referring to fig1 a fluid separator or fuel filter device is generally designated by the numeral 10 . the fuel filter device 10 has a housing 12 with an outer fluid pervious wall 14 and a fluid outlet port 16 . the fluid to be processed passes from the exterior of the fuel filter device 10 to its interior through the outer fluid pervious wall 14 and , after processing , passes out the fuel filter device 10 to the outlet port 16 . preferably , the housing 12 is cylindrical in shape and the outlet port 16 is formed at one end thereof . the outer fluid pervious wall 14 is preferably formed from a perforated aluminum material . in the alternative , the outer fluid pervious wall 14 may be formed of an aluminum sheet with a plurality of apertures formed or drilled therein . as can be best seen in fig2 through 4 , the fuel filter device 10 further includes an inner fluid pervious wall 18 which is coaxially disposed in the housing . the inner fluid pervious wall 18 has one end 20 which is adjacent to and in alignment with the outlet port 16 . the inner fluid pervious wall 18 also has an opposite end 22 which is disposed adjacent to but spaced away from the one end 20 of the housing 12 . the inner fluid pervious wall 18 is preferably a layer of perforated plastic or , in the alternative perforated aluminum or steel which adds structural strength to the housing 12 while still allowing the fluid to pass through it . it should be noted that the preferred shape of the fuel filter device 10 is cylindrical because this provides a continuous wall through which the fluid may pass . in addition , a cylindrical shape is preferred because it is inherently structurally strong . because of the cylindrical shape of the housing 12 , the outer fluid pervious wall 14 and the inner fluid pervious wall 18 are also cylindrical and are concentrically disposed one to another in the housing 12 . thus , the inner and outer fluid pervious walls 18 and 14 , respectively , form an annular cavity 24 therebetween in the housing 12 . a tubular filtering element 36 is disposed in the annular cavity 24 . the tubular filtering element 36 has a plurality of layers 26 , 28 , 30 and 32 . the layers , as illustrated in fig3 and 4 , include a first interior layer 32 disposed in confronting abutting relationship to a second layer 30 which in turn is disposed in confronting abutting relationship to a third layer 28 and finally a fourth or outer layer 26 is disposed in confronting abutting relationship to the third layer 28 . the first interior layer 32 is a layer of mesh screen used for drainage purposes . the mesh screen is preferably wire or in the alternative , fiberglass . the second layer 30 is a paper media which is preferably just fine enough so as to prevent media migration and bursting . the third layer is capable of absorbing liquid contaminants . in practice , a suitable material from which to form the third layer 28 is an absorbent cellulosic polymer sold under the tradename cld - 2 by the buckeye cellulose corporation of memphis , tenn ., or any similar material . finally , the fourth or outer layer is capable of separating submicron particulate material from the fluid . for example , a suitable filter media material has been found to be a fiberglass media with fine depth media . the tubular filtering element 36 has the same axial length as the inner fluid pervious wall 18 , thus the tubular filtering element 36 has a first end 37 which is adjacent to the outlet port 16 . in addition , the tubular filtering element 36 has a second end 35 which is adjacent to the opposite end 22 of the inner fluid pervious wall 18 . preferably the tubular filtering element 36 is in the form of a simple cylinder . a first end cap 74 , having an aperture 76 formed therethrough , is mounted to the second end 35 of the tubular filtering element 36 and the opposite end 22 of the inner fluid pervious wall 18 . the first end cap 74 further has a first longitudinally extending portion 78 which is in abutting relationship to the inner fluid pervious wall 18 and a second longitudinally extending portion 80 which is in abutting relationship to the outer fluid pervious wall 14 . the first and second longitudinally extending portions 78 and 80 , respectively act as diametral spacers to hold the inner fluid pervious wall 18 away from the outer fluid pervious wall 14 . similarly , a second end cap 87 , having an aperture 84 formed therethrough , is contiguous to the one end 20 of the inner fluid pervious wall 18 and the first end 37 of the tubular filtering element 36 . however , the second end cap 87 only has a first longitudinally extending portion 86 which is in abutting relationship to the inner fluid pervious wall 18 . adjacent to the second end cap 87 is a third end cap 88 which has a longitudinally extending portion 90 which is in abutting relationship to the outer fluid pervious wall 14 and is connected thereto by means of a crimp 15 in the outer fluid pervious wall 14 so as to abut against the end of the longitudinally extending portion 90 of the third end cap 88 . in addition , the third end cap 88 and the second end cap 87 are connected to the housing 12 by radially rolling the end of the outer fluid pervious wall 14 over the third end cap 88 at the crimp 15 . the third end cap 88 may , for example , have a nipple like portion 96 with an o - ring groove 98 with o - ring 99 seal therein adjacent the outlet port 16 of the housing . the o - ring 99 seals against an aperture ( not shown ) in the fuel separator housing ( not shown ). the second end cap 87 and the first longitudinal extending portion 86 form an appropriate valve stop for a purpose to be described herein later . an end closure member 66 , having an aperture 68 formed therethrough , is connected to the one end 11 of the housing outer fluid pervious wall 14 . a fluid chamber 40 is defined within the housing 12 between the one end 11 and an annular gasket member 70 . the chamber 40 is open at its one end to the aperture 68 in the end closure member 66 thus placing the