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Change fuel/water filter every year regardless of use? 1990 Crusaders 454's (FWC)

N

nightstalker

Regular Contributor
I've always changes my fuel/water filters at the end of every season on my twin 1990, (FWC) 454 Crusaders regardless of how many hours of use they have on them. Mine are the spin on, all contained type. I read a post on another forum that stated that they needed to be replaced every 500 hours. Isn't that really pushing it? I'm thinking they may be talking about a type other than the spin on type. Do you change yours every year? Is it necessary to partially fill them with fuel to prevent an air lock in the fuel system? I don't do that and have had problems at times starting the engines.
Nightstalker
 
I change mine every year at the end of the season also. I also replace them at the first hint of a problem during the season. Ethanol is causing all kind of havoc and your filters are your first line of defense. They are very reasonably priced. The idea is to change them at the dock,on a nice cool engine before they get restricted and not at sea. I use a USCG approved Chinese soup container to catch any spills removing the old filter. You can also use it to examine what was in the filter. You can usually restart with the filters dry and the pump will fill them. Its been my experience that if you change them after the engine has shut down due to lack of fuel you almost always have to fill them (who carries a full gas can?) or crank the starter until it glows to get going.

Lou
 
My 1990 Crusader 454s have the spin on/off fuel/water filters. I usually start the engines and run for just a minute or two to make sure the Quadrajet carb has a full fuel bowl for a restart, making filling the new filters unnecessary. Otherwise I have to crank, and crank, and crank the engine to first fill the filter and then fill the fuel bowl in order to get the engine started. The fuel bowl in Rochester Quadrajets seems to go dry or very low on fuel after sitting without being run for a few days or a week or so, so starting them before changing the filter helps a lot.
 
My 1981 Crusaders/Egg harbor has the original Fram filter/ water separator canisters with the filter element inside. They do have a drain in the bottom that I pull every season to check for water and I go every other season for the filter change. I have never found any water or dirt when I take apart the canisters.
 
I'd be more inclined to let engine hours determine when the filter requires replacement, but changing more frequently is certainly not a bad idea.
You may also want to consider how long the fuel has been unused.

As for pre-filling the cartridge......., you can make the call here.
With mechanical fuel pumps, I recommend that we fire the engine up for a short duration, prior to a filter change. (run it long enough to fill the carburetor float bowl)
This is so that the fuel system allows the engine to fire, and in turn, self prime the filter cartridge.
If we do not pre-fill, and if we have an engine that won't fire off quickly, we end cranking needlessly.

With an electric fuel pump, we can circumvent the Start-by-pass circuit, and prime the cartridge with the fuel pump without operating the engine........ In which case the pre-fill is not necessary.
I prefer to pre-fill to about 80%.

An air lock in a carbureted fuel system should be a non-issue. The fuel pump will pull the needed fuel into and through the filter cartridge (priming it), and the carburetor needle/seat should not cause an issue re; any air lock.


MPI and/or FI may be a different story.

BTW, if you want a more true water separating fuel filter system, look at what Parker/RACOR has to offer.
These can be purchased as a retro-fit system to your existing filter base.
Now also sold under the names; GLM, Sierra and Mallory.


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Last edited:
Thanks for the information. I'll be sure to run them for a minute or two to be certain that the carb bowl is full of fuel in order to prevent any starting problems.
Thanks Again
Nighstalker
 
If you know your tank is clean and your fuel supplier exercises due diligence, you can likely run the filters until they get "filled up". I think the filters are cheap and replacing them regularly makes much more sense. we used to run 3000 gallons thru them before replacement...but that was before ethanol was common on the fuel dock...
 
I do mine every year but do it in thr spring so gas isn't sitting in them all winter. I fill them about 2/3 full with fresh gas. Any more and they spill going back on.
 
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