Spin on filter question

[nspctr1]

My 998 with a 6.2L motor will not start after the freezing weather in February. I've been told that it could be that the fuel gelled in the system and I should replace the filter. I planned on doing it anyway and for simplicity sake for future changes I was thinking about changing over to a spin on base and filter. To my knowledge the HMMWV only has one filter mounted on the firewall. Is there another one somewhere? A couple posts I read mentions fuel water separators and I want to make sure I get all the right parts the first time. If I do the switch to the 24309 base will I need to buy nipples or will the fuel lines attach directly? Anything else I need? Can you use the original mounting holes or do you need to drill new ones?

 

[Action]

The water separator slides down in the middle of the stock filter.

 

[DREDnot]

Never hurts to throw in a new filter element.

Yes, the water separator is that center filter "tube" that coalesces the water into the bottom of the housing where the drain hose attaches.

The only other filter is a sock type on the end of the pickup tube inside the tank.

Ive been looking for a spin on filter alternative for a while now. There isnt anything that is easily fit into that space without having less filtering capacity.
I was hoping to find a filter housing like on an LMTV with a built in manual priming button but they are all twice the size of the space available.
Other ones were tiny units for sailboat diesels and similar sized engines.

You could mount something in a more sane spot, but I was trying to keep the stockish configuration without having fuel lines stretched all over the place.