secondary fuel filter pin-hole leak

[hwd]

My NAPA 3390 10 micron secondary fuel filter developed a small pin-hole leak on the bottom of the spin-on cartridge after about 1 year on the engine (Universal M35).  It looks like it may have rusted through....My primary filter is a Racor 215R10 filter with R152 cartridge, which is supposed to separate out 100% of water contamination.  Has this ever happened to anyone else?

[Ralph Masters]

That "pin hole" just lets free water drain out, no worries.

[hwd]

I believe that the pinhole leak on my secondary fuel filter casing could have been due to a small amount of water in the fuel mixing with the sulfur in the fuel to form sulfuric acid, which corroded through the casing - does this sound like a plausible cause to anyone else?  The filter was on the engine for almost 2 years.  I will now change the secondary filter every year when I change my primary filter.

[Ron Hill]

hwd : That doesn't compute. If you had run the engine the diesel the Racor (which separates the water out) should have flowed thru the secondary and moved the small water particles thru the system.

Most likely is that you got a faulty filter.

A thought

[lazybone]

Filter was obviously made of "chinesium".

[KWKloeber]

My NAPA 3390 10 micron secondary fuel filter developed a small pin-hole leak on the bottom of the spin-on cartridge after about 1 year on the engine (Universal M35).  It looks like it may have rusted through....My primary filter is a Racor 215R10 filter with R152 cartridge, which is supposed to separate out 100% of water contamination.  Has this ever happened to anyone else?

"hwd"

I understand that the NAPA 3390 filter is (or at least was) manufactured by WIX (#33390).  When I was doing a "desk study" of different filter efficiencies I contacted major manufacturers, asking for their test results, specifically the beta ratios from their testing.  Wix said "We don't give out that information."  So, they got crossed of my list of EVER thinking of buying a WIX filter.  If you do a search you may find herein the results of the "study," the end result of which convinced me to "buy FleetGuard (#FF5226 or FF420030)," (or secondarily Fram) fuel filters.  My Kubota equipment dealer recommended FleetGuard (before I ever did the comparisons.) FleetGuard is "Cummins," some pretty top-notch people in equipment filtration.

Be aware that Wix stated it's filter is 10u "nominal."  There's no standard for naming filters but, with others, that means that it catches 10u and larger size particles about 50% of the time (50% efficient at 10u.)  Fleetwood was 82% efficient @10u and 97% efficient @20u.  Those numbers are idealized, not filters on our vibrating engines -- which depend on a "filter cake" developing to help attain the rated efficiencies.

"kwk"

[hwd]

Ron and Ken,
Thanks for your responses.  I think you're right - I must have had a faulty filter.  I also appreciate your suggestion to go with the Fleetwood filter, which I will do.
HWD   

[Indian Falls]

I bought my 1990 in 2008 and it had the original painted same color as the engine secondary fuel filter.
I replaced it with a Napa in 2008 and have not changed it yet as there is less than 150 hours of run time since then.