Airtex Filter & Damper

[Barry Maxwell]

I would like to replace the rubber damper unit and the rubber glass bowel gasket on the Airtex filter & damper in the attached photo. If these parts are not available, I would like to replace the entire unit. Can anyone provide source or other information. As always, thank you.

Barry

[Todd B]

What is an "Airtex filter & damper". 

[55 Fargo]

I am hypothesizing, that the OP is referring to a possible 1 way valve(anti siphon) into the filter inlet, if it has such a thing, and the rubber ring that seals the glass bowl. I would look on Epay or check parts houses for some type of generic rubber sealing ring, that might fit.

Edited January 18, 2014 by Fargos-Go-Far

[Barry Maxwell]

What is an "Airtex filter & damper". 

 

 

The top cover of the fuel filter in the photo is stamped "Airtex Gasoline Filter & Damper" and is attached to the inlet to the carb. I have always ASSUMED that it was original to the truck ('51 B3C). There is a rubber diaphragm on the top of the filter unit that dampens the flow from the fuel pump. Can any one confirm that it is original? A photo would be helpful. If it is not original, it was probably added by a P.O.  Thanks again for your help

Barry

 

P.S The "rubber glass bowel gasket" I mentioned in my original post IS the seal to the bowl.

[Desotodav]

I have only ever come across Carter fuel filter's attached to the carb Barry. I see that there are a few on Ebay at present... http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_trksid=p4634.m570.l1311.R1.TR2.TRC1.A0.Xcarter+fuel+filter&_nkw=carter+fuel+filter&_sacat=0&_from=R40 . There are some rubber seals listed among those listings as well.  

I would suggest that the one that you have fitted may have been changed out at some stage - perhaps by the PO?

I have attached a couple of photos of the one fitted to my 52 truck. 

[Scruffy49]

You can get service kits via shops that carry Ford 8N and 9N, and John Deere 1020UL tractor parts. Very generic filter element and gasket. If you have Tractor Supply Company in your area, figure $10-15 dollars plus tax. You should also be able to get service parts through NAPA, Carquest, Federated, and National Auto Parts. Fram element is dirt common still, so are the seals. Drops right in with the AC Delco, John Deere, Willys, and Autolite housings I have in the garage (dozen or better).

[Frank Elder]

Had 1 on my 49 plymouth.....when you remove it don't lose the fuel needle. It resides in line between the filter and the carb, at least that's were it was on mine.

[MBF]

The gasket should be available at a NAPA store if you take your glass bowl with you for them to match up the size.  Not to hijack this thread, but if there is a filter/sediment bowl on the fuel pump, is there really a need for another one needed right above the exhaust manifold?  Mike

[Barry Maxwell]

The gasket should be available at a NAPA store if you take your glass bowl with you for them to match up the size.  Not to hijack this thread, but if there is a filter/sediment bowl on the fuel pump, is there really a need for another one needed right above the exhaust manifold?  Mike

 

 

Mike makes a good point - I suspect that there is no need for a second filter unit. Especially one that is directly above the manifold. Also, the Parts Manual does not show a filter unit attached to the carb. I have concluded that the Airtex unit unit shown in my original post must have been added by a P.O. Thus, at this point I will add a line from the fuel pump (which is new and has a fuel bowl) directly to the carb. Does this make sense? Thanks to all of you who have contributed to this thread.

Barry

[Don Coatney]

Your vacuum advance tube, what black material is it made from?

[Merle Coggins]

The gasket should be available at a NAPA store if you take your glass bowl with you for them to match up the size.  Not to hijack this thread, but if there is a filter/sediment bowl on the fuel pump, is there really a need for another one needed right above the exhaust manifold?  Mike

 

The sediment bowl at the pump only has a screen and would larger particles (sediment) from getting into the check valves of the pump and causing a problem. They would then fall to the bottom of the bowl. The filter at the carb, at least on mine, has a sintered bronze filter that would do a better job of collecting the finer particles that could cause issues in the carb.

