What micron fuel filtration do I need?

[bdog]

I have a Diesel engine that is a 2005 or so model. Not a common rail system. Basic old school style injection. It is a Japanese engine and the fuel filter assembly broke and I can稚 find a oem replacement. I am going to replace it with a universal filter base and spin on filter. Is 10 micron good enough? I can稚 find any specs on what the original was.

Where I am going to have to mount the filter it is going to be a pain to change. I see they make 2 micron filters but hear they plug up faster. Don稚 want to damage the engine but if 10 is adequate the longer filter life would be great.

 

[RjCorazza]

I was never able to figure out the micron rating of the fuel filters on my Kubota ZD mowers. I’ve seen guesses ranging from 20-50u.
My personal opinion is 10u is adequate for diesel filtration, but I put 2u filters on the mowers and plan to add one to my tractor also. I used large Cat 01-750r filters for capacity, and continue to use the oem 20-50u filter ahead of the 2u.
The Cat 2u filters have been in service for about 300 hours so far, with one recent pre filter change (the first inline oem filter).
I also filter at 10u from my transfer tank.

 

[Langanobob]

Some of us running older 7.3L Powerstroke Diesels have added 20 micron fuel filters upstream of the fuel pump and 2 micron downstream. I talked to a guy who rebuilds Diesel fuel injectors for a living about the need for the 2 micron filter and he said that even with the stock 40 (?) micron filter he doesn’t see injector wear due to dirty fuel. This is with an electric low pressure fuel pump and a common rail system but I think you should be more than OK with your 10 micron filter.

With your type of fuel pump, I think it may be good to have the filter upstream of the pump to protect the pump. But, I’m not sure the pump will like it if the filter gets dirty and clogs. I’m not a Diesel fuel pump expert so get more opinions on that.

Something I learned a

 

[thepumpguysc]

10 is OK & whats commonly used.. 2 is SUPER cleaning the fuel.. your choice..
If a 2 is clogging up fast.. you KNOW its doing its job..
Some manuf. sell 5 & 8's.. shop around..

 

[RickB]

10 is adequate and likely quite a bit smaller tolerance than OEM. 2 May well cause more trouble than it is worth if it becomes restrictive before symptoms become apparent.

 

[Tractor Seabee]

With a 2 micron you will be getting all the small particles all previous filtration systems have missed. 10 micron seems to be the stanard. I have a 10 on my bulk tank pump outlets. After clearing out all the trash the factory left in the tank plugged filters have stopped being a problem. 1500 Hrsnow and no plugged filters for the previous 800 Hrs. Probably went through 10 filters before. kept two spares on hand an now gathering dust waiting for the next routine change.

Ron