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By the time you buy 5 of the small crappy plastic filters you would have bought the Racor... At least that is the thought process i used. I'm keeping my truck until the wheels fall off, so it might not be the route you want to take.
I like how easy it is to inspect and clean the bowl if need be.
That all depends on the quality of fuel you get, just like how often you have to change the disposable ones does. I've got over 150k miles on the disposable Fleetguard filter I linked earlier.
How many miles do most go on the original screens in the factory pick up before there's an issue?
If you could have bought the racor instead of buying 5 disposables, but the disposables last 100k to 150k or more, how many miles do you have to drive before the racor pays for itself? Will the clear fuel bowl still be clear after that many miles, or will it be too hard to see through? (I've got farm tractors with a similar bowl. I know the answer to that question)
...Silly me for thinking I just had 2 exits off this road...
...Dn, I see you use the Wix 33972 but others use the Wix 33007. Know the difference...
The 33972 has more surface area of the filter media than the 33007. (33972 is bigger than the 33007.)
The 33007 is the filter used in early/mid 80's Mercedes 300D diesel cars.
I have owned and operated several of these Mercedes cars.
I used 33007 on my truck because of my Mercedes experience, before switching to the 33972.
The Micron rating of 33007 & 33972 are equivalent. Same 5/16 inlets & outlets size also.
Lastly, the 33007 can be purchased for half the price of the 33972. (It's the size thing mentioned above.)
If you could have bought the racor instead of buying 5 disposables, but the disposables last 100k to 150k or more, how many miles do you have to drive before the racor pays for itself? Will the clear fuel bowl still be clear after that many miles, or will it be too hard to see through? (I've got farm tractors with a similar bowl. I know the answer to that question)
This is a good point. As are the points mentioned in favor of the Racor. I think I will go with a disposable filter and can always upgrade to the Racor later if I choose. Thanks to you all I feel more comfortable going forward with this game plan, anyways.
Originally Posted by dn29626
The 33972 has more surface area of the filter media than the 33007. (33972 is bigger than the 33007.)
The 33007 is the filter used in early/mid 80's Mercedes 300D diesel cars.
I have owned and operated several of these Mercedes cars.
I used 33007 on my truck because of my Mercedes experience, before switching to the 33972.
The Micron rating of 33007 & 33972 are all equivalent. Same 5/16 inlets & outlets size also.
Lastly, the 33007 can be purchased for half the price of the 33972. (It's the size thing mentioned above.)
Thanks. I've been leaning towards that 33972 as its more readily available to me than the Fleetguard Chris uses (closest Case/cummins dealer is 50+ miles from me). I see you have a fuel pressure gauge so I'm assuming you haven't noticed any ill-effects with the filter since you continue to use it. I think this will give me the confidence to go with it despite the warnings about its micron rating.
...Will the clear fuel bowl still be clear after that many miles, or will it be too hard to see through? (I've got farm tractors with a similar bowl. I know the answer to that question)
Most of the clear bowls on tractors are exposed to UV light, that isn't the case under our trucks. After years of service, I don't see any significant degradation of the clarity of my Racor housing. I see come crud collecting on the bottom, but the screen is clean.
After a broken pickup foot and a bout with algae I have cleaned mine twice in 2,000 miles. It had accumulated about a 1/4" of rubber in the bottom the first time and about a 1/8" the second.
Micron is a size not a pressure. If the size of the screen is 100 microns, it doesn't matter weather it's coming or going. Flow ratings do matter if those are listed.
Can anyone post pics of how and where you mounted your Racor? I like to have all supplies ready before taking on a project and how/where to mount the filter is the missing link. I've heard peope mount on drivers side rail, others a cross member. Would love to see pics of how it's dones.
Can anyone post pics of how and where you mounted your Racor? I like to have all supplies ready before taking on a project and how/where to mount the filter is the missing link. I've heard peope mount on drivers side rail, others a cross member. Would love to see pics of how it's dones.
This is how I mounted my Racor.
I used a 2" square Ubolt to mount the Racor to the bracket I fabbed up. I also left an extra loop of hose in case I ever have to bypass the filter.
I welded a 2" angle over another 2" angle then slid it over the frame. I used 2 pre-existing frame holes to secure the mount to the frame.
I used a 2" square Ubolt to mount the Racor to the bracket I fabbed up. I also left an extra loop of hose in case I ever have to bypass the filter.
I welded a 2" angle over another 2" angle then slid it over the frame. I used 2 pre-existing frame holes to secure the mount to the frame.
Thanks for the pictures. Is the custom frame you made secured to the truck frame other than wrapping over it? Its hard to see how deep the square U bolt is from the two pics. The bottom pic almost suggests the square U bolt isn't very deep at all (seeing some threads poking through).
Thanks for the pictures. Is the custom frame you made secured to the truck frame other than wrapping over it? Its hard to see how deep the square U bolt is from the two pics. The bottom pic almost suggests the square U bolt isn't very deep at all (seeing some threads poking through).
If you look at the bottom pic, the Ubolt secures only the Racor. (Left side of the picture). You can see 2 holes on the right side of the pic, those secure the Racor to the truck frame.
Racor for the win that’s what I’m going for when I do the mod. I’m not too sure why some add a fuel filter when we already have one and the motor craft has a water barrier. Every so often I drain the bowl. I remember reading in the 08f450 manual they want you to drain the bowl every fill up at the station They even put an illustration in at the pump lol I couldent believe it thinking wtf are we sopposed to do here given the 6.4 dumps wayyy more than the 7.3 when you open it. On that truck every 3 weeks- a month it’s drained the 7.3 way less. On the 450 one time water in fuel light came on must have been a tiny amount because the fuel appeared okay but sure did make for a big scare given the costs of repairs on that engine The fuel is strained then filtered not filtered then filtered. On several of the boats i Work on large (7-10 x the size of the ps 120) fuel strainers are placed where they can easily be viewed to see if there is flow or blockage then hitting the filter. Yet, they are rarely opened especially in comparison to raw water strainers much more suceptiable to clogging.
I've had the Baldwin BF1212 for years and dumped it a few weeks ago in favor of the Racor. I can see inside the Racor, there's no more filters to change, and the assembly does extend below the frame as the Baldwin did.
Can you show how you mounted the Racor? I like the idea posted further up, but yours seems to be mounted a little different.
I don't know why it rotated the picture but this gives you an idea of the parts I used. I did not want to use the u-bolt or square bolt that others had used (personal preference) and wanted to go with a single bolt on each side. The bolt is a 6" long 5/16-18 (partially threaded) bolt and I cut some weldable tube as standoffs. I don't remember the size off-hand but I took the bolt and tested that it would fit in the tube. I cut the tube so that I could use a 6" bolt to maximize the standoff but minimize the amount of extra threads protruding from the nut (didn't want to interfere with the parking brake cable). Anything longer than 6" for a 5/16" bolt and it's an online order and they are expensive or you have to buy them in bulk...which is also expensive.
I cut the tube to 2 1/2" for the fit I was looking for (YMMV). I did notice that only one washer at the bolt head felt a little weak for the Racor opening so I added another washer. The order that everything that went on the bolt (starting at the bolt head): washer - washer - Racor - washer - standoff - washer - frame - fender washer - split washer - nylon nut. What can I say, I'm a little OCD.
I drilled 2 holes in my frame for the bolts and installed it. The white foam is where the frame is to give you an idea of mounting.
It sticks out far enough for me to be able to drop the bowl without contacting the frame. I had intended this to be a temporary solution but it was a lot more solid than I had expected when I bolted it up so I'm going to see how it holds up.
