A fuel/water separator is not necessary for normal operation but it is great for peace of mind. All it takes is one bad batch of water contaminated fuel to cause running problems and possibly significant injection system damage.

THIS IS AN OLD POST, SEE HERE FOR A MORE CURRENT OPTION: http://www.superturbodiesel.com/std/fuel...ml#pid2506

I got one from a 1999 Isuzu NPR that includes a level switch. Installation is simple.
*Find a place to install it where it will be vertical.
*Run a line from the tank suction tube to the separator.
*Install the primary filter on the inlet side of the separator.
*Run the outlet side to the inlet side of the primer/lift pump.
*Wire your level switch to a light or buzzer (I connected mine to brake pad wear light/harness).
Thats it! I have yet to get any significant water thanks to the reputable station I buy my Diesel from, but if I were to get some the pad wear light will come on to notify me. At that point all I have to do is drain the separator until the water is gone.


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Does the NPR unit provide any filtration, or just oil/water separation?

Just separation.

The Stanadyne FM-100 is a great option, although it can be expensive depending on the options you want.
http://www.mwfi.com/Stanadyne_Filter/Sta...ptions.htm

Racor FG-500's were used on many 617's I've seen in the yards here. I pulled one and have it in my garage. They have a water alert that can mounted in the cabin. They have a 2,10 or 30 nominal micron filter rating depending on the element you install.

Water separator is indispensible specially when traveling. I have it on my 300D turbo in US as well as the OM616 turbo Gurkha in India. Out of the city the fuel quality drops considerably in India, I recently had my tanks cleaned and if I could tell you all about the crud that came out of my tank, it would scare the living daylights out of all of you. The water separator had treacle like substance inside and so did the lift pump so one can imagine the level of fuel contamination. Thankfully my pump survived. I use BOSCH water filters which has a all metal body and is build quality is quite sturdy.

I'm running a Baldwin filter on a ForcedInduction Modified filter head.

Forced: What's with the random pictures of my car on scales?

(01-30-2009 07:48 PM)bgkast Wrote:  I'm running a Baldwin filter on a ForcedInduction Modified filter head.

Forced: What's with the random pictures of my car on scales?

Attacmhents gone awry

I'm trying to correct the attachment errors I come across. Its a slow process but its working.

(01-30-2009 07:48 PM)bgkast Wrote:  I'm running a Baldwin filter on a ForcedInduction Modified filter head.

Whats the filter # and what do you have to do to get it on the sock Mercedes filter head?

It's a baldwin BF7591-D. To get it to fit the stock filter head you have to tap the filter head for a 16x1.5 thread and make your own 16x1.5 banjo bolt. I may start selling them If I can get some more filter heads.

Here is a discussion on M-Shop about the Baldwin Setup.

http://www.mercedesshop.com/shopforum/sh...p?t=225004





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there has to be a fuel filter that will work on the motor that is also a water separator, similar to the setup on my cummins, anyone know a part number for that

Thats why some of us modified the filter base to use a Baldwin BF7591-D filter.

what is it that you have to do to modify it, sorry for all the questions just new to benz diesels

The stock filter head uses a 14mm x1.5 treaded banjo bolt to attach to the filter head. The Baldwin BF7591-D needs a 16mm x1.5 treaded banjo bolt.
The attached pictures are from Myself and M-Shop member Diesel911 who gave me his blessing to post these pics on other forums when we first did this.
   
   

In order to use it you will have to modify the filter head to accept the larger diameter 16mm x1.5 banjo bolt. I had the filther head treaded to the 16mm x 1.5 thread. This in turn will effectively lock the bolt in place and the filter will now be spin on type. No need to loosen the bolt when changing out filters. Some use Locktite to seal the threads. I just used an O-Ring between the filter and head.

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Unfortunately, there is no readily available 16mm x1.5 banjo bolt that is long enough to clear the filter head to read the filter. So you will have to create a banjo from a regular bolt. Diesel911 created this banjo for me. He added a bleed screw by mistake. But it actually is a good mistake to have.
   

As installed on the filter head.

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The other thing you’ll neeed to do is the Baldwin filter is taller then the stock Mercedes filter. The web casting of the Powersteering mount gets in the way of a taller filter. You’ll need to devise an extension to move the filter head outward so the the taller fitler can clear the web casting.

   

In my set up, I clocked the filter head to a 1 o’Clock position to clear the web casting.