chamber 40 in fluid communication with the ambient fluid surrounding the outside of the housing 12 . a valve means 46 includes a valve retaining member 48 sandwiched in the fluid chamber 40 between the one end of the fluid chamber 40 and the annular gasket member 70 . the valve retaining member 48 defines a ball socket 50 in general alignment with the interior of the tubular filtering element 36 . in addition , the valve retaining member 48 has at least one fluid aperture 52 to establish a fluid passageway between the chamber 40 and the interior of the tubular filtering element 36 across the valve means . a detachable valve member in the form of a ball 54 is detachably received within the ball socket 50 to seal the fluid aperture 52 . the ball 54 is detachably held in the ball socket 50 to normally seal or close the fluid aperture 52 by means of a deformable ball retaining flange 56 . the ball retaining flange 56 is attached to the valve retaining member 48 and extends radially inwardly of the ball socket 50 at the open side of the socket . thus , the valve means 46 has one side exposed to fluid pressure interior of the inner fluid pervious wall 18 of the tubular filtering element 36 and the other side exposed to the fluid pressure outside the housing 12 by means of the chamber 40 . thus , when a predetermined pressure drop occurs across the valve means 46 , the differential pressure communicated to the ball 54 through the fluid aperture 52 will exert a force against the ball 54 greater than the force exerted on the ball by the ball retaining flange 56 . this force moves the ball 54 out of the socket 50 past the ball retaining flange 56 and drives it against the second end cap 87 , which acts as a valve stop or seat 86 to shut off further fluid flow out of the outlet port 16 in the housing 12 . those skilled in the art will recognize that the ball diameter 50 is of such size smaller than the inner diameter of the inner fluid pervious wall 18 but is larger than the aperture 84 so that the ball will not move past the second end cap 87 . an axial compressive force is exerted on the inner fluid pervious wall 18 through the annular gasket member 70 by means of , for example , a preloaded coil spring member 58 generally coaxially disposed with the tubular filtering element 36 . in addition , the coil spring member 58 is generally coaxially disposed with the outer fluid pervious wall 14 within the chamber 40 . the coil spring member 58 is disposed in a state of axial compression between the end closure member 66 at one end 11 of the housing 12 and a circumferential groove 60 formed adjacent to the top end of the valve retaining member 48 . this arrangement places the annular gasket member 70 under compression to provide a seal between the valve means 46 and the first end cap 74 . thus , the first end cap 74 transmits this compressive force against the second end of the tubular filtering element 36 . as indicated by the flow arrows in fig2 the liquid fuel to be filtered passes generally radially inwardly of the housing 12 through the outer fluid pervious wall 14 . next , the liquid fuel flows into the annular cavity 24 , through the layers 26 , 28 , 30 and 32 of the tubular filtering element 36 , that is , through the fourth or outer layer 26 , through the third layer 28 , through the second layer 30 and finally through the first interior layer 32 and in doing so particulate matter contaminants , both liquid and solid , are separated from the liquid fuel . the liquid fuel , which is now clean of particulate contaminants , is prevented from passing from the interior of the inner fluid pervious wall 18 to the chamber 40 by the ball 54 which is seated in the ball socket 50 . at the same time , liquid fuel which enters into the chamber 40 through the aperture 68 in the end closure member 66 passes out of the chamber 40 through the outer fluid pervious walls 14 since passage into the interior of the inner fluid pervious wall 18 is prevented by the valve means 46 and the annular gasket member 70 being compressed by the coil spring member 58 . as the liquid fuel passes through the fourth or outer layer 26 , particulate matter contaminants separated from the fuel first accumulate on the exterior of the fourth or outer layer 26 until its capacity to effectively separate particulate contaminants is diminished or it otherwise becomes blocked with separated particulate matter . next , the liquid fuel now clean of the particulate contaminants , passes through the third layer 28 which absorbs liquid contaminants , such as water , as the liquid fuel passes therethrough . then , the liquid fuel , now clean of particulate contaminants and liquid contaminants , passes through the second layer 30 and the first interior layer 32 of the tubular filtering element 36 and passes through the inner fluid pervious wall 18 into the interior thereof . the second layer 30 prevents media migration whereas the first interior layer 32 provides structural support to the second , third and fourth layers . the now clean fuel passes out of the fuel contamination monitor unit , through the outlet port 16 to be conveyed to a fuel user ( not shown ) such as an engine or fuel reservoir . the present invention also contemplates a first alternate embodiment , as shown in fig4 which is the same as the preferred embodiment wherein like numerals designate like elements except that the tubular filtering element 36 is pleated . the pleats provide an extended surface area upon which to separate water from the fuel and to accumulate separated fuel - borne contaminants thereon . this extended area enhances the life of the fuel filter device 10 . a second alternate embodiment is shown in fig5 and 6 wherein the tubular filtering element 236 is formed of a plurality of washer shaped disc elements in alternate face to face contact with an absorbent paper sandwiched in between adjacent discs . the disc elements are arranged so that fluid flow through the tubular filtering element 236 is radial through the inner faces between the