Stalling cat -Spin on Racor + other question

[mrdonut12]

Bill,
I won't pretend to have the knowledge or expertise in diesels
that these guys do, but I've got that much experience in automobiles,
maybe more.
I've been a mechanic for a living for over 30 years and am the
guy you bring your car to when no one else can figure it out and I'll
fix it. I was also involved in dirt track race cars (sprint cars with
350 cubic inch engines producing 700 hp on straight methanol fuel).
I've built many racing engines.
I'm only listing this to help you give weight (or take it away)
from my observations. ;o)
I've recently had my Racor apart, cleaned it thoroughly and
analyzed it's function.
If a Racor "causes problems" it's most likely plugged, broken or
neglected. I can think of no other things that would cause it to
"cause problems".
We've been reading cases of algae in fuel and it plugging up the
Racor.
I've only had a bird about a year and a half and I've put 25,000
miles on mine in that time.
I couldn't get mine to drain out the bottom drain valve. After I
took it apart, I found a handful of fine rust particles plugging the
bottom. I found almost another handful resting on the internal beams,
fuel heater and braces. It was a mess inside. ick.
If I remove my fuel filler cap, I can see a filler pipe with a
lot of loose rust in it. I can only imagine what the inside of the
tank might look like. That's the background on my system, yours may
be different.
Some of those rust particles are bound to get caught inside
rubber hoses, junctions in copper tubing or the cracks from tubing
connecting to rubber hoses and cause a restriction. The Racor will
remove those half way to the front. I only have to deal with crap
from the center to the rear of the bus.
I carefully watch my Racor guage to monitor for restrictions, so
I know if there's a problem or not.
The glass bowl on the bottom of my Racor lets me see easily and
quickly whether I have water in the system and lets me drain it out
easily. It also lets me see how much loose rust I get accumulating.
The guys at the Cat shop are seeing commercial vehicles that get
fresh fuel daily and are maintained (in most cases) by people that
know how to care for diesels. They keep the tanks full when not in
use and add algacide as needed.
Old birds may have been owned by people with none of this knowledge.
That's my case for keeping and maintaining my Racor on my unit.
Others may disagree and I'm fine with that. This is only to present
the other side of the story. I'm using the 30 micron filter element,
so it only gets the big chunks. LOL

George Witt
81 FC 35
Lincoln, Nebraska



--- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, "samax8" wrote:
> -There will probably be a lot of knowledgeable people on this forum
> that will disagree with this but here goes. As far as safely driving
> without the racor. When I got my Bird I replaced all the fluids and
> filters just to be on the safe side. I went to the Cat dealer for
> the filters. When I tried to buy a Racor I was told that they did
> not sell them nor did they recommend them. This from the guy in
> parts. I then spoke with the service manager at Holt Caterpillar,
> San Antonio, TX ( the largest Cat dealer in the US). He said they
> did not approve of Racor filters as they only caused problems and
> that my 3208 had two filters without the Racor and that was all I
> needed. When I started working on the Bird replacing fluids and
> filters I discovered that my Racor had been bypassed by the previous
> owner. I later drove from Texas to the Birds Nest to have some work
> done and asked them to hook up my Racor and put in a new filter.
> They (maybe Bennie, I'm not sure) said that I did not need it, that
> it was overkill.
>
> I have put about 7000 miles on without a Racor and never had a
> problem except once with the water seperator leaking air(defective
> Cat part). I do change my fuel filter and water seperator regularly
> along with my oil filters and get an oil analysis every oil change.
>
> Good luck
> Bill
> 82FC33
>
> -- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, "Adria Haynes"
> <mrbeebody@n...> wrote:
> > I still haven't really tried to start my 3208 again yet. I got
> the
> > 900 series Racor off and found some of the internals to be damaged
> > from excessive heat. I have since decided to live without a
> heating
> > element in my water seperator as I move forward since I really
> don't
> > need my fuel so hot that it melts plastic inside of it - right
> next
> > to my LP pig.
> >
> > In looking into the option of just replacing my filter/seperator
> > instead of rebuilding it, I stopped by the local West Marine as
> you
> > guys advised. The guy there showed me a flow chart that shows I
> > should be able to EASILY live with a 300 series seperator (320R
> > actually) with the spin on style filters.
> >
> > Maybe I'm too green, but it seems like a no brainer. But I don't
> > really want to make any moves or spend any money without
> consulting
> > you professionals first, though. The things I liked about that
> unit
> > was that is had a primer built into it, the filters seemed easier
> to
> > change, and changing them seemed like it wouldn't be as messy.
> The
> > things I didn't like was that each new filter was like $27. A
> small
> > drop in the bucket I know, but still.
> >
> > Please advise on any of your thoughts or experiences concerning
> > installing and/or maintaining one of these spin on style
> > filter/seperators.
> >
> > Also, once the new unit is installed, how do I go about pushing
> fuel
> > up the line to the secondary filter? Just use that built in
> primer?
> >
> > How do I do it if I go with another 900 series Racor?
> >
> > How bad of an idea is it to just eliminate the Racor for the
> > afternoon to see if I can get the damn thing running without it at
> > all?
> >
> > Still overwhelmed,
> > John