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Fuel vapor separator filter

69hemibeep said:
Next best thing to do is to steal one of the gas tank vents for a return and that can be bad depending on the year of the car and how well the tank vents
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Previous owner did this to mine. Can you expand on what year cars this matters and why?
 
It wasn't really a filter, although it looks like one. It was a fuel vapor separator that came on the 426 Hemi and 440 HP engines in 1970 and 1971. Its purpose was to prevent vapor lock. Vapor lock is caused by several factors, and not everyone will have the issue. They would sometimes get plugged, too. It also seems likely, over the years, it was mistaken for a filter and replaced. For those who do not experience a vapor lock problem, they're happy to leave it off.

It's discussed in the Fuel Pump section of the Factory Service Manual.
 
Rishi said:
It wasn't really a filter, although it looks like one. It was a fuel vapor separator that came on the 426 Hemi and 440 HP engines in 1970 and 1971. Its purpose was to prevent vapor lock. Vapor lock is caused by several factors, and not everyone will have the issue. They would sometimes get plugged, too. It also seems likely, over the years, it was mistaken for a filter and replaced. For those who do not experience a vapor lock problem, they're happy to leave it off.

It's discussed in the Fuel Pump section of the Factory Service Manual.
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My 69 Charger R/T had one, so they must have been around before the 70 model year.
 
Rishi said:
It also seems likely, over the years, it was mistaken for a filter and replaced.
Click to expand...
This is exactly what I think happened with my 383-4v car. Not only did they re-route the return line to the short vent and cap the sender return nipple, but added this aftermarket three nipple contraption instead of an actual MOPAR fuel separator. When I redo all of the bad plumbing I am considering leaving one out entirely and seeing what happens.

1732467662115.png
 
DynaBro said:
This is exactly what I think happened with my 383-4v car. Not only did they re-route the return line to the short vent and cap the sender return nipple, but added this aftermarket three nipple contraption instead of an actual MOPAR fuel separator. When I redo all of the bad plumbing I am considering leaving one out entirely and seeing what happens.

View attachment 1762807
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Thats setup is crazy :BangHead:
 
dadsbee said:
Why, it's just a WIX return filter. Where it returns to is the crazy part.. LOL
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You mean the sending unit? Yeah. Not so great but it works for now. Otherwise the knot is no different from the routing for a vapor separator. Just ugly.

Tank to pump, pump to filter, filter to carb. Return off the filter. No?
 
Id ditch that deal. Hook the tank vent back up. Run a good spacer under carb. That mess of rubber line is a leak waiting to happen when that stuff splits. I never ran a separator on a 383.
 
Some Car Guy said:
Id ditch that deal. Hook the tank vent back up. Run a good spacer under carb. That mess of rubber line is a leak waiting to happen when that stuff splits. I never ran a separator on a 383.
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I’m going to get a proper vapor separator and clean new lines. It’s got a nice return underneath line might as well use it. Seems plenty of guys have needed and had success with this setup on 383 cars. It's just another $40 for me to clean it up with the correct parts.

What aftermarket vapor separators are legit?
 
Perfect. Thanks. Any advice on what aftermarket sending units are being manufactured well?
 
DynaBro said:
Perfect. Thanks. Any advice on what aftermarket sending units are being manufactured well?
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If yours is reading fuel level properly, pull it out and clean out that return tube and reinstall with a new rubber O ring.

NONE of the reproduction senders read level properly without a lot of playing. That said, the only level that really matters is approaching empty... set up the float level for that and you should never have to walk home.
 
dadsbee said:
If yours is reading fuel level properly, pull it out and clean out that return tube and reinstall with a new rubber O ring.

NONE of the reproduction senders read level properly without a lot of playing. That said, the only level that really matters is approaching empty... set up the float level for that and you should never have to walk home.
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They crushed the return nipple. Has to be replaced.
 
dadsbee said:
Come'on... you can do it! :poke:

Depending how they did it you may even be able to open it back up and make it round without removing the sender.
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It's just crimped and smashed. A real nasty job when they could have easily plugged it properly. I'm pretty certain if I attempt to unfold it it's just going to crack off and then I've got a jagged hole in the cap.
 
Vapor separator is pointless unless you need to look OEM, but using a return line to the tank is useful. I use a Holley fuel pressure regulator with return line and would recommend for those that don't need it to look stock.
 
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