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Posted this on COFans awhile ago, thought I would share here now that I have 10K miles on this setup.
What diesel engines have to deal with contaminants, water and a harsh environment? Marine engines of course. What company sells made in the USA marine filtration that is known for exceptional quality in all the filters it makes? Racor, who offers a variety of filters meant for everything from outboard pleasure boats to massive yachts.
After looking at all the filters Racor offers and even doing some lurking on some marine forums, I settled on Racor’s one piece disposable “SNAPP” filter as it appears to be the best fit for our truck’s needs size and flow wise, and it literally is a “snap” to service. Bonus, the filter is inexpensive at around $25 for a replacement element. The 1st install kit is about $40, as it includes a mounting bracket and 2 quick connects.
Racor touts that their “aquabloc" pleated filter media coalesces and stops 99% of water from passing through, and it's clear bowl makes inspecting the fuel for water easy. Racor suggests that the 30 micron filter is for "primary" filtration, the 10 micron filter is for "secondary" filtration and the 2 micron is the final filter in the chain.
Adding a 2 micron "final filtration" and efficient water block element after the OEM filter box with a clear bowl on it so you can see what it is catching (that would otherwise have gone to the injectors and high pressure pump) and any water is present seems like pretty ideal overkill, as my after the fact understanding is the OEM filters are rated for 5 microns. Older big Duramax filters were 10 micron, which is not fine enough to prevent long term injector and high pressure fuel pump issues.
I am not an expert, but from what I gather, the “absolute” rating of a filter is going to be considerably higher than it's rating. The OEM filter’s “absolute” rating is probably more like 7 or 8 microns, while the 2 micron Racor filter’s "absolute” rating is likely 5 microns or less. In other words, adding the 2 micron filter ensures that the fuel reaching the high pressure pump is incredibly clean, which is what I wanted. With the OEM filter in front of it, the Racor should see very little "action" too, and it should last a long time.
The SNAPP filter is rated by Racor to 50 PSI. I gather from checking out videos on the big Duramaxes that our lift pump likely runs in the 6 to 9 PSI range, so that is no problem. Racor claims the 2 micron filter's pressure drop with a clean element is only .3 PSI, which I figured should not bother the stock lift pump. 10,000 miles later, this has borne out. The DIC did not register any change in fuel filter life after adding the Racor and fuel filter life in the last 10,000 miles of use has been unaffected as well.
I also have not seen any visible stuff or water in the Racor, which is great. It would seem the OEM filter does a good job, and that the add on filter won't need to be changed often at all. I plan to swap it out with every two OEM filter changes as it is downstream and should only be catching the tiniest of particles. I was hoping to see nothing visible, as water or crap in the clear bowl would mean water and crap through the injectors over the last 40K miles. We can all take some comfort in that I suppose! Been using OEM fuel filters the whole time.
The SNAPP is rated to flow 40 gallons with gas and 26 gallons per hour with diesel. I found a calculator on fuel burn vs. horsepower in diesels and determined that at max sustained power our trucks should consume 12 gallons of fuel per hour. The filter needs to flow more than that, as there has to be pressure in the line and fuel going back in the return line. 26 GPH would seem to suffice, as while we may operate at full power for a few seconds or even minutes, we would not drive our trucks at max power for an hour.
Have had the filter in place for about 7 months now and the truck has been in some high load situations without any problems. I posted this some time ago on the CO Fans board, thought I would share here. Was bored during the depths of COVID when I did this mod, it has been without issue since.
My truck is a long box, which gives a lot more room to mount the filter. A member over there on COFans followed in my demented footsteps and was able to mount this filter to his short box though. Here is a link to the filter install kit, replacement filters can be bought for less without the mount and drain screw. For whatever reason, the mount kit filters all seem to have a drain screw on them. FASS sells a 2 micron kit for our trucks that costs a cool bundle, but one can realize the same results for $40 and some ingenuity I think
Here is where I got my filter, and some photos of the install.
Racor SNAPP Disposable Fuel Filter / Water Separator Kit
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The filter clicks in firmly and the zip tie is not really necessary, but I can't help myself. Ya, it is a laughably Jed Clampett install with all those Simpson strong ties, but it works and that is all that matters. Have kept an eye on all my filter mounting bodgery, no cracking or other issues to date and it is nice to know it is getting super clean fuel that always has lube additive with each and every tankful.
This falls under the overkill category perhaps, but like I said, it was the depths of COVID at the time and I was bored. Also installed a PML deep transmission pan too, using the Mobil 1 blue label LVHP fluid, which has been working great for the last 10K miles also.
