Hydraulic/Fuel Filter/Water Separator assistance

[Tim Schafer]

When I bought my coach it had the following after market filters already installed in the maintenance bay.
BT839 Hydraulic filter
BF7634 Fuel Filter
FS19592 Water separation filter.

My googling skills have come up with the following Cat part #s for 2 of the 3.  Can anyone confirm if these are the correct part #'s and what the correct Cat part # for the water separator filter is.

773492 077-3492 for the hydraulic filter
1R-0751 for the fuel filter
for the fuel separator.

I have a 97 patriot with the cat 3126 engine.
I don't know where to find the serial # of the engine, if someone can give me a pointer on where to find it I'll be glad to post it too.

Thanks,

Tim & Ann

[LaMonte Monnell]

Hi Tim,

The CAT part number on my 2001 Contessa 3126B for the fuel/water separator is: 175-2949

I haven't changed my hydro filter yet and needed this number....wasn't sure how to change it because of how its mounted, didn't want to lose all the fluid if I removed it to try to match for a new one?

The serial number should be on top of the valve cover on a metal tag.

[Doug Allman]

Tim. If you would email Dave Atherton club member and 42 year retired CAT mechanic he will be more then happy to assist you. david.e.atherton@gmail.com

[Keith Moffett]

Tim
The sereal no. Should be on a white label on top of the valve cover.
There was no hydraulic filter on our '98- 3126B.

[Doug Allman]

When we had our 1991 Contessa the hydraulic filter was in the can that you checked the hydraulic fluid at. It had a clamp that you took off (like a removable barrel lid) to get the top off of the can and there it was immersed in the fluid. I found it by accident when I wanted to repaint the can top that was getting rusty. It did not smell too good (burnt) as I do not ever believe it had been changed in 12 years when I found it. I wasn't a BAC member then so I did not have the benefit of the forum.

[Gerald Farris]

Tim,
The engine serial number will not help with the hydraulic and water separator filters because those two filters were originally installed by SMC from aftermarket suppliers and not Cat. Your water separator filter is probably a Racor.

Gerald

[Tim Schafer]

Does that mean I don't necessarily need to use cat brand filters for the hydraulic and water serparator? and only for the fuel filter?

Because they are quite a bit more expensive than the ones that are on it now.  Also approx what maintenance window is recommended for replacement of these?  I've owned it a year, they came on it and it had sat for 18 months prior to my purchasing it, so I'm assuming they are 3 years old at a minimum.  I've only put 1k miles on it since purchase, so haven't abused anything to bad yet, but want to get done what I can and just need to know for future reference how often to replace.  Yearly? After x miles, etc.

Thanks,

Tim & Ann

[William Ervin]

Hydraulic filter I use on my 96 Patriot is a Wix 51551

Secondary fuel filter is a fleetguard FF5321

I converted my racor to a cat water seperator but the Racor cartarge filter is a Wix 533621


Use the filter that works for you Wix puts out excellent filters for your coach.   I change external filters once a year, and I just changed my transmission filters at 110000 miles.  Most folks on here do yearly fluid/filter changes

[Gerald Farris]

Bill,
I would only use a Cat secondary fuel filter, but the hydraulic and primary/water separator filter can be any good brand filter in my opinion. The Cat secondary fuel filter is a 2 micron filter that is critical in keeping any dirt out of the injector system, and not many other brands have filtration that fine. However the 30 micron primary/water separator is a normal filtration level (filters out sticks and leaves) that is commonly available from most suppliers as is the filtration level for the hydraulic system.

The change interval on filters is a personal decision in low usage situations. Cat recommends changing the secondary filter once yearly, and I would follow that unless you are comfortable in changing it beside the road if a restriction develops and you understand how to recognize when one happens. However, if you are using fuel from a major truck stop, and driving very little (3,000 to 8,000 miles a year), I see not reason that you can not stretch that change interval to as much as every other year.

The primary/water separator filter and hydraulic filter, I would change every 3 years or so unless you have other issues like contaminated hydraulic fluid or microbes (diesel algae) in your fuel.

Gerald       

[William Ervin]

Hey Gerald

The fleetguard filter on the secondary is a 2 micron.  I bought it because it was a 2 micron and has a good reputation in the OTR trucking world, being significantly less expensive than the cat version helped as well .   I change all my filters yearly at the beginning of my spring travels whether I think they need it or not .

Bill

[Tim Schafer]

I received the hydraulic filter and cat fuel filter, any tips on replacing them?  I think I read somewhere not to add diesel to the filter but to use the air/water purge buttons to pull fuel in, is this correct?

What about the hydraulic filter, do I want to pour any residual fluid from the old filter into the new filter before reattaching so as not to lose any fluid or will this bring over contaminants that it had already filtered once?

I should receive the water separator filter tomorrow.  May wait and do all 3 at once.

Thanks again for any info provided!

Tim & Ann

[Gerald Farris]

Tim,
Cat sates that you should not pour unfiltered fuel into the center of a filter because that is supplying unfiltered fuel directly to the engine injector system. If possible, always install your fuel filters dry with a slight amount of fuel applied to the seal for lubrication. If absolutely necessary, you can pour fuel into a filter to fill it by pouring fuel very slowly into the small outer holes only. Hydraulic filters should be installed dry with a lubricated seal.

If you have a Racor air purge system, it is very easy to change fuel filters. Install both filters dry (if your are changing both), then loosen the air bleeder at the top of the secondary filter, and press the air purge button. If the purge pump stops before you get clean fuel out of the port on the top of the secondary filter, press it again. If you have never changed fuel filters on a diesel engine or if you are unsure about the procedure, get someone to walk you through the procedure. You should never introduce air into your injection system as it is difficult and sometimes expensive to get out.

Gerald

[Lee Welbanks]

Gerald is correct about filling a Cat fuel filter, go get a 1" 14 thread bolt 2" long put a oring around the threads and screw it into the filter mounting hole, then pout the fuel in the outside filter holes. Works great I have done this for years.

[Tim Schafer]

Tim,
Cat sates that you should not pour unfiltered fuel into the center of a filter because that is supplying unfiltered fuel directly to the engine injector system. If possible, always install your fuel filters dry with a slight amount of fuel applied to the seal for lubrication. If absolutely necessary, you can pour fuel into a filter to fill it by pouring fuel very slowly into the small outer holes only. Hydraulic filters should be installed dry with a lubricated seal.

If you have a Racor air purge system, it is very easy to change fuel filters. Install both filters dry (if your are changing both), then loosen the air bleeder at the top of the secondary filter, and press the air purge button. If the purge pump stops before you get clean fuel out of the port on the top of the secondary filter, press it again. If you have never changed fuel filters on a diesel engine or if you are unsure about the procedure, get someone to walk you through the procedure. You should never introduce air into your injection system as it is difficult and sometimes expensive to get out.

Gerald

What would you lubricate the gaskets with on the hydraulic one?  Just some hydraulic fluid? 

Thanks,

Tim & Ann

[Gerald Farris]

Tim,
As a general rule for automotive applications, you lubricate the seal on a filter with the fluid that it is filtering, but you can also use a light weight oil.

Gerald