I'm new and haven't heard of the WIF sensor yet.

 

It's the Water In Fuel sensor and it's on the bottom of your fuel filter. When you replace your fuel filter you will remove the WIF and put it on the new filter.

 

Or you can use a filter that doesnt use the wif sensor. Your 96 should be a spin on filter?

 

Yes it's a spin-on filter. I was wondering if there is such a beast. I have no use for a WIF.

 

Yep, Wix 33391 or napa 3391

 

Yepper. Swapped to that style because it has a drain built in so its easier to install and doesn't leak.

Someone told me if it doesn't have a drain its not a true water separator.

 

Me too. I got rid of the drop in filter on my 98 and put on a filter head from an earlier model. Easier to change and no leaking orings from the wif/heater

 

The filter itself is the water separator. Fuel can pass through it, the water not as easily. Since water is heavier than fuel it goes to the bottom and the drain allows it to be, well, drained. I disconnected the plug to mine a long time ago and never reconnected it. The times I checked to see if water was in the filter produced nothing and the plug is a PITA to disconnect/connect. If my filter housing ever cracks I have a '96 filter head on the shelf to replace it. If I do the filters I buy will not have drains.

 

For the stock filter I totally agree. There is special water separating membrane around the outside of the filter media.

I have another common rail diesel that has a frame mounted fuel filter / water separator and a finer micron rated fuel filter (no water separator feature on the second filter) mounted in the engine compartment, both are factory installed, normal stuff that all trucks of that make & generation have.
Both are cartridge style filters that you replace just the element within the housing (like 97+ 12 valve fuel filters), and it's very easy to tell just by looking at them which one has the water separator membrane around the outside (kinda resembles a BHAF outer wrap or outwears over the pleats of the filter media).

You can get 96 and earlier spin on style fuel filters that simply don't have the hole in the bottom for the WIF senor/ drain. I've been told that those filters that won't accept the stock (96 and older) WIF sensor don't have the water separator membrane in them and they're just fuel filters with no water separator feature/ membrane wrapped around the filter media pleats.

My question is can anyone confirm that to be true or not?
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Water in fuel kinda turns to mud, so it it doesn't really go through.

I have an old diesel tractor 70s kubota l245 dt. Has a small liquor cooled 3cyl diesel with a bosch in line pump (looks just like our pump, but it has a gear drive hydraulic pump on it) gravity fed fuel lines with a spin on filter

No drain, but there's always water, and junk in there. The filter is pretty close to the lowest part.

 

Water in fuel kinda turns to mud, so it it doesn't really go through.

I have an old diesel tractor 70s kubota l245 dt. Has a small liquor cooled 3cyl diesel with a bosch in line pump (looks just like our pump, but it has a gear drive hydraulic pump on it) gravity fed fuel lines with a spin on filter

No drain, but there's always water, and junk in there. The filter is pretty close to the lowest part.

Guess Kubota hasn't changed their design much in the past three decades then. My 2003 L3131 (also a liquid cooled 3cyl diesel),has a similar setup. The filter housing is clear (well, clear-ish) and you can see when crud builds up in the bottom. Any while there is not drain, there is a fuel petcock valve and the whole filter bowl comes off really easy.
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Im going to get a filter with a drain for that machine too.