Good morning all.
I have a Racor 120 fuel filter in the engine compartment and it is the model that has the dual NPT inlets and outlets. Only one of the inlet/outlet pairs are used and the other pair is blocked with the plastic plugs that I assume came with the unit when it was new. The original vent plug was also plastic and it broke off a few years ago and I replaced it with the brass one. I have read the installation instructions and there is no mention of replacing the plastic plugs with metal.
Are the unused inlets a possible source of air getting into the injection system, if the plugs are leaking? I'm thinking about replacing them with metal plugs when I get into the fuel system later this month to chase an air leak.
Since shortly after my last filter change I have experienced hard starts and this has morphed into the engine stalling about 30-60 seconds after a cold start, about 3 out of 4 times, if the engine has not been started for a couple days or longer. After a quick prime and it starts right back up and clears the rest of the air and runs smoothly. This has been mildly annoying, but we've learned to make sure it will accept a good bit of throttle before starting out. I loathe working with the fuel system because I always make a mess.
I have found several clamps loose and tightened them. Then I replaced the two short hoses on the spin-on filter because they were clearly spongy and a likely source of air. The situation today is that the engine occasionally stalls shortly after startup and has to be primed, then runs fine. No water or sediment in the Racor bowl. The fuel is clean and have had two re-fuelings since this problem started.
The engine has 1600 hours. The fuel supply hose has a loop that goes above the waterline and then goes into the Racor. Out of the Racor it goes through an electric pump that is only used for priming the system. Then to the mechanical low-pressure lift pump (?) on the engine, to the spin-on filter and then to the injector pump.
Any advice would be appreciated. The next thing I plan to do is re-seat the Racor filter and replace those plastic plugs with metal.
Cheers,
I have a Racor 120 fuel filter in the engine compartment and it is the model that has the dual NPT inlets and outlets. Only one of the inlet/outlet pairs are used and the other pair is blocked with the plastic plugs that I assume came with the unit when it was new. The original vent plug was also plastic and it broke off a few years ago and I replaced it with the brass one. I have read the installation instructions and there is no mention of replacing the plastic plugs with metal.
Are the unused inlets a possible source of air getting into the injection system, if the plugs are leaking? I'm thinking about replacing them with metal plugs when I get into the fuel system later this month to chase an air leak.
Since shortly after my last filter change I have experienced hard starts and this has morphed into the engine stalling about 30-60 seconds after a cold start, about 3 out of 4 times, if the engine has not been started for a couple days or longer. After a quick prime and it starts right back up and clears the rest of the air and runs smoothly. This has been mildly annoying, but we've learned to make sure it will accept a good bit of throttle before starting out. I loathe working with the fuel system because I always make a mess.
I have found several clamps loose and tightened them. Then I replaced the two short hoses on the spin-on filter because they were clearly spongy and a likely source of air. The situation today is that the engine occasionally stalls shortly after startup and has to be primed, then runs fine. No water or sediment in the Racor bowl. The fuel is clean and have had two re-fuelings since this problem started.
The engine has 1600 hours. The fuel supply hose has a loop that goes above the waterline and then goes into the Racor. Out of the Racor it goes through an electric pump that is only used for priming the system. Then to the mechanical low-pressure lift pump (?) on the engine, to the spin-on filter and then to the injector pump.
Any advice would be appreciated. The next thing I plan to do is re-seat the Racor filter and replace those plastic plugs with metal.
Cheers,