressure stress, from the engine lift pumps, shown on the curved section. This bowl and its brother sat in the wind flow from the engine room fan. that of the main generator at the front of the engine room, which was warmer but without the hot and cold from fan on and off , along with lower engine hours.bowl.jpg
 
Cant you get a screw driver or similiar into the bowl once the filter is removed with some suitable padding on the end to rub around the inside of the bowl, wash through with plenty of fuel and remove all the crud through the drain. Always worked for me and saves removing the bowl - not that it is that big a job, but as said before getting the four bolts off is a nuisance and you really need to remove the whole unit which makes it much easier.
 
ip485 said:
Cant you get a screw driver or similiar into the bowl once the filter is removed with some suitable padding on the end to rub around the inside of the bowl, wash through with plenty of fuel and remove all the crud through the drain. Always worked for me and saves removing the bowl - not that it is that big a job, but as said before getting the four bolts off is a nuisance and you really need to remove the whole unit which makes it much easier.
Click to expand...

I don't think you would get past the fluid rotator thingy. :unsure:

Richard
 
You mention Racor 'lookalike', but as it has collected this crud it does show it is doing its job. If you dont remove it you wont be sure it is doign its job next time.

They use metric bolts and come to bits easily, so IMHO clean it properly and change the element too.
 
Talulah said:
Just to add my tuppence worth. The 4 bolts on my Racor 500 have a quarter inch head. A 6mm socket is too small. A 7mm too big. As imperial sockets are hard to come buy I cut a slot in each bolt head with the angle grinder. I could then undo and reassemble with a screwdriver. I found the brown washer that fits on the end of the drain plug needed replacement. A new drain plug with washer is £20 from ASAP. To assemble you have to fit the washer onto the drain plug from the inside of the bowl. Not easy to do.
Click to expand...
Are you in the UK? My recently bought Halfords socket set comes with a full set of imperial sockets.
 
RichardS said:
I don't think you would get past the fluid rotator thingy.
Click to expand...

Perhaps mine is different. With the top and filter removed there are four quite large gaps through which you can use a brush on a wire or screw driver or suitable tool to dislodge the contents of the bowl.
 
Talulah said:
Just to add my tuppence worth. The 4 bolts on my Racor 500 have a quarter inch head. A 6mm socket is too small. A 7mm too big. As imperial sockets are hard to come buy I cut a slot in each bolt head with the angle grinder. I could then undo and reassemble with a screwdriver. I found the brown washer that fits on the end of the drain plug needed replacement. A new drain plug with washer is £20 from ASAP. To assemble you have to fit the washer onto the drain plug from the inside of the bowl. Not easy to do.
Click to expand...
This is what you need: Silverline 633537 Socket Set 1/4-inch Drive Imperial 3/16-1/2 Inches - 9 Pieces: Amazon.co.uk: DIY & Tools

I prefer to use a socket even on jubilee clips as it's too easy to wreck the heads, especially if they need persuading.
 
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