Water Separator - Is It Necessary?

The prior owner had installed a water separator just below the tank before the fuel line. I wasn’t planning on removing it. but I want to install the advance adapters chain clutch linkage and, of course, the fuel pump is in the way.

I could push the pump forward a bit, but if I don’t need the water separator, i would rather remove it and push the pump back.

Thoughts? For what it’s worth, I’m running ethanol defense which is supposed to keep water out of the fuel.

 

There are for sure some fuels where a water separator is useful, but it is always better to have the minimum appliances in a car, it can add problems.

 

I don't think you need it....water in fuel is not normally an issue for a gas engine vehicle. Heck, most new cars don't have a fuel filter at all.

 

Why do you think you need an electric pump?

 

I never heard of a water separator for a gas engine. The only instance of water I can recall was when my grandpa got a load of bad gas in his 94 Ranger. The fuel filter stopped the water before it got to the engine. I would suggest a high quality inline fuel filter and remove the water separator

 

I think water in gas can definitely be an issue. But regular use of an additive like Seafoam works well for me.

 

In the '70s, Jeepers ran them when driving to Mexico. The Pemex gas was reputed to be contaminated with water often.

Working well now? I'd make an S-shaped line from the tank to the sediment bowl / water separator and move the whole shebang back and out of the way.

 

It's very tidy now. Too bad it's in the way. You can just cut the tubing and use a short length of fuel hose to join the sections. Low pressure fuel does not warrant such fancy fittings.

 

Story time...
An ex-girlfriend and I had a tradition of tent camping and hiking the falls trail at Ricketts Glen State Park in PA every New Year’s Eve. The last year we did it, we took my ‘79 Scout. It went sub-zero that night, and the Scout wouldn’t start in the morning. The battery had a few cranks left in it by the time I pinpointed the issue to a low section of metal fuel line being frozen solid with ice. When thawed, the gas could slide past the water with no issue.

I had a propane torch in my parts bin, but it was so cold, I couldn’t get that to light. There were a few hot coals left from the campfire; I remember spinning the canister in the coals to warm it enough to ignite, then warming the fuel line with the open flame. Good times.

It finally started on the battery’s last ounce of life. I let it run long enough to charge the battery, then I pulled it apart to blow the water out. Unrelated, but as I was doing that, my GF slipped and smashed her head on the ice, just to add insult to injury.

Just remembering what life was like before cell phones...

Anyway, I remember water-in-gas being enough of an issue that I knew to look there as the no-start culprit. Today’s ethanol probably just absorbs any of the water and burns it as an added benefit.

 

PO installed it. Looks like there is plenty of clearance for a mechanical pump, so I’m not sure why. But it is working very well, so I plan to keep it as-is.

 

I agree the setup is very tidy. I am ordering a few barb fittings so that I can remove the water separator without having to cut anything. That way I can always put it back into the PO’s configuration if needed/wanted.

 

Maybe, but it also leaves a lot of crud in carb bowls, etc.

Many years ago, I filled up my Willys pickup at the gas station, drove about ten feet before it stopped dead and would not re-start. Thanks to my clear in-line filter I could see some water. When I pulled the tubing it drained off about a quart of water, which had to have come from the commercial pump.

 

i was not familiar with them until I started digging into this project. I removed an external oil filter that used some of the same fittings. The plumbing to the filter also had some elbows that were swagelok on one end and 1/8 npt on the other, so I’m going to repurpose those to adapt the swagelok to 1/8 npt, and then add a 1/8npt to 5/16 barb so I can install flexible fuel hose.

the external oil filter was actually very interesting. It was mounted to the firewall and used a roll of toilet paper as the filter. PO installed it because there wasn’t clearance for a normal filter due to the exhaust being in the way as the headers dump forward and then the exhaust pipe curves back around.

I wasn’t really trusting the TP filter, so I cut and rewelded the exhaust to provide clearance for a standard screw on filter.

 

I’m installing an advance adapters chain driven clutch assembly, as the current lever assembly isn’t working very well. Problem is that the box that holds the cog on the AA setup mounts to the frame further back than the original clutch bell crank...exactly where the fuel pump currently sits. So I need to either push the pump forward or backward to make room.