Fuel filter head dissection, just for fun

EAB · **Joined:** Tue Sep 06, 2011 9:39 pm **Posts:** 141

Was it time for a new filter? Maybe a little overdue. (Not mine BTW)

Even the nipple had rust.

Here's a picture of the notorious melting connector.

Pull the nipple off and the heater section comes off, notice more goo in this section.

Pry the top off this section and there are metal plates. The cover had 3 small springs pushing on the metal plate. Oh and more goo.

I pulled the metal plates out and found why they burn up. the plates just push onto pins at the connector. The plates were loose at this point and loose equals a bad connection equals heat. The three pucks were between the metal plates.

This is the primer pump, pretty basic.

This is the rest of the housing, looking towards the primer pump, with more goo in there. I could see some of the goo getting stuck in the primer valves. I was looking for a screen but there was none.

warp2diesel · **Posted:** Sat Oct 20, 2012 7:49 pm

Did this Dude use Alcohol like Heat for fuel line antifreeze?
Did this Dude have lots of vacuum leaks in his fuel system so the air could mix with the water suspended with the alcohol?
Did this Dude make his own BioDiesel and not decant it to remove the methanol and sodium Hydroxide?
Did this Dude swallow lumps of charcoal and have diamonds come out the other end? :ROTFL:

Does he give those Diamonds to his Lady? :ROTFL:

Goglio704 · **Posted:** Sat Oct 20, 2012 8:04 pm

Seriously, what has this guy been running for fuel? I wouldn't expect a long healthy life out of the pump and injectors. Rust on the stud tells me that the filter wasn't able to stop it all.

Looks like a 2nd generation fuel head.

EAB · **Joined:** Tue Sep 06, 2011 9:39 pm **Posts:** 141

First gen filter head. It had the original heater plug. And for that matter maybe the original filter...

Goglio704 · **Posted:** Sat Oct 20, 2012 8:58 pm

My bad. I was looking at the wrong port. I forgot...the beefier pins on the left are for the temp sensor that sees very little current. Not an engineering triumph...

warp2diesel · **Posted:** Sun Oct 21, 2012 6:07 pm

EAB wrote:

First gen filter head. It had the original heater plug. And for that matter maybe the original filter...

Original filter, maybe. Most likely he ran poorly produced home brew B-100 where he did everything that could be done wrong was done wrong. I would bet a home brewer who makes good B-100 would not have the damage shown in the photos.
First generation and second generation filter heads do not have any difference in corrosion resistance, just the plug where the USELESS HEATER connects was changed.
As far as the heater goes, I pulled my heater relay, left my fuel cooler open in winter and never looked back.
The heater is useless with winter blend D2 unless it is colder than -20F.
Add a little PS antigel/cetaine booster and you won't have an issue.
The CP-3 pump warms up the fuel enough in the winter with out needing an extra heater.
As far as the Self Regulating Heating Element Bravo Serra goes, there is more truth to the False Political Attack adds jamming up the airwaves this time of year.

MRausch82 · **Posted:** Sun Oct 21, 2012 8:41 pm

Holy sh*t! WTF did he run for fuel?! I once saw a system this dirty, and it was the result of biodiesel and a car that sat several years with the bio, and possibly crap fuel to begin with. I ended up replacing the injector pump. I sold the car due to bad rings thanks to the PO using starting fluid (though I told him not to). It was a 1982 Volvo 244 diesel.

EAB · **Joined:** Tue Sep 06, 2011 9:39 pm **Posts:** 141

Not sure if the owner ran bio or not, this was a maintenance filter change and head update. It ran fine before and after the filter change. The filter assembly sat here for a month or so before I took it apart so the poor condition was a surprise.

papaindigo · **Posted:** Mon Oct 22, 2012 1:31 pm

Odd. I would not have thought the system would get much of what appears to be rust absent sitting a long while with a fair amount of air and water in the filter head but then with any large amount of water the WIF should have been complaining.

UFO · **Posted:** Mon Oct 22, 2012 3:40 pm

Wow, that is nasty. Mine got regular filter changes, and I never saw anything like that, and I use home-brewed biodiesel, B100 in the summer. I do have the new filter head now, and it hardly needs priming anymore. Big improvement.

Fuel filter head dissection, just for fun

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