What's the purpose of the separator? (fuel system)

FiReSTaRT · Post by **FiReSTaRT** » June 9th, 2005, 7:01 am

I noticed a mysterious fuel leak, and wasn't very happy about it. At first I thought it was from the filler tube, but once I took a better look, I saw it was from the separator.
I didn't even know what it was called when I detected the leak. I expected 2 tubes in that area (filler/ventilation) but not a third one which doesn't really connect to anything. When I called my mechanic, he was as baffled as I am, so I disconnected it and plugged the lines from the fuel tank end. The leak has stopped, but now I'm considering the possibilities...
I don't think what I did will call any damage. I'm assuming that the separator is a part of the emissions control system. Will I fail my next e-test with it bypassed? Does anyone know what exactly it does?

FiReSTaRT · Post by **FiReSTaRT** » June 9th, 2005, 8:10 pm

Guys? I really need to know what it's for... Can anyone help me?

Chino921 · Post by **Chino921** » June 10th, 2005, 1:48 pm

I'm not sure what part you're talking about but it's not a separator. Separators are on diesels to separate water from the fuel. (water is heavier than diesel fuel and settles to the bottom). So, do you have a pic of the part?

FiReSTaRT · Post by **FiReSTaRT** » June 10th, 2005, 5:11 pm

I found out the name of the part by checking out the scanned shop manual on this site. The part exists on both engines, but lets say we're taking a look at the K8 fuel system...

On F2-004, it is labeled with #14 on the diagram.
On F2-005, I finally have the name of the part.
On F2-129, we have the removal instruction but it says nothing about the purpose.