OEM fuel seperator/heater vs. Racor 200

weantright · **Posted:** Mon Sep 21, 2009 5:54 pm

Is it worth having the updated OEM fuel seperator/heater done or get the Racor 200?

Racor has a better heater and filter are less expensive.

CRD is having the starting issue with air in the system. I have a feeling the heater has past away and the complete assembly is sucking in air. No leaks or melted connectors yet. They both will cost about the same and the jeep is out of warrenty.

GreenDieselEngineering · **Joined:** Sun Jun 07, 2009 5:10 pm **Posts:** 1111

We have not seen a need for the fuel heater in general in most any conditions found here in the states. During cold weather testing down to -18 F we never experienced any fuel gelling. At colder conditions in Canada the heater may provide some benefit, however the weak link in severe cold is the fuel supply line running from the tank to the fuel separator unit. This line is prone to freezing below -25 F unless additional anti-gel additives are added. If this line freezes the heater is useless!

We had a vehicle that ran for two years without the heater plugged in and no issues, other than slightly improved fuel economy. The heater draws about 8 amps in 70 F weather and up to 20 amps in 0 F temps. Having no electrical draw lessens the load on the alternator an improves fuel consumption.

yakers · **Posted:** Mon Sep 21, 2009 9:07 pm

I did have my heater disconnected for about a year and had no problem but I wonder if there is any gain/loss from having it connected.I would have thought that there is some 'reward' for having the heater in even average cool climates as heated fuel AFAIK is more efficient in the system. Wouldn't cooler fuel give more power but less MPG?

All this is within reasonable temps, not arctic Canada in the winter or anywhere near Phoenix in the summer.

Ripster · **Posted:** Mon Sep 21, 2009 9:24 pm

Never had it in both VW TDI's and disconnected it almost the day I bought the Jeep. Treat your
fuel and it would hardly ever be needed. -20 to -30 and no problems yet.

Joe Romas · **Posted:** Tue Sep 22, 2009 6:47 am

Ripster wrote:

Never had it in both VW TDI's and disconnected it almost the day I bought the Jeep. Treat your
fuel and it would hardly ever be needed. -20 to -30 and no problems yet.

TDI's recirculate warm fuel back into the filter via the plastic "T" shaped tempeature sensative fitting on the filter :lol:

So you didn't have an "Electric" fuel heater but you did have a system to preheat incoming fuel :wink:

In my many VW diesels I only had one fuel gelling issue and that was in below zero temperatures for over a week on my 1978 rabbit when it was new

weantright · **Posted:** Tue Sep 22, 2009 8:17 am

Thought behind this is not to heat the fuel to prevent gelling. It was to remove the leaky OEM fuel head/pump/filter assembly that most were having problems with. Air is getting into the system and I wanted to stop this. Jeep is starting hard when temps drop into the 40-50’s. No codes are thrown and runs great otherwise. Jeep starts and runs better after the air is bled from the assembly. I was looking to add this Racor and a lift pump removing the 2 main leaky spots.

Is it worth replacing the OEM assembly with a more sealed Racor assembly?

Joe Romas · **Posted:** Tue Sep 22, 2009 9:03 am

A small amount of air seperation is normal in diesel fuel. Air being lighter then fuel will accumilate in the highest point in the system and that is the fuel manager head :lol:

So even without a leak in the fuel head or any fuel lines there will be air.
If you look at a VW TDI's transparent fuel lines you will see small bubbles in the fuel continiously passing harmlessly through the system. Then looking carefully at the system you'll see the fuel filter is not sticking up in the air and being the hightest thing in the system. Looking even further the fuel return is located in the top of the injection pump where air being lighter will accumiliate and exit to the return.

The Bosch fuel pump control circuit in the CRD as explained by GDE or MrMopar64 (I don't remember which) runs for a few seconds after shutdown to bleed air from the CP3.

This circuit along with 90% of the wiring, fuse and relay are already in the CRD. Look in the Power Distribution Unit (black box in front of the battery) and read the ledgens for;
Relay 38 "Fuel Priming Pump"
Fuse 17 "Fuel Prime"

Then arrive at your own conclusions as what you should do. My original fuel manager head has not leaked yet and is connected :lol:

However after reading the current draws measured above I might disconnect it for that alone :shock:

OEM fuel seperator/heater vs. Racor 200

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