What diesel engines have to deal with contaminants, water and a harsh environment? Marine engines of course. What company sells made in the USA marine filtration that is known for exceptional quality in all the filters it makes? Racor, who offers a variety of filters meant for everything from outboard pleasure boats to massive yachts.
After looking at all the filters Racor offers and even doing some lurking on some marine forums, I settled on Racor’s one piece disposable “SNAPP” filter as it appears to be the best fit for our truck’s needs size and flow wise, and it literally is a “snap” to service. Bonus, the filter is inexpensive at around $25 for a replacement element. The 1st install kit is about $40, as it includes a mounting bracket and 2 quick connects.
Racor touts that their “aquabloc" pleated filter media coalesces and stops 99% of water from passing through, and it's clear bowl makes inspecting the fuel for water easy. Racor suggests that the 30 micron filter is for "primary" filtration, the 10 micron filter is for "secondary" filtration and the 2 micron is the final filter in the chain.
Adding a 2 micron "final filtration" and efficient water block element after the OEM filter box with a clear bowl on it so you can see what it is catching (that would otherwise have gone to the injectors and high pressure pump) and any water is present seems like pretty ideal overkill, as my after the fact understanding is the OEM filters are rated for 5 microns. Older big Duramax filters were 10 micron, which is not fine enough to prevent long term injector and high pressure fuel pump issues.
I am not an expert, but from what I gather, the “absolute” rating of a filter is going to be considerably higher than it's rating. The OEM filter’s “absolute” rating is probably more like 7 or 8 microns, while the 2 micron Racor filter’s "absolute” rating is likely 5 microns or less. In other words, adding the 2 micron filter ensures that the fuel reaching the high pressure pump is incredibly clean, which is what I wanted. With the OEM filter in front of it, the Racor should see very little "action" too, and it should last a long time.
The SNAPP filter is rated by Racor to 50 PSI. I gather from checking out videos on the big Duramaxes that our lift pump likely runs in the 6 to 9 PSI range, so that is no problem. Racor claims the 2 micron filter's pressure drop with a clean element is only .3 PSI, which I figured should not bother the stock lift pump. 10,000 miles later, this has borne out. The DIC did not register any change in fuel filter life after adding the Racor and fuel filter life in the last 10,000 miles of use has been unaffected as well.
I also have not seen any visible stuff or water in the Racor, which is great. It would seem the OEM filter does a good job, and that the add on filter won't need to be changed often at all. I plan to swap it out with every two OEM filter changes as it is downstream and should only be catching the tiniest of particles. I was hoping to see nothing visible, as water or crap in the clear bowl would mean water and crap through the injectors over the last 40K miles. We can all take some comfort in that I suppose! Been using OEM fuel filters the whole time.
The SNAPP is rated to flow 40 gallons with gas and 26 gallons per hour with diesel. I found a calculator on fuel burn vs. horsepower in diesels and determined that at max sustained power our trucks should consume 12 gallons of fuel per hour. The filter needs to flow more than that, as there has to be pressure in the line and fuel going back in the return line. 26 GPH would seem to suffice, as while we may operate at full power for a few seconds or even minutes, we would not drive our trucks at max power for an hour.
Have had the filter in place for about 7 months now and the truck has been in some high load situations without any problems. I posted this some time ago on the CO Fans board, thought I would share here. Was bored during the depths of COVID when I did this mod, it has been without issue since.
My truck is a long box, which gives a lot more room to mount the filter. A member over there on COFans followed in my demented footsteps and was able to mount this filter to his short box though. Here is a link to the filter install kit, replacement filters can be bought for less without the mount and drain screw. For whatever reason, the mount kit filters all seem to have a drain screw on them. FASS sells a 2 micron kit for our trucks that costs a cool bundle, but one can realize the same results for $40 and some ingenuity I think
Here is where I got my filter, and some photos of the install.
Racor SNAPP Disposable Fuel Filter / Water Separator Kit
The filter clicks in firmly and the zip tie is not really necessary, but I can't help myself. Ya, it is a laughably Jed Clampett install with all those Simpson strong ties, but it works and that is all that matters. Have kept an eye on all my filter mounting bodgery, no cracking or other issues to date and it is nice to know it is getting super clean fuel that always has lube additive with each and every tankful.
This falls under the overkill category perhaps, but like I said, it was the depths of COVID at the time and I was bored. Also installed a PML deep transmission pan too, using the Mobil 1 blue label LVHP fluid, which has been working great for the last 10K miles also.