Edited January 19, 2014 by Merle Coggins

[Barry Maxwell]

Your vacuum advance tube, what black material is it made from?

 

 

Don:

It is steel and it is a bugger to bend and get the fittings to thread.,  When I painted it near the beginning of my several year restoration, I assumed it should be black. Now I realize it should have been silver. Bummer!! I may repaint, particularly if I have enough other parts to justify a small shoot.

Barry

[Barry Maxwell]

 

Merle:

My Airtex unit does have a sintered bronze screen as you describe. I have attached a photo, hopefully following this text. I still haven't quite figured out to get my photos in the correct location in my posts.

 

Now, I am in a quandary. Do you know whether PH trucks did or did not include another unit at the carb.? At this point I can either eliminate the Airtex unit and go straight from the pump to the carb., or include it and hope that the rubber diaphragm damper holds up after all these years. I assume that it was working when I drove the truck into my shop several years ago. But then again, if it wasn't working I probably wouldn't have known it.

Barry

[Don Coatney]

Don:

It is steel and it is a bugger to bend and get the fittings to thread.,  When I painted it near the beginning of my several year restoration, I assumed it should be black. Now I realize it should have been silver. Bummer!! I may repaint, particularly if I have enough other parts to justify a small shoot.

Barry

I used an inexpensive tubing bender to work all my steel lines and it worked well.

 

 

[JBNeal]

this damper device looks similar to the fuel filter bowl, but that diaphragm has me a little stumped.  Why would this flow damping be needed?  Maybe it was used in rough terrain areas to keep fuel from sloshing into the carb chamber which could lead to flooding, my best guess.  At any rate, I have seen different styles of fuel filter bowl assemblies from Carter, AC, Fram, etc. attached to the carb, some with no filter, some with a replaceable paper element, some with a permanent stone element.  I'm not too crazy about the stone elements because I've tried to clean a few and it's very easy to erode the stone when trying to scrub varnish from the surface, even after it has soaked in harsh chemicals for days.  The paper elements have new rubber gaskets for the bowl, and I've monitored these paper elements on the '48 to watch for what kind of foreign elements that they collect.  Since the sediment bowl on the fuel pump separates the heavier materials from the fuel, the much lighter elements collect on the paper that appear to be varnish-like.  My guess here is that after prolonged periods of non-use, the fuel in the lines starts to gum up a little, and the fresh gasoline (now with ethanol!) has a tendency to flush the lines when the truck is in use.  This gummy brown gunk gets caught in the paper filter before it has a chance to collect in the fine passages of the carburetor, which I assume is why I haven't needed to tear the carb apart and clean it thoroughly in the past 4 years.

 

One option I have seen is to remove the fuel filter bowl assembly from the carburetor and place the fuel filter element in the sediment bowl of the fuel pump.  Later engines would have a mechanical fuel pump that had no sediment bowl and a downstream filter element to catch all foreign material, and by moving the element to the sed.bowl mimics this later reduction of parts.  My only question is finding the correct adapter at the carburetor to the fuel line, as the fitting between the carb & fuel filter housing typically contains the needle valve that works with the carb float to control fuel delivery.

 

The fuel filter elements that I have used are the Wix 33034 for the smaller glass bowls and the Wix 33943 for the larger glass bowls.  There are probably other elements available, but they should all fit to the glass bowl being used.

 

[Don Coatney]

I also question the function and need for a "damper". Hopefully someone can explain the purpose of this damper. I have installed an aftermarket inline fuel filter between the tank and the fuel pump. This filter is located inside the frame rail under the drivers seat. I also have a fishbowl filter screen at the fuel pump. I do not have a filter between the pump and carburetor and to date I have net seen a need for one.

 

This reminds me of an incident I once had at a quick oil change place with my modern truck. The oil change technician had me follow him under my truck so he could show me the condition of my fuel filter. He told me that he had been trained on how to spot a fuel filter in need of replacement. The outside of my filter had a build up of road dirt. I had replaced it only a few months before. So I asked this technician how he could tell the condition of the filter media by looking at the outside of the filter. He told me that he was taught that if the outside of the filter was dirty then it was in need of replacement. I told him no thanks and I noticed a pronounced attitude change in his behavior. I never returned to that place of business.

