Initial Research

Below is a picture of the stock heater mounted. Note where the wire connects at top, and the tab bottom right that is up against a rib in the housing. The rib is an extension of the reinforcement where the fuel drain is attached to the housing. This tab and rib extension are there to stop the heater plate from turning when the stand pipe is tightened. It is left hand thread so is tightened counterclockwise (CCW).

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Below is the new style fuel heater mounted with no modifications. Note the bottom hitting the housing rib where indicated. Also in this position the wire is too short to reach properly, and the connector in the side of the bowl is hitting the element at the top.

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I initially thought the element could be bent and flipped over. While this puts the wire in range, it does nothing to help reduce the clearance issues with the rib and connector. As you can see from the pics below, it would be hard to bend things enough to clear the filter, especially when it comes to the thermistor on the fuel heater. Below left, heater correctly mounted. Below right, heater flipped over.

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Since flipping the heater over wasn't effective or practical, and extending the wire was problematic and caused clearance issues, the most practical solution appeared to be housing modification. The obvious purpose of the extended rib in the bowl was to stop the heater plate from turning during install, and I saw no other need for it going that high. Therefore I decided shortening it about 3/4 inch was the best course of action.

Those of us with machining experience and/or a die grinder already know what to, simply grind off enough of the rib to clear the heater element. I decided to go about it differently so that I could show how the average owner with only basic tools could do this mod.

While I feel confident this mod is safe and effective, I am only providing this for informational purposes, and not as a recommendation or endorsement of this procedure. Anyone who follows thru with these modifictions does so at their own risk, and must accept full responsibility for any damage caused by those actions.

Enough of the disclaimers, now for the fun part.