Recently there has been some discussion on this forum about fuel system air leaks, and the part water separators can contribute to this problem. So far I have been lucky with my 1987 6.9L F250 and its water separator. I am the second owner of the vehicle and have a question about the various manufacturers of the water separators used on trucks of my vintage. In reading the archives I get the impression that Ford used a number water separators during this period. Is it safe to assume they weren’t manufacturing these units, but rather sourcing them from outside suppliers? The reason I ask, is that upon inspection of the top of the water separator on my rig I see the name Stanadyne cast in to the metal. Does anyone know if Ford used Stanadyne as an OEM source for their stock water separator? Or did I just get lucky after the first owner got fed up with the original equipment?

Your thoughts and insights are appreciated

Thanks, J.W.

 

The unit itself I am not sure about. It may just be a generic part out-sourced to save having to make something they could just buy down the street somewhere...

I do know they had at least three types in the eighties -
One had a pull-ring on top of it, one had a remote drain pull next to the drivers seat, and the one I have has a **** on the bottom of the replaceable element with a drain in it.

For mine, I have found they can be a little tuff to track down. I usually only go to NAPA when I can't find things anywhere else, and even they had to have one shipped from L.A. to San Diego overnight! Since they seemed a bit hard to come by, I went ahead and got two of them @ eighteen dollars apiece (after discount).

Even if your truck isn't leaking or having other problems, I would strongly suggest getting one of these because for all you know it may be the original, unchanged in sixteen years! And prudence kind of indicates getting a spare just in case that cannot be found at all later on...

I'm sure something suitable could be swapped in to replace the whole works because it is highly doubful diesels will ever go away, but I've been stuck a few times waiting for parts to come in, and I much prefer maintaining my own stock of "possibles".


~Wolf

 

Earlsfork,

I know Stanadyne was (is?) the oem manufacturer for Ford regarding injection pumps and injectors. I've never really looked too closely at the fuel/water separator bracket and head. It's kinda difficult on a van.
I've read many threads of guys installing an aftermarket fuel/water sep. before or after the lift pump in an easily accessible place. Then you can leave the stock fuel filter in place forever and take care of the water draining and separating at the aftermarket filter. Racor has a nice line.
R.A.

 

Maybe I don't understand the question, but are you concerned about what I call the "fuel filter mounting bracket"? I have a 1993 E-350 which uses a spin-on replaceable element mounted on top of the engine.

The original implementation was a center filter element sandwiched between two cast metal parts. The lower part, what I call the water separator, screwed onto the element and then that screwed into the mounting bracket just like an oil filter. I replaced the whole setup with NAPA part number 3617 which eliminates the lower portion, giving me a single oil-filter-type element that I screw into the upper part. This 3617 incorporates on its bottom a drain screw and a threaded hole into which I insert the water sensor. To top it off that replacement filter is even cheaper than the original replacement element that incorporated the metal lower portion.

Sorry if I've got the terminology incorrect, but I fail to see how this can create problems with air, as long as the lines are maintained properly.

Greg

 

Greg,

The unit I was asking about is mounted in the engine bay on the fire wall. This would be on the drives side. It is a pull ring type fuel/water separator. By pulling the ring up, the collected water is released from the bottom of the unit. Although my water separator hasn't caused me air leak grief (yet), many folks have reported problems with the pull ring type units. Your NAPA set-up sounds like a better solution.

Thanks to everyone for the replies.

JW

 

The old ring pull separator is a ticking time bomb on your firewall. Sooner or later it will start sucking air through the drain hose. This usually happens after someone realizes it's been a long time since they drained it, and gives it a pull. Unless you live in an area with a lot a water in the local fuel stations, you can just take it out and hook the two hoses together. I did this to my '87 and have had no problems, I change the fuel filter every other oil change. It is a lot cheaper than hunting down expensive Racor elements.