which add on fuel filter, Dahl or Donaldson

[sydneymark]

As per the subject line, of the two options, Dahl and Donaldson, which fuel filter would you suggest, and why.

they both seem to be about a similar price, $150ish, both 2 microns, one is a bit smaller than the other, but otherwise they both have their fans on here.

soon i am off on the first of a few big trips, into the red centre this time, so I guess dodgy fuel could be an issue, though i guess the same could be said about sydney fuel! LOL

thanks in advance

[Cowboy Dave]

Which one of the Donaldsons is 2 micron? They seem to get mentioned quite a lot but they often end up being something other than 2 micron either due to stock problems or wrong parts being ordered or whatever. Maybe they've finally caught up though? Tony runs the Dahl and I figure he knows what he's on about more than I do so that would likely be enough for me. Also that's the smaller of the two I think? I gather you can fit a spare element from the model 65 in your glove box which sounds good to me. Having said that I went with the racor parker and shipped it in from the states to avoid the stupid prices they sell for here. It was probably still more than you've said these will cost so not directly comparable. Also it's huge. But I've been happy with it and grabbed a spare filter or two when I bought it so I should be right for a while.

[snowman]

i can fit 2 Dahl filters in my already full glove box.

it is MUCH smaller than the Donaldson. That said you are probably up for more filter changes as it would have less filter area.

i would not fit the larger unit on my car with compressor, winch control box and crap like that. it was the size that sold me.

it doesn't have its own pump but i didn't seem to have any issues priming it when i put it on he MN.

[AnOldFart]

It's your money, so your own choice to make 'sydneymark'. For me, mounting space was not a limitation at all on my MN SingeCab Ute and so I went for the Donaldson. Fitted perfectly to tray chassis rails directly above fuel tank outlet. Kept original Mitsui fuel tank outlet hose intact, and just routed it upwards onto right angle barb fitted to outlet side of filter mounting head unit and used about 50cm of SAE30-R7 hose to go from right angle barb on inlet side of head unit back onto the tank outlet pipe. Reasons for my choice, the Donaldson is a physically larger filter, ie, larger filter media area available, very low flow restriction, inbuilt visage glass water separator, good value/price and easy availability Australia wide, long proven top quality product, OEM supplier to heavy diesel transport and earthmoving manufacturers. Friendly and helpful Australian based Technical Filtration Support staff. You can have a look at their 4WD recommended 3micron 99% filter setup here.....

http://donaldsontoolbox.com.au/newslett ... ead%20more

Cheers,
AOF

[sydneymark]

AOF, am I right in thinking that you have mounted the donaldson kit back near the fuel tank and not in the engine bay?

In which case you are using it as a pre filter filter and not as a post filter filter, right?

[AnOldFart]

AOF, am I right in thinking that you have mounted the donaldson kit back near the fuel tank and not in the engine bay?

In which case you are using it as a pre filter filter and not as a post filter filter, right?

You're spot-on the money 'syd'. I was originally, going to "do the usual" ie, try to 'shoe-horn' in, a smaller -post OEM- filter into my already overcrowded engine bay but, after talking to the staff at Donaldson Tech Support in Sydney about my ideas and what they had available in their filter range that might do the job, I then looked at the problem from a different angle, after taking into consideration that my own vehicle was still under Mitsui warranty. As the boys at Donaldson pointed out to me, if I -opened- the Mitsui -closed fuel circuit- plumbing --after-- ie, on the engine side, of their OEM fuel filter, and I subsequently, suffered a SCV, or fuel pump failure, how could --I-- prove, to Mitsui, that the problem wasn't actually caused by me, allowing ingress of SCV or Pump destroying "Crap" (that's a Technical Term by the way ) into their --normally-- closed ie, sealed, post OEM fuel circuit....... It's just for that very reason, that Donaldson --never-- recommend messing about with the manufacturers --closed-- ie, post, OEM Fuel Filter circuit and always advise fitting any additional filtration --prior-- to the OEM post filter circuit. So, after due consideration of the fact that Mitsui had far deeper pockets than me, if it ever came to us having to trade blows with them in a court of law over just who, should pay for a dead SCV / Fuel Pump on my own vehicle whilst it was still under factory warranty, combined with the fact that I had literally shiteloads of space available to me for mounting the filter external, to my already cramped engine bay ie, under the alloy tray back and directly above the fuel tank outlet, the decision simply became a no-brainer.
Obviously, with this set-up, the Mitsui 10 or 15 micron (depends on who you believe) OEM fuel filter, becomes completely redundant ie, it's getting a completely free ride, courtesy of the 3 micron 99% Donaldson 'pre-filter' mounted at the tank outlet, but it matters 'not even a fat rat's arce' to me, because I'm still getting my fuel 'polished' to 3 microns and I'm also avoiding giving Mitsui any possibility of avoiding a SCV or Pump warranty claim should the proverbial ever hit the fan with either of them, GOD forbid........ At slightly less than $25 each from my local filter shop I am happy to pay Donaldson's price for their P551615 3 micron 99% replacement filter elements and I carry one of them completely sealed up dust-tight in plastic bubble-wrap, as a spare, in my Ute's tool box. As 99.5% of my time is spent on the pot-holed tarmac that they like to refer to as roads up here in QLD I rarely have to worry about getting a dodgey diesel refill that's likely going to be full of stagnant water and bulldust as some of the more widely travelled NT Forum brethren might expect to encounter on their far-flung outback journeys, but even in a worse case scenario, if all else fails and I ended up with two (worker and spare) 'blocked' Donaldson 3 micron 'pre-filters' in rapid succession, as a result of a tank refill full of crap diesel, far out beyond the 'black-stump' I can still simply swing the original (unmodified) Mitsui fuel tank outlet hose back off the Donaldson filter's head unit outlet barb and back straight onto the Fuel tank outlet pipe which puts it all back to standard Mitsui factory configuration complete with their OEM 10 or 15 micron filter, as my last remaining hope of ever seeing civilization again. The built in 'visage-glass' (polycarbonate actually) water separator feature that's included on these Donaldson filters is just 'icing on the cake'....

[sydneymark]

A bit of light reading here Mark http://www.newtriton.net/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=38&t=12457

light reading for sure