69birdman
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I used a strap wrench with nylon band, grab as high on filter as possible. 
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MEP 803a Fuel Water/Separator
- Thread starter ZackMan
- Start date
This.Just take the side panel off so you get get the wrench in from there. Dont waste any other time doing it any other way. And make sure to oil the new gasket when you put it in
Easier and less chance of messing something else up. Also gives you a chance to inspect everything in the back part of the control cube. I've done it only on 2 802a's and they were nightmare tight with very little room to work. Go in from the side and grab it high.
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Sound advice, life is too short to screw around trying anything less on these filters.. mac/mcJust take the side panel off so you get get the wrench in from there. Dont waste any other time doing it any other way. And make sure to oil the new gasket when you put it in
JRM
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Got it off- 3 quick questions, the new filter came with a hose washer size rubber washer I did not see one used on the old filter? Can the drain petcock be transferred to the new filter? I took the side panel off as Lightinthedark recommended and that did work quite well, many thanks for that advice but....there are nuts on the inside that cannot be reached when I assemble it, are people using sheet metal screws? Thanks, Joe
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smokem joe
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I use a piece of tape on a box wrench for those nuts that I can't reach. It is a cheap and easy solution.
JRM
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Hmmm, some of those are pretty impossible to reach unless there is some soft of trick- Maybe stuffing my 3yr old inside the unit?
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No transfer isnt possible. I don't know if they are still up there, but the OEM separator was on fleabay recently in quantity. That way you can retain the drip line. I personally dont mind just tucking a coffee can under a non OEM filters and seeing what comes out.
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I personalty would just go without the hose to the outside. Simply install any old petcock that fits and like LITD said, coffee can. My all time favorite was baby food glasses. That way I could see in a heartbeat if there was water in the fuel or not.
On many a cold night, I just did not have it in me to go back to the shop another time, (seems like a million trips) so I took a tiny little smear of crazy glue and glued the nut to my finger. If your fast, you do not even loose much skin.
On many a cold night, I just did not have it in me to go back to the shop another time, (seems like a million trips) so I took a tiny little smear of crazy glue and glued the nut to my finger. If your fast, you do not even loose much skin.
JRM
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Maybe im just fat, but i cannot even come close to reaching some of those bolt/nut locations due to air baffles and such- anyone jb weld the nuts on the panel prior to assembly?
smokem joe
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You need some movement in everything to get it all back together. Get all the bolts started before you snug them up. I've taped extensions to ignition wrenches with the nut taped in the box end on vehicles before when I couldn't reach
m32825
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I've used my teenager for hard to reach bolts. Just wait until he comes by and mention that "getting this bolt started is impossible" and voila, a couple minutes later he's showing me how easy it was!
Jeff H
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About the small rubber washer that comes with the 3472 filter.
I decided to use it after reading this https://www.turbodieselregister.com/threads/fuel-filter-small-square-cut-gasket.244828/
I just got this 803 and it has 28 hours. And yes like everyone else, the original water separator filter was quite difficult to remove. Vise-Grip locking chain clamp pliers did the trick. Strap type oil filter wrenches would never have worked.
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Mep-803aDad
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Finally
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If we were in the Boy Scouts, there would be a much coveted merit badge for the removal of this water separator. I have changed a lot of them, and none of them were easy.
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The shortcut is to swing the side panel on the operator cube out of the way, and use a chain wrench as high on the separator as you can and give it hell. WAY easier than all other methods.
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Fermont should have included a free drink coupon in the operating manual, for those who uninstall one.
Mep-803aDad
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FREE PITCHER OF
BEERMep-803aDad
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This was what mine looked like after I got it out ....
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Battlefield Flag Co
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I know this is 6 years old, but if you're still on here and get this.... thank you! Saved me a ton of time and frustration. 30 minutes to remove the panel and got the filter off without the horror stories some have shared. Strongly recommend this approach.Just take the side panel off so you get get the wrench in from there. Dont waste any other time doing it any other way. And make sure to oil the new gasket when you put it in
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Its the only way, for sanity's sake.