Stalling cat -Spin on Racor + other question

[mrdonut12]

Bill,
If he had an air leak, I'd have said to bypass it. He
apparently has a fuel system plugged with crud and I just
can't see moving the problem forward. Might as well deal
with it in the back.
I can't help but constantly analyze. I'm a mechanic and I
just can't stop. It's like asking a cat to not chase a mouse. LOL
I've learned a lot about mine and may eventually come around
to your way of thinking. ;o)

George Witt
81 FC 35
Lincoln, Nebraska

--- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, "samax8" wrote:
> -George,
>
> I appreciate your knowledge and experience. I expected contrary
> positions when I posted and I do not disagree with anything that you
> posted. I was just passing on info that I had been given in response
> to someone questioning if he could drive a short distance bypassing
> the racor.
>
> My understanding of the Racor problems was that they mainly
> concerned air leaks. I have no experience, good or bad, with a Racor
> on my Bird.
>
> You make a good point that most of the guys that the Cat shop is
> seeing are commercial drivers.
>
> I can inspect my fuel for water and debris at the water separator.
> Admittedly after it has gone thru the main fuel filter.
>
> I do not discourage using a Racor filter. Just saying it can be done
> and is done. The more filtering the better I'm sure. It's just that,
> in my case, after having gone through one air leak problem I was
> easily convinced that avoiding the potential for another was a good
> thing.
>
> Maybe I will get around to hooking mine back up and see how it goes.
>
> Thanks for your input.
>
> Bill
> 82FC33
>
>
> -- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, "mrdonut12" <mrdonut12@y...>
> wrote:
> > 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