Racor CCV filter

[dpantazis]

After not liking my results fabbing of a bracket and hose routing for the Mann Provent CCV Filter, I broke down and got the Racor CCV3550-FRD02 unit from a very nice ebay seller, 4land4sea. $266 shipped to my door in about 3 days. I am very happy with the quality and construction of the unit. For what you get, its well worth the money.

Here are some initial pictures, all clickable thumbnails:



The whole thing is a nice substantial unit. The base is an aluminum casting that is anodized. The rotating cam on the 4 headed bolts is a clever design. I will post more pictures of the install.

dp

[dpantazis]

Install took me about 1/2 hour. I already had the IC pipes off and the AIC air cleaner removed. It helped to have all that extra space free for the install.

This was a one skinned knuckle job, really easy. Think one bannana. I dropped the CCV hose adapter bolt a couple of times and it falls under the UVC harness connector. I nicked my knuckle trying to fish the bolt out under the bracket.

I think that with average skills and tools, it would take you an extra ten minutes to remove everything. It actually took me longer to upload the pics and write this up!

Like is said, overall, the unit and the bracket are REALLY well made and well engineered. The fit and finish is as good, if not better than stock parts. I am satisfied with the value of the unit so far. The proof will be in the long term performance of the unit in extracting the oil out of the airstream.

As far as maintenance goes, the rotary cam action of the filter housing holder is TIGHT! it will be a pain to operate it with all the stuff in the way. You pretty much have to remove the air cleaner to get good access. Not sure if its the cover only, or the whole housing, but you have to get your hands in there and maybe a small prybar or large screwdriver to open the lever.

After installing the filter housing, I found it was helpful to tip up and rotate the turbo inlet pipe to sneak by the filter housing in the proper orientation. Once its in there, the hose clears the filter with no problem.

You can clearly see the red indicator on the right of the filter housing. It pops out when the filter is in need of service, so pay attention where it is when new. The indicator should be evaluated at IDLE.

Again, these are clickable thumbnails for your viewing pleasure.

In the first few pictures, you can see the oil accumulation in the IC turbo boots and AIC to turbo pipe. This is why I wanted the filter installed.



The next few are of the stock breather filter. It appears to have some sort of stainless steel wool in the PCV cover. Its surprisingly heavy for its size.



The RACOR installation sheet is really well done. The documentation is good. I did not take pictures of ALL the steps, just the ones that are missing from the install sheets. Really more pictures to try and give folks an idea of the unit placement and clearances.

My only gripe is that the new rubber hose is about 1/4" short of reaching the filter outlet. It puts a bit of a bend in the hoses, but not excessive. I left the hose clamps loose to install it all and then tightened them up once I was satisfied with the hose positions.

[dpantazis]

To put the filter housing on the base, you have to push down on it to compress the wave compression washer. There is enough room to get your hands in there, but I am left handed, so it was a bit of a challenge to manipulate with my off hand.

And a few more to comply with image posting regs-

[cvdenson]

I can't believe no one repied to this. Very good write-up with pics. I didn't know this thing existed until you posted...Thanks!

Chris

[BIG JOE]

Originally Posted by cvdenson

I can't believe no one repied to this. Very good write-up with pics. I didn't know this thing existed until you posted...Thanks!

Chris

I can't either, and YES.. a very good write up.

I have the same Raycor set-up on my 2K. Good stuff. >NO< oil in the I/C or tubes.

GOOD JOB Dennis.

[JLDickmon]

keep it up, Beavis..
you're gonna be pulling a weight sled at the County fair and constantly repeating terms like "Terra Grappler" "driveshaft loop"
and "quad link"

that's a super-clean install, Dennis.
Nice job.

[BamaSixGun]

Very nice job dp.

I drained my homemade collection canister on the 6.0 this past Friday, it was nice seeing all that oily gunk coming out and not in my IC tubes.

[RSG]

Hey, just found this! It is great. Just last night I was pondering: keep current CCV mod (dump to bumper), call engineers about Provent (or wait on someone else to solve that), shop for the Racor 3550 (found same guy on ebay last night), and look at the Racor 4500.

I notice the seller lists it as a 3550-FR-01 and/or -02. Any idea if there is a difference or if that suffix is just a typo??

Anyway, thanks for the great pix and excellent writeup!

[dpantazis]

I tried talking to Provent's engineers. As an engineer, I was sorely disappointed in their non-interest to solve the problem on the 444E. They hid behind their demand of knowing blowby CFM before they would answer the question. The Provent filter seems to be the right size for the 7.3.

Anyhow, talking to the folks at Racor, the difference btwn the -01 and -02 was a revision in the valve cover plate. -01 is old and outdated by 3-4 years at least.

I confirmed with the ebay seller that the part number was in fact -02. He was thankful that I pointed it out to them. I did get the -02.

So far so good. No leaks, no seeps. Time will tell.

[RSG]

Originally Posted by dpantazis

I tried talking to Provent's engineers. As an engineer, I was sorely disappointed in their non-interest to solve the problem on the 444E. They hid behind their demand of knowing blowby CFM before they would answer the question. The Provent filter seems to be the right size for the 7.3.

Yea, ditto here. If I had infinite time, I'd give 'em "10 cfm" since I saw that on the Racor site (maybe for the 4500, don't remember now) but that is a reasonable # given what the CCV vent outgases...Also, they recommended it be sized for a warn (did they say "mature") engine, not new. But if the Provent folks don't want our business, that's their problem..

Originally Posted by dpantazis

Anyhow, talking to the folks at Racor, the difference btwn the -01 and -02 was a revision in the valve cover plate. -01 is old and outdated by 3-4 years at least.

I confirmed with the ebay seller that the part number was in fact -02. He was thankful that I pointed it out to them. I did get the -02.

So far so good. No leaks, no seeps. Time will tell.

Thanks - I got the same message today from him. Saving pennies now...just sprung for a new exhaust system, and an HPOP o-ring job, so gotta wait a bit....and find the OEM parts from pre-CCV mod! Thanks again for the good pix and writeup.