Fuel filter battle

[dominator]

Hey guys, I have 2001 SAN with PCM GT40 and having problems with 7/16 drain plug at the bottom of FCC. Last time I tried to drain the water/fuel from FCC and couldn't get the drain plug to move. I used 12 point wrench and stripped the plug a bit . I just ordered 7/16 flare nut wrench and hoping to get a better grip on that sucker. Having said that, the plug wouldn't budge no matter what I did, and I did apply a lot of force (the boat was shaking lol). At one point I was wondering if I was turning it in the right direction (was turning it counter clockwise when looking from the bottom up).

I also noticed there is a 3/4 nut, and I am going to try to hold it in place while trying to unscrew the 7/16 drain plug. Is it possible to remove the FCC canister without removing 7/16 drain plug? The space is tight and don't want to spill any fuel there.

Looking for pointers on how to deal with FCC.

[nyryan2001]

Nothing to add, but it’d be cool if you could take a few pics of what you’re doing when you get a moment

[NautiqueJeff]

It is possible to remove it without removing the plug. It'll be full of fuel though, obviously.

It might be easier to remove the entire FCC from the boat, and disassemble it on the bench. That way you won't spill any fuel either.

[dominator]

Alright, will give another try with a flare nut wrench and if that doesn’t work will try to either remove the whole thing or just the canister. I heard canisters can be tight too, I do have filter pliers, do you think pliers will work or should I buy a strap wrench?

[NautiqueJeff]

I have had a hard time with the FCC when using a strap wrench, but my strap wrenches are cheap and stupid.

[Jonny Quest]

I would remove the FCC canister. My FCC wouldn’t budge with an oil filter type strap wrench, so I went with a pipe wrench as “Plan B”. I wrapped several windings of duct tape around the FCC to protect the finish and then used a BIG pipe wrench (24+ inches long). It came off without too much struggle. I removed the FFC without removing the drain plug and it was no big deal. I put an absorbant cloth under the FFC and slowly removed it. Almost no fuel spilled.

With the canister off, you can go to work on the plug. Be sure to reinstall the canister with anti-seize or grease on the threads to make future removal easier.

A flare-end wrench is preferable to an open-end wrench when working with softer metals, but a 6-point socket is even better if you can get it in there. For me, flare-end wrenches are for tubing and not a replacement for a 6-point wrench / socket.

JQ