Honda/Racor Filters

[journey on]

As Everyone knows, the C-Dory 25 comes with a Honda/Racor fuel filter mounted in the aft lazerette. I just found out some interesting information regarding that filter and here it is:

The filter assembly is a Racor P/N 120A-RAC-01, which has a plastic bowl and is rated for outboard use only. The Racor replacement filter element is P/N S3240.

Now Racor has a -02 filter which has an aluminum bowl and is rated for inboard use as well as outboard use. This uses the element P/N 3230TUL

West Marine sells the filter element P/N 3230TUL, which is $5 more expensive than the previous element. Racor says it's the same element, but certified for inboard use. Certification is the only reason for the higher price. If you can find the original P/N, one can save $5.

Second, Racor now uses a flourocarbon o-ring at the bottom of the element. It's green and should come with the new element. The one I bought from West Marine apparently was old stock and had the red o-ring. They will send you a new o-ring free if you call 1-800-344-3286 and get tech support.

They claim that this new o-ring will cure the bowl sticking problem mentioned in earlier posts.

Boris

 

[thataway]

Good information--thanks Boris. This is not just Honda, but many of the boats come with this same filter. I believe I have it on the Tom Cat and Suzuki and I know I have it on the Caracal (Suzuki).

I also put a little teflon grease on the threads and "O" ring when I seat them. This also helps with the sticking issue.

 

[Casey]

Personally, I like the plastic bowl. It permits me to visually check for any water-bubbles that may be developing.

Best,
Casey

 

[journey on]

Casey,

Legally you can run either bowl since we have outboards. The rest of the boating world must run metal bowls since they have inboards.

I prefer the translucent bowl for the same reasons you do. Just remember to get one with a green o-ring.

Boris

 

[Casey]

Green "O" ring?

Tell me about this green "O" ring (please).

Best,
Casey

 

[journey on]

Casey, at the end of my first post (above) I mention that Racor has changed to a flourocarbon o-ring at the bottom of the element. It's green and should come with the new element. The one I bought from West Marine apparently was old stock and had the red o-ring. They will send you a new o-ring free if you call 1-800-344-3286 and get tech support.

They claim that this new o-ring will cure the bowl sticking problem mentioned in earlier posts.

Boris

 

[Sunbeam]

Second, Racor now uses a flourocarbon o-ring at the bottom of the element. It's green and should come with the new element. The one I bought from West Marine apparently was old stock and had the red o-ring. They will send you a new o-ring free if you call 1-800-344-3286 and get tech support.

They claim that this new o-ring will cure the bowl sticking problem mentioned in earlier posts.

I found this post yesterday when I was searching for comments from anyone using the special Racor filter bowl wrench (or something else) to remove the clear bowl. As it happened, I had just ordered a new S3240 filter cartridge to have on hand for a spare, so I noted this comment about the old/red and new/green O-rings. The new filter cartridge arrived today.... with a red O-ring! Hard to imagine it's still old stock, three years later and from a largish supplier; but I will call the listed phone number tomorrow and report back with what I find out about it.

Sunbeam :hot

 

[srbaum]

I use the Wix 33583 as a direct replacement for the Racor. Cheaper and you can buy it easier... Check Amazon's price or even your auto store.

 

[Sunbeam]

The new filter cartridge arrived today.... with a red O-ring! Hard to imagine it's still old stock, three years later and from a largish supplier; but I will call the listed phone number tomorrow and report back with what I find out about it.

I just got off the phone with tech support at Parker (Racor). Upshot is that they will be sending me a new, green O-ring free-of-charge. Actually, they are also going to send me the black "square" O-ring (I guess that'd actually be called a gasket), because, as it turns out, my brand new filter unit was made in 2001. Yep, it's already 12 years old (probably will choose another supplier next time).

