Removal of racor fuel filter.

I like the cold water/hot water solution.

Here's what I did:

Now I hope this helps others when they are trying to get that expensive Racor plastic sight bowl off the old filter.


I changed my Racor s3240 filter element and clear plastic bowl today. I purposefully bought a new bowl because of the bad things I read about changing them out.

I put lots of motor oil on red o ring and grease on threads of bowl and mating threads on filter. Only tightened hand tight.

After success on changing filter, priming with fuel and starting both motors decided to try and get old plastic filter bowl off old, rusty filter.

Put old filter in bench vise and took large jawed filter pliers and turned plastic bowl easy enough. Problem was that threads were locked into plastic bowl but broke away from metal filter and whole thing turned.

So decided to drill a small hole near base of filter and screwed in a sheet metal screw hoping to immobilized threads in base of filter. Locked back into vise and put filter pliers back on plastic bowl and SUCCESS! Plastic bowl turned and unscrewed off threads.

Now I just need to clean out the old sight bowl and have a spare.
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I had this issue every year. My solution was to use an 18" pipe wrench to remove the filter/bottom bowl, place the bottom bowl in a vice, and then use the pipe wrench again to remove the filter. I always lubed the o-rings but it always seized up. No sweat with the above tools though.
 
I just bought me a new bowl for my mini filter. (Part # Sierra 18-7987). I wonder if using some anti-seize compound would work, without effecting the integrity of the plastic? I have had the same problem in the past removing the bowl from the filter. Colby
 
I use Vaseline petroleum jelly on any o rings or plastic threads. I use the same type of Racor filter and bowl and never had to resort to the screw driver tricks. But I do change out all fuel filters annually. I used to use Vassoline on the bottom of bulbs to prevent corrosion before we switched to sealed led lights. Seems work and it's cheap enough.
D.D.
 
And yet another THANK YOU to the group. My bowl was stuck. Now it isn't. Had to drill a 1/8" hole through metal casing and plastic threaded insert, and immobilize both with a little metal rod. Still awful hard to turn. Used the filter wrench on the metal body and CAREFULLY used a screwdriver on the two round protrusions of the bowl bottom (one is for the drain valve, the other has no apparent purpose). Worked great! All back together. Didn't treat the threads and washers with anything more magic than motor oil.
 
You would really think such a high end, expensive product would put a teflon coating on the threads or at least use something to prevent corrosion.
 
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