[Young Ed]

Another thing if you decide to keep the filter you should be able to get the proper needle and seat fitting and avoid the adaptor setup in your picture.

[Barry Maxwell]

In order to close out this thread I started, I decided to retain the Airtex filter/damper unit. I got a rubber bowl seal from NAPA. I talked with a man who has been with Airtex for many years and he said he never heard of the unit I described. Thus, there is no hope of replacing the rubber damper component. Nevertheless, I decided to reuse the unit and hope for the best. If the damper unit develops a leak I will remove the unit and go directly from the pump to the carb. Thanks to all you who have contributed to this thread.

Barry

[Jeff Balazs]

Hi Barry;

For what it is worth. I am of the opinion that we need all the filtration we can get. I think it is very wise of you to retain that filter as it is sure to prevent some junk from getting into your carb. A screen is not enough.  I spent 20 years designing fueling systems , truck loading racks etc.... people are under the impression that our fuel supply is clean....and I am telling you nothing could be further from the truth. You can have an as new system get dirty in a hurry. That little filter is your last and best line of defense.

Jeff

[Dave72dt]

When you consider how old that part likely is and how long it's been obsoleted from Airtex's commonly used parts, not surprising your results came up negative.  "Lot's of years"  could be 10 years or 30 or 50, probably not in the same department and the majority would be dealing with current issues, not restoration.  My concern would be the gasohol eating up the old damper material and sending into the carb.

[JBNeal]

one alternative is to remove the damper component and replace it with a simple flange gasket...if the damper is made from rubber that is period correct, it will be destroyed by the ethanol in today's gasoline, possibly sending rubber chunks into the carb.  Replacing the damper with a simple flange gasket allows fuel to pass through the bowl without the damping effect...add a paper filter to the bowl, and you've converted this damper into a fuel filter housing.  The flange gasket material should be something that can withstand that ethanol component in gasoline, more than likely fabricated from sheet material.  The trick I've used is to put a thin film of light oil on the flange then set the flange on the material firmly rather than do a tracing on the material.  I can then cut the sheet material carefully with a sharp knife or scissors

[Barry Maxwell]

JBNeal:

Excellent suggestion!! I should have thought of that myself. It would take the rubber damper completely out of the equation. I have rolls of Victolex gasket material (1/32" and 1/16") from NAPA. I will check with them to see if it is resistant to ethanol, or whether they have a better product. Instead of a paper filter, the Airtex unit has a sintered bronze disk that filters out small particles. Post #13 has a photo of the Airtex unit, including the disk. Thank you for your post.

Barry

[JBNeal]

I reckon the paper element is to catch material in the 10 micron range to protect the carb passages from fouling or abrasion, whereas that screen is to catch larger material that can be seen with the naked eye like sand crystals, grizzled whiskers and whutnot

[DJ194950]

JBNeal:

Excellent suggestion!! I should have thought of that myself. It would take the rubber damper completely out of the equation. I have rolls of Victolex gasket material (1/32" and 1/16") from NAPA. I will check with them to see if it is resistant to ethanol, or whether they have a better product. Instead of a paper filter, the Airtex unit has a sintered bronze disk that filters out small particles. Post #13 has a photo of the Airtex unit, including the disk. Thank you for your post.

Barry

 

 

Question, in my trying to understand how the spring/diaphram work, it appears to Me that they would be under the screwed on top? cap that has to vent hole in it?

If so, replacing the diaphram/spring set up with just a single gasket would leak fuel or suck air if just a outer gasket is made or if a gasket the fill the void completely simularly as the diaphram does now that it could still flex up and down with fuel suction or pressure depending how the worksbecause of the raised area ??

 

If i'm totally lost on this please let me know! Not a problem.

 

Doug

[JBNeal]

that's a pilot hole for a self tapping screw