3.0L Stone Fuel Filter Question

[kstuart]

I just bought a 1997 175 that has the 3.0L mercruiser and am doing my maintenance before I get it wet, I went to replace the fuel filter on the fuel pump and it doesn't have a paper one like my old bayliner 3.0 did, its a blue stone one. My question is do i replace it with a new blue stone one or is that discontinued or something and it gets replaced with a paper one or does it matter?

 

[390pi]

The stone is obsolete. The new Mercruiser filter will be a paper filter with two rubber gaskets (use only one) and a new spring.

You choose which gasket based on whether you have a Carter made fuel pump or not.

The 4.3L uses the same filter in some years.

 

[kstuart]

Good to know that the fuel filter kit I bought probably IS what i need then, just through me for a loop when i opened it up and saw a blue stone... the paper element looked to be the right height as long as you used their spring but I wanted to verify that