Two primary fuel filters

[cmedsailor]

I am thinking of replacing my cav filter with a racor 500 one and instead of scrapping it I thought of adding it as an extra filter in case of emergency. Is this how I am supposed to connect everything? Am I missing something? Of course after connecting everything I will bleed separately the air from the two lines/filters and hopefully in case of emergency I will simply turn the 3 way valves (after stopping the engine I guess).

 

[Malish]

Hi
Its probably cheaper (if a little more fiddly) to use simple ball valves on the lines and separate T pieces as opposed to 3-way valves.

 

[Graham376]

Hi
Its probably cheaper (if a little more fiddly) to use simple ball valves on the lines and separate T pieces as opposed to 3-way valves.

Single valves also simpler to check at a glance, they're either open or closed. I would go a bit further, remove fuel pump and fit a Facit electric one. Bleeds the filters as soon as key turned.

 

[rotrax]

Hi
Its probably cheaper (if a little more fiddly) to use simple ball valves on the lines and separate T pieces as opposed to 3-way valves.

It is one three way valve. I recently inherited a genuine Racor 500. I shall install it as the OP suggests but with a vacuum gauge in each tee handle. That way the filter can be switched before it stops the engine.

 

[Stemar]

I did this on Jissel several years ago, using simple on/off taps and a T connector as it was significantly cheaper than the 3-way taps. You need taps upstream and downstream of the filters, so you can change a blocked filter while the engine's running. As a fully qualified tightwad, I went to my local car breaker and bought a matching pair of spin-on filter bodies for £30, which meant I did the whole job for around £50, though that was 15 years ago, if I could do it for £100 for the lot now, I'd be pleased. Because I could switch filters so easily, I only swapped them when they got rusty enough for concern, so the job probably saved me money over the time I had them compared with a precautionary annual change.

Do make sure you turn whatever valves you get through their full movement at least annually, though. I didn't at first, and they got stiff. A bit of persuasion got them working properly, but another couple of years might have seen them seize up completely.