Fuel filter mounting bracket loose?

Nov 16, 2012
1,037
Catalina 310, 2000, #31 31 Santa Cruz
M25XPB engine. I noticed the other day that the bracket for the on-engine fuel filter is loose. All of the bolts are tight, but the bracket itself has got about 1/4-1/2" of wobble in it (at bolts #29 on the attached parts diagram). The parts diagram doesn't show any obvious rubber bushings, so I'm not sure if it's supposed to be tight, or loose. I also think I've got a very small fuel leak there, possibly at the hoses; it seems like the added vibration from being loose might cause the tubing to wear faster?

If any of you could check on your M25XPB and see if yours is loose I'd appreciate it.
 

Attachments

paulj

.
Mar 16, 2007
1,361
Catalina 310 Anacortes,Wa
M25XPB engine. I noticed the other day that the bracket for the on-engine fuel filter is loose. All of the bolts are tight, but the bracket itself has got about 1/4-1/2" of wobble in it (at bolts #29 on the attached parts diagram). The parts diagram doesn't show any obvious rubber bushings, so I'm not sure if it's supposed to be tight, or loose. I also think I've got a very small fuel leak there, possibly at the hoses; it seems like the added vibration from being loose might cause the tubing to wear faster?

If any of you could check on your M25XPB and see if yours is loose I'd appreciate it.

Which bolts ?

paulj
:hook2:
 

Attachments

Nov 16, 2012
1,037
Catalina 310, 2000, #31 31 Santa Cruz
Which bolts ?

paulj
:hook2:
The vertical ones, on the right, just behind the stop cable (red housing) in your picture. They hold the bracket (that the filter screws onto) to the ell shaped piece bolted to the block.

Wish my engine was that clean!!
 
Feb 26, 2004
22,760
Catalina 34 224 Maple Bay, BC, Canada
Check the Universal/Westerbeke engine service bulletins. IIRC, they replaced some brackets on M25XPs or M35s - I forget which. Could be the same for your situation. Good luck.
 
Nov 16, 2012
1,037
Catalina 310, 2000, #31 31 Santa Cruz
Check the Universal/Westerbeke engine service bulletins. IIRC, they replaced some brackets on M25XPs or M35s - I forget which. Could be the same for your situation. Good luck.
Thanks. That was an issue with the 90 degree bracket breaking based on a bad bend. I think ours is ok. It seems that either the holes in the angles bracket are enlarged, or the bolts are not tight, but the nuts don't move easily. At first I thought there was supposed to be a rubber bushing there, maybe for vibration isolation, but the diagram shows nothing.
 
Nov 18, 2010
2,441
Catalina 310 Hingham, MA
I have the same bracket PaulJ showed. We were in the Bahamas in a rather deserted area and it broke in half. That was about 1,000 engine hours, maybe 1,200. It did cause a leak in the fuel hose due to a small hole they developed.

But more likely the cause of your fuel leak is the high pressure pump. There is a gasket behind the plate on the engine side. It wasn't listed on the parts list if I recall correctly. But diesel will leak out there from the bolt holes where the filter attaches.

Check those bolts and look at the slit washers, they may have been over torqued and need to be replaced.
 
Nov 16, 2012
1,037
Catalina 310, 2000, #31 31 Santa Cruz
I have the same bracket PaulJ showed. We were in the Bahamas in a rather deserted area and it broke in half. That was about 1,000 engine hours, maybe 1,200. It did cause a leak in the fuel hose due to a small hole they developed.

But more likely the cause of your fuel leak is the high pressure pump. There is a gasket behind the plate on the engine side. It wasn't listed on the parts list if I recall correctly. But diesel will leak out there from the bolt holes where the filter attaches.

Check those bolts and look at the slit washers, they may have been over torqued and need to be replaced.
Thanks. The 90 degree bracket was the subject of the service bulletin Stu mentioned. What we have is that the vertical bolts going through the 90 degree plate are loose in the hole, so the filter and the plate it's screwed onto wiggles a bunch. Since I'll be changing the oil again soon I'll look more closely at it and see if I can find the gasket you're talking about.
 

Attachments

Nov 16, 2012
1,037
Catalina 310, 2000, #31 31 Santa Cruz
Following up: turned out that the bolts were loose. Tightening them up got rid of the wobble. Still a slight leak, but I’m thinking it’s one of the hoses. Probably time to replace them.