I learned from the tech person how to find/read the date code on the filter, so I'll explain that here. First, orient the filter so that you are looking at the recycling symbol. In the upper left will then be the S3240, and in the lower left the Parker/Racor logo. To the right will be a vertical line of type (you would have to turn the filter cartridge 90º to read this; in other words, it's written sideways). Now, in the triangle of space delineated by that recycling symbol, the Parker/Racor logo, and that vertical line of type, there will be two sort of random looking numbers. The first one is the year, and the second one (maybe, he wasn't sure) the month. Hmm, wait, why don't I take a photo:



We got to chatting a bit while I was on the line, and (as you might have guessed) one of the problems that caused the bowl to stick was that the red gasket tended to swell up when exposed to ethanol. The tech person mentioned that they have found sometimes there is even much more ethanol in a given batch of fuel than is specified (say, 20% when it is supposed to be 10%). The green gasket is designed to be more resistant to that. Another thing he mentioned is that the bowls themselves were redesigned. Apparently the older, blue bowls could actually fall off after exposure to ethanol (I guess because they broke although he didn't go into detail). Suddenly sticking doesn't seem like such a bad problem :crook

So if you have an older, blue "clear" bowl on your filter, maybe consider replacing it - especially if you run any fuel with ethanol (I'm going to do my darndest not to, but I'm sure there will be times I do).

Thanks again to "Journey On" for bringing the O-ring change (and how to get a new one) to my attention :thup

Sunbeam :hot

 

[Sunbeam]

Okay, take 2: (Sorry but I cannot edit my last post)

So, I got to thinking, and I went and looked at the filter cartridge and gasket that are in my new entire unit that I bought a few months ago (120R-RAC-01, which includes the S3240 filter cartridge). Lo-and-behold, it also had a red O-ring. Hmph! So I called Parker/Racor tech department back, and got a different person. I mentioned the first person, just in case they wanted me to talk to him again (I figured they might want to add another O-ring to the same envelope), and this person said "Oh, I'm the only one here." So who knows?!

At any rate, when I explained, he said "Oh, no, the current O-ring is red." :crook I then re-capped the information they had given me this morning, and he said that they had made an older red O-ring, then an improved, green O-ring, and now an improved-improved, red O-ring. I explained how I was going to want to come back and edit this post with correct information, so asked if he could tell me how to tell the two red O-rings apart, but he could only say "you will see when you compare them in person."

Then, being the "trust but verify" sort (and a little light on the "trust" at the moment), I asked him about the date code. He said one was the month and one the year, but he wasn't sure which. But to his credit, he (apparently) did check when I pressed politely, and he changed the info I had from this morning's "tech person," and said that the first number is the month, and the second number is the year. Sheesh.

So anyway, they are sending me two new red gaskets, at which point I should be able to determine what the new ones look like, and whether or not any of the ones I do have are old (they couldn't tell me by the date code...). In a way it will be handy if I have at least one old one, so I can photograph both and compare, but in any case I at least should be able to post a photo of the new one. It's really too bad they couldn't just say "Well if your filter was made after X date code, you're good." Seemed weird to me, but they said no, that was not possible.

Here is a corrected photo, although I'll have to admit my confidence in their info is a bit shaken:



Not sure if this is an older or newer red gasket, either, at this point.

Sunbeam

 

[Sunbeam]

I received a package from Racor today, so I thought I would update this thread. The tech person kindly sent me a new filter unit with a new O-ring (year of manufacture, 2012), plus two new O-rings, and two of the older red O-rings for comparison. He noted that the green ones are no longer current. He also said that the "diameters are different" between the older and newer red ones, but I'm not sure if that means overall circle size or cross section of O size (not certain I can ascertain by measuring either).

That said, the color is definitely different, although I'm not sure a person could tell them apart without seeing both. Maybe. I'd describe the new red as a deeper, truer red; and the older one as more of a faded or Nantucket red.

Interestingly, both the new complete unit (120R-RAC-01) with filter that I bought last summer from Fisheries Supply, and the replacement filter (S3240) that I bought recently from Jamestown Distributors had the old, lighter red O-rings. They were also both showing a 2007 date code.

Here are some photos that show them both (not taken in sunlight - maybe that would have been better but it's too late for that today):





These newer O-rings are supposed to help prevent the bowl from sticking to the filter (which ethanol exacerbates).

Sunbeam :hot

 

[journey on]

OK, I just replaced the racor fuel filter in Journey On. My comment is that it isn't the o-ring, but the black plastic ring on the bottom of the filter element, that screws into the sediment bowl.

The problem is that it bonds to the bowl. First you find that the metal can spins on that black thing so nothing unscrews. Next you saw that can off (power hacksaw,) and you find you still don't have the needed leverage. So you grind the black plastic down, nicking the bowl, break it out and finally it unscrews. The o-ring came out long ago, it's not sticking.

That BS from Racor about the O-ring ignores the fact of incompatable plastic parts. I think they just don't care. Marine filters must not be a large market for them.

Got a little water and sediment out of the bowl. Not bad for a years use.

Boris