discs and absorbent paper . the tubular filtering element has a plurality of cellulosic discs 228 formed of an absorbent cellulosic polymer previously described in the preferred embodiment with a plurality of discs of absorbent paper discs 230 in an alternate arrangement . each of the cellulosic discs 228 and each of the paper discs 230 are preferably placed in alternating sequence , that is , each of the cellulosic discs 228 are placed in face to face contact with each of the paper discs 230 . thus the discs 228 and 230 form a tubular filtering element 236 . the tubular filtering element 236 is inserted into the housing 212 adjacent the outer fluid pervious wall 214 . in this second alternate embodiment , the inner fluid pervious wall 18 of the preferred embodiment has been eliminated from the filter device . a calibrated axially compressible force by means of the spring means 58 is exerted on the valve member 46 which is thus transmitted to the the tubular filtering element 236 . however , as the tubular filtering element 236 absorbs water , the tubular filtering element 236 expands axially against the force exerted by the spring member 58 . optionally , the inner diameter of the tubular filtering element 236 is coated with an epoxy resin solution by the process described in u . s . pat . no . 3 , 117 , 925 which is incorporated herein by reference . the resin coating is applied to the discs to prevent media migration in certain applications . as indicated by the flow arrows in fig5 the fuel to be filtered passes generally radially inwardly of the housing 212 through the outer fluid pervious wall 214 , and into the space between the outer fluid pervious wall 214 and the tubular filtering element 236 , the liquid fuel having passed through the outer fluid pervious wall 214 into the chamber 40 . concurrently , liquid fuel also passes through the aperture 63 and into the chamber 40 . the liquid fuel in the chamber 40 is prevented from passing out of the chamber 40 through the apertures 52 by the ball 54 which is seated in the ball socket 50 . the liquid fuel now radially passes from the space between the tubular filtering element 236 and the outer fluid pervious wall 214 through the walls of the tubular filtering element 236 . the tubular filtering element 236 will absorb liquid contaminants , such as water , in the fuel as it passes through the walls of the tubular filtering element radially into the interior of the tubular filtering element . the now clean fuel passes out of the fuel contamination monitor device through the outlet port 16 to be conveyed to a fuel user ( not shown ) such as an engine or fuel reservoir . particulate matter contaminants separated from the fuel will eventually accumulate on the outer periphery of the tubular filtering element 236 , and will restrict flow through the tubular filtering element 236 . likewise , water separated by the tubular filtering element 236 will eventually cause it to swell to a point where its ability to absorb further amounts of water is detrimentally affected and further liquid fuel flow through the tubular filtering element will be restricted . when either situation occurs , the fuel pressure inside the chamber 40 will exceed the fuel pressure inside the tubular filtering element 236 , and when a predetermined fuel pressure differential has been reached , the ball 54 will be ejected from the ball socket 50 and driven onto the valve seat 86 thereby blocking the outlet port 16 and shutting off further liquid fuel flow through the tubular filtering element . at this point , the blocked fuel contamination monitor device is removed and replaced with another fresh fuel contamination monitor device . in the preferred embodiment of fig1 through 3 , the particulate matter contaminants separated from the fuel eventually accumulate on the exterior of the outer layer 26 . likewise , water separated by the third layer 28 of the tubular filtering element will eventually cause the tubular filtering element 36 to swell to a point where its ability to absorb further amounts of water is detrimentally affected and further liquid fuel flow through the tubular filtering element will be restricted . when either situation occurs , the fuel pressure inside the chamber 40 will exceed the fuel pressure inside the inner fluid pervious wall 18 . thus , when a predetermined fuel pressure differential has been reached between from the exterior of the housing 12 to the interior of the inner fluid pervious wall 18 , the ball 54 will be ejected from the ball socket 50 and driven onto the second end cap 87 , acting as a valve stop . this blocks the flow through the outlet port 16 , thereby shutting off further liquid fuel flow through the outlet port 16 . at this point , the blocked fuel contamination monitor device is removed and replaced with another fresh fuel contamination monitor device . thus , the valve means 46 will close the outlet port 16 shutting off fuel flow through the fuel contamination device when the pressure drop across the tubular filtering element exceeds a predetermined amount whether that predetermined pressure drop is as a result of only water absorption or only particulate contaminant accumulation or a combination of both of these undesirable contaminants . in addition , the inner fluid pervious wall 18 provides further structural strength to the tubular filtering element 36 so that as the tubular filtering element 36 becomes contaminated and the pressure drop across the tubular filtering element 36 rises the inner fluid pervious wall 18 prevents premature collapse or localized failure of the tubular filtering element 36 before the predetermined fuel pressure differential is exceeded . while the invention has been described in connection with a preferred embodiment , it will be understood that it is not intended to limit the invention to that embodiment . on the contrary , it is intended to cover all alternatives , modifications and equivalents as may be included in the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims .