Are water seperators neccesary?

[skoki]

A buddy at work, an ex farmer who seems to know a lot about diesels, commented that I really don't need to reinstall my water separator after my 12H-T install. He said that none of the new detroit diesels use them. He said the quality of fuel now and the high compression of a diesel makes them obsolete. After our chat I realized that in the past my water separator light had never come on, I just got into the habit of draining it every 6 months. Any comments?

 

[brownbear]

I agree with your buddy. The fuel in Canada seems pretty good. But if you go to a small town and get diesel one day, in a slow moving diesel fillup station(not many sales) and pick up some water, it could cause some Injection pump damage, or other stuff.

For me I would run a water separator. My diesel pump is just too expensive to not have one.

 

[cruiser_guy]

I've never had to drain the separator due to getting water in it but I will never run without one either!
Water in the injection pump and injectors isn't worth the risk. The new trucks don't have it as a cost saving measure (accountant decision) not because it's a bad idea.

 

[Ron R]

Never will I run without a water separator !
In general you can trust the fuelling stations and their fuel quality. I don't think you will ever get fuel that's watercontaminated.
I never found more than a drip of water, changing the fuel filter.
But I won't take the chance. If water ever reaches the injectionpump, it'll cost a lot more than a water separator.
And don't forget. There's allways some condensation in the fueltank, causing water to collect in your tank. Just a littlebit at the time but at the end it can be quite a lot. Then...on an incline......
No, not without a separator..

 

[maximBJ70]

I've had the light come on a few times when after filling up at rural stations. They do tend to be the ones with little use and thus water condensing in them. Currently I'm between seperators. Had the Toyota which was great but rusted out the bottom. Replaced with Racor that's no where near as reliable as OEM Toyota. Regardless, on -30C Manitoba winter days I'll notice any little bit of frost/water in my fuel, and not having the seperator has been problematic. I'd reinstall it if I were you. You'll probably never have a problem, but that's a lot of money and a big pain if you're wrong.

That's my 2 cents:shotts:

 

[roscoFJ73]

Up until 95 the separate fuel filter and water separator was optional then toyota made it standard even though Australian diesel has a high standard of purity.

There are other variables to take into account such as refuelling away from a servo ,maybe on a farm or minesite or from drums on the side of the road which may not have the same quality control.

It only has to get a small amout of water once and the whole engine can be destroyed.

 

[bluerock]

I would keep the seperator for safety.

My bobcat says drain daily and the kubota hoe has a clear plastic reservoir that says drain when fuel is condensed to this line.

You cannot compress h2o no matter how hard you try.

 

[colby1979]

In my cruisers I run the factory water seperator and a Racor seperator/filter, can't afford and IP rebuild.

 

[skoki]

Case closed, water separator goes back in. Thanks Guys

 

[canucksafari]

You might also want to put in a CAV / Delphi filter before your Toy filter. I think you will find that they are cheaper to replace and will make you Toy filter last a lot longer. I have one but still haven't found time to install it. But will do it soon. You can get them fairly cheap from most farm tractor shops.

 

[cruiser_guy]

You might also want to put in a CAV / Delphi filter before your Toy filter. I think you will find that they are cheaper to replace and will make you Toy filter last a lot longer.

You can get an equivalent fuel filter to the Toyota one from Davidson (Finning) and probably Fleetguard as well as other brands.

 

[Mario]

Once I was trying to pull a buddy out of a river and water got in my diesel tank. A few minutes later, my engine started acting funny, the drain light came on and the engine shut down. Had to pump the water out several times and add some outboard oil and ATF to the diesel. If it wasn´t for the factory water separator, I would be rebuilding my TD42 right now. I even intalled an aftermarket Delphi filter/separator before the OEM unit. This one lets you inspect the diesel going to the factory filter. Good insurance for just $60.00 including additional fuel hose.