fuel filter/fuel water separator.....

[charlie_the_tuna]

how often should i change the element? this thing is $50 bucks.
man, this boat is nickel and diming me to death and i'm still a ways off from splashing.

[phatdaddy]

I change it every 100 hour service. Dirty fuel,more often. I have the racor with a site glass that lets me check it between changes. The one on the engine comes in the 100 hour service kit. There is one in the fuel rail that I just changed at 700 hours. I figure the gas has to go through 2 filters before it gets to that one. Plus it s a PIA to get to.

[SkunkBoat]

every spring

dunno which one you have but I have Racor S3213 style with the clear bowl.
Be careful, there are two diameters of the threaded part. S3213 matches merc/Yam/Suzuki oem

S3214 is different. Matched OMC.

But you never know if the PO put the wrong one there

You need a filter that is 90gph/10 microns. Be careful to look at that.

I get Sierra 18-7919 on Amazon $26. Replaces Racor S3213. Reuse the clear bowl. Sometimes West Marine has them 1/2 price.

[charlie_the_tuna]

half price at west marine?!?!? that's because everything at west marine is marked up 2,500%. they triple the price just by adding the word "marine".

[steplift20]

Once a year

[spareparts]

is that a racor filter? They are good for diesel, I don't like them for gas, they tend to rust if left setting for extended time. I use the sierra fuel filter assembly, either the stainless bracket or aluminum. I favor the 18-7945 spin on filter for $12.95, and replace it often

[Blue_Runner]

Once a year. I waited 2 years this last time because I didn't use the boat very much. It is also the one with the site bowl. I went to take the old filter off and the site bowl popped off spilling gas down in the compartment. Even a better reason to change every year. Can't imagine how that would have went if it would have popped off on the water.

[charlie_the_tuna]

so i pumped the tank dry and got about 25 gallons of sh!t gas that i don't know what to do with. i could see there was plenty of crao on the bottom of the tank so i decided i would run it for a few hours, try to stir up all the crap in the tank and then i would swap out the filter.
also got a set of plugs i wanna swap out. $30 buck for a set of plugs. but the dam thing is running so right that i don't wanna rock the boat (pardon my pun). well, one thing at a time. today on the way to the inlet, i'm gonna take the easy way out with the trim tab fix. the starboard tab came loose from the hinge. i don't know the exact configuration of the hinge, so i'm gonna remove the 3 screws that hold the cylinder to the transom and pin the port side tab to the neutral position. it's a quick fix and it should get me through the season without having to haul her out to find a more permanent solution.