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Like bgkast's as posted earlier.





Other's have made an adapter that moves it outward and keep the same orientation.

Like Force's as posted eariler.

The bleed screw isn't really needed. There is already a hole in the base that bleeds air in the filter to the return line.

FI,

Are you still running the setup in your first post along with the Baldwin Mod?

If so, how's the line pressure? Any drop?

Nah. The Baldwin has a built in water separator (thats why there is a screw on the bottom of the filter) so the Isuzu separator would be redundant.

The Isuzu separator was on the suction side of the lift pump.

Bump for Ted L. Nancy

I just drained my 300D's filter, which has 4500 miles on it since April, and there was no trace of water.

Note: The drain plug has a 3/8" head and the threads strip very easily.

(11-26-2009 04:48 PM)ForcedInduction Wrote:  I just drained my 300D's filter, which has 4500 miles on it since April, and there was no trace of water.

Note: The drain plug has a 3/8" head and the threads strip very easily.

Sure is worth it to get it at a truck stop. When I found trace amounts of water, I started using fuel exclusively from a truck stop off the freeway.
Have not run into stripped threads yet.


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(11-27-2009 08:13 PM)DeliveryValve Wrote:  Sure is worth it to get it at a truck stop.

Very much so. Its usually a little cheaper too.

(11-27-2009 08:13 PM)DeliveryValve Wrote:  Sure is worth it to get it at a truck stop. When I found trace amounts of water, I started using fuel exclusively from a truck stop off the freeway.

I agree.... I just want a station that has high diesel turnover. If there is a local gas station (no truck stops near where I live) that has a large amount of diesel pickups fueling up, I'm just fine with that.

I did get water in the tank of the CDI from a truck stop in Indiana, and it ran so horribly I swore the engine was destroyed. Strange thing was it happened 300 miles after I filled up.... which was fortunately in Starkville. Bloody dealer accused me of putting gas in the car!!!!

(11-28-2009 12:42 PM)Tymbrymi Wrote:  ..... Strange thing was it happened 300 miles after I filled up.... which was fortunately in Starkville. Bloody dealer accused me of putting gas in the car!!!!

Oil and water doesn't mix very well. Probably what happened is it was just a blob in your fuel tank waiting to get sucked in the line. After 300 miles it did and it got a good dose of water in one bunch. I hate to see that happen to a nice car like yours.... Or any good diesel vehicle..

(11-28-2009 01:05 PM)DeliveryValve Wrote:  Oil and water doesn't mix very well. Probably what happened is it was just a blob in your fuel tank waiting to get sucked in the line. After 300 miles it did and it got a good dose of water in one bunch. I hate to see that happen to a nice car like yours.... Or any good diesel vehicle..

That's my running theory as well. The car comes with a factory water separator built into the filter, but I'm sure it can only handle so much water at a time!! I've never had it happen to my older diesels... How badly do they behave?

(11-28-2009 01:17 PM)Tymbrymi Wrote:  .... I've never had it happen to my older diesels... How badly do they behave?

Same symptoms like your CDI episode. Like crap.




.

I've got a little "airplane vodka bottle" of diesel and water. No matter how violently its shaken, the water settles out completely in less than a minute. Another interesting tidbit is after a full year in that bottle it began to grow fungi, it didn't live long without oxygen though.

So, I agree it was probably a blob of water that got sucked up all at once.
You can't really blame the dealer for suspecting g@s though. I'm sure they see it frequently enough to be tired of it. And lets face it, the average new MB buyer isn't exactly "mechanically inclined".

Any long term report on this Baldwin Mod? For my car, it's acting the same.. Normal..




.

No problems with mine. 7500 miles on the 240's when I changed it with the engine oil and 6500 miles currently on the 300's.

Forced, In your second picture, post 1, what is the other (filter???) on the inner fender well?

An Amsoil bypass oil filter.

Ahhh cool. I also see the updated link at the top... Thanks!

what about one of these AFTER the factory filter?

http://www.kennedydiesel.com/detail.cfm?ID=241

I used the napa fuel water separator in a Vanagon with a leaky tank. The aluminum fuel/water separator with the clear plastic bottom and a drain petcock like a compressor. This car had water in the fuel every time it would rain. The separator filled up to the top with water during a bad rain storm and the car stalled. I got out and drained the water out the bottom and the van started. Such a good excuse to continue running a leaky tank.

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napa filter always before factory filter