Replacement water separator idea

[Brian VT]

Lets see what the photos say… could take me a couple of days to get out to the truck.

Looking forward to it. Thanks.
And I'm in no hurry.

It looks like your 445R10 kit would have come with an R45 filter, which is stated as being 3.4" tall (+ the bowl).
I'll have an S3204 filter, which is stated as being 4" tall. Hopefully it'll still fit in the stock location.

The R45 is wider (4.4") than the S3204 (3.8") so if mine is too tall I prob. can't switch to the R45 filter and I'll have to start from scratch and get what you did. Or mount it somewhere else. :-(

 

[MadMac]

Looking forward to it. Thanks.
And I'm in no hurry.

It looks like your 445R10 kit would have come with an R45 filter, which is stated as being 3.4" tall (+ the bowl).
I'll have an S3204 filter, which is stated as being 4" tall. Hopefully it'll still fit in the stock location.

The R45 is wider (4.4") than the S3204 (3.8") so if mine is too tall I prob. can't switch to the R45 filter and I'll have to start from scratch and get what you did. Or mount it somewhere else. :-(

Photos and narrative are added to my original post.

 

[Brian VT]

Awesome! Thank you for the effort and good info.
It looks tight but mine, being 1/2", taller might still work. If I can still get at the drain.
And the check valve goes on the inlet, which is front left. Got it.
And the Filter Minder. Do you find that useful and worth getting?

Your parts list with 3 elbows made me think you were using all 4 ports. What was the 3rd elbow for?

 

[Booyah45828]

My idi is in a school bus. The water separator is mounted on to the radiator support.

So what I did won't help you. But I will say that there is no reason you can't run new fuel lines and place a filter on the frame rail or some place else where it is more accessible.

Wes had some fuel flow requirement figures somewhere on here. I think 30 gph is below that figure. But there is a good chance that filter would probably work fine.

I really like madmac's setup. I also really like that fuel filter minder, I might have to look into getting one myself.

 

[MadMac]

Awesome! Thank you for the effort and good info.
It looks tight but mine, being 1/2", taller might still work. If I can still get at the drain.
And the check valve goes on the inlet, which is front left. Got it.
And the Filter Minder. Do you find that useful and worth getting?

Your parts list with 3 elbows made me think you were using all 4 ports. What was the 3rd elbow for?

In my circle of friends who "try to be a good wrench...", two things come to mind... first, if there isn't any blood or swearing, it is not a real project. The second is - the duration of a project (ergo: frustration) is directly correlated to the count of trips to the hardware or parts store.

More practically said - I long ago figured out to order extras of the various connectors, particularly where threading and fitment are issues, because unless the install is absolutely known, you'd best have some extras. **** poor planning sometimes is the culpret, but the outcome is the same - spare parts. Organize them over time. When needing nuts and bolts - I order assortments. In this case, elbow 1/2 threaded to splip-on fuel line connectors - is not "in the inventory..."

Some 40 years later I have a large collection of parts - so I rarely go to the store... Same concept goes for tools - buy good tools the first time... I may never need that $250 board bender again... and if you need one, it is the only tool to do the job, and every buddy of mine that builds a deck... keeps me in stories and beer...

 

[Brian VT]

+2 on the board bender.

 

[MadMac]

Awesome! Thank you for the effort and good info.
It looks tight but mine, being 1/2", taller might still work. If I can still get at the drain.
And the check valve goes on the inlet, which is front left. Got it.
And the Filter Minder. Do you find that useful and worth getting?

Your parts list with 3 elbows made me think you were using all 4 ports. What was the 3rd elbow for?

As to the space you have to work with… I had the benefit of getting the larger filter first. It was obvious that I’d never be able to open the valve without relocating the mounting nuts further up the firewall. My hands are big and old, I knew the filter I was getting was far more than what I needed - so I opted for the basic smaller unit, which was still not that cheap. 

Many of us have simply moved the filter to a different place to accommodate larger filters, can’t disagree with that in the least. Mine was following the first principle of my day job - keep it simple - benefitting the next guy who can find it where it is supposed to be…

I was also aware of the need to get my big hands between the fender and the bottom of the unit to open the valve, and to do so without a stool - when I’m not at home, and when I typically have the hood up - fueling up and checking the fluids… As to the minder - it came with the unit - and I figured better that than trying to find a way to cap it off… As time has rolled forward - it is a much simpler way to quickly check if I need to drain it… Recommended.

 

[MadMac]

@Brian VT - how’d it turn out? Photo?

 

[Brian VT]

I received the parts but I don't plan to install it until warmer weather. Sorry.
The parts assembled are almost 10" long including the drain valve. Hopefully there's room for it.

 

[Booyah45828]

Interesting that your threads are straight and sealed by an o-ring. Mine were pipe thread IIRC. I assumed all those style filter heads would have been the same.

 

[Brian VT]

Not sure how it will play out. I don't even know how the current fuel lines are connected.
I assume it's all still OEM since the original separator is still there.

 

[The_Josh_Bear]

Interesting that your threads are straight and sealed by an o-ring. Mine were pipe thread IIRC. I assumed all those style filter heads would have been the same.

Wow good eye! If the threads are indeed ORB(O-Ring Boss) @Brian VT will have to get those fittings ordered up, too. NPT will not fit those. I guess thinking back the fittings into the stock filter manifold on my 7.3(over the alternator area) were ORB. But fine thread so they wouldn't mate up anyway.

I recently found Surplus Center has an amazing supply of stuff like that. They call ORB "SAE-" and then a number. So like SAE-6 for a 9/16-18. They have wonderful prices, shipping is pretty fast and very affordable as they just throw all the little fitting in the same box and don't keep charging per item. I just re-did all the cheap fittings on my air compressor and did the fuel olive delete to my IP. Almost $100 worth of parts anywhere else for $35 shipped.
This is the link to all manner of fuel fittings from them.

 

[Brian VT]

The description from where I bought it says 3/8" NPT.

 

[Booyah45828]

That's what mine were, I just saw that your plugs had a sealing washer with them which got me curious. Wouldn't need a sealing washer with NPT. Unless those plugs in picture aren't for the filter head

 

[Brian VT]

I assume those are for the filter head. And I would have used them if you hadn't told me that they aren't needed.
Any reason not to use them?