83-86 factory fuel water seperator replacement

we all know how the factory FW seperator is prone to air leaks. well my 86 had the factory FW seperator replaced with an aftermarket unit. it is nice but the filters cost 40 bucks for it. not happy with that. they i found a crack in the header of it. enough for me. off to the junk yard! came home with this!



left is the faulty filter. it had a crack in the mount. on the right is a fuel water seperator off a Isuzu box truck. these are frame mounted, have no filter inside of them to replace and work well.

very easy to hook up the lines too! but here is the best part....

it bolts to the factory location like it was there all along.


it is a very easy replacement for people who just want to replace the fuel water seperator and not install another expensive filter. to clean just remove the bowl and wipe out. do not use brake clean on these though, it will crack the plastic bowl.

For my education, is this separator needed? Did the old trucks have a different filter system than the newer ones, and they needed the separator? Or was it just something extra that later on the factory eliminated?

Or do the later trucks like mine with just the filter on the engine have something that does the job the old separator used to do?

the 83-86 trucks had a seperator on the firewall and just a fuel filter on the engine. 87 up got a combined fuel water seperator/fuel filter on the engine.

The one on the left looks like a racor 225. I am running one on my 84. Very trouble free, but the filters are pricey for it. Then again. My tanks are spotless and filters stay clean. I run a bio blend to.

Dieselcrawler said:

the 83-86 trucks had a seperator on the firewall and just a fuel filter on the engine. 87 up got a combined fuel water seperator/fuel filter on the engine.

Click to expand...

83-87 actually.

.... ask me how I know.

franklin2 said:

For my education, is this separator needed? Did the old trucks have a different filter system than the newer ones, and they needed the separator? Or was it just something extra that later on the factory eliminated?

Or do the later trucks like mine with just the filter on the engine have something that does the job the old separator used to do?

Click to expand...

Well in order for a diesel to run, it doesn't need to have the WS. But it is sure cheap insurance to have a functioning one IMHO. The fuel filter itself also acts as a WS as the water will settle at the bottom of the bowl. Just change the filter more often to be sure as you can't see how much water is in there. This method works just fine but in the long run, one should have some sort of WS on the truck.
My Landcruiser is currently without one, due to the fact that im playing with different units till I find one that works the way I like.

The filter I reached mine with are $24 at Napa and cheaper online. it's from a 82-83 6.2 chevy

Kevin 007 said:

Well in order for a diesel to run, it doesn't need to have the WS. But it is sure cheap insurance to have a functioning one IMHO. The fuel filter itself also acts as a WS as the water will settle at the bottom of the bowl. Just change the filter more often to be sure as you can't see how much water is in there. This method works just fine but in the long run, one should have some sort of WS on the truck.
My Landcruiser is currently without one, due to the fact that im playing with different units till I find one that works the way I like.

Click to expand...

Well, like you guys said the later trucks didn't have them. So the later trucks have a different fuel filter? Or is it the same type of filter, it just has provisions for the "water in fuel" light sensor? So the early filters just have a solid bottom on them?

I'm still rocking the factory setup!

But it needs replaced. Doesn't let air in but when I pull the chain nothing comes out, and there is always a drip of fuel/water at the end of the dump tube.