Dirty fuel

Hi all,
When the new engine was fitted to my ute an inline filter (Z153= $10.00) was installed in the fuel line before the main filter.
Today while servicing the vehicle I renewed both fuel filters.
I back flushed the Z153 into a container and was amazed how much dirt had been collected prior to the fuel entering the primary filter.
This has been collected from only four fuel stations in the last 10,000 kilometers. Obviously I have revisited them over several fuel stops.
Anyone considering travelling to outback regions should think seriously about extra fuel filter protection for their engine or at least changing primary filter every 5000k.

GDAY NIGHTJAR
good comments change filters often for the sake of price its well worthit
and also the biggest killer of aspirated engines is dust so do the air filters as well
good scratchin
cheers the speciman

Further to this post, have found another problem that was an easy fix.
The Nissan Patrol has breathers on both fuel tanks with the end of the pipe secured near the filler. My rear tank was weeping fuel and when I checked the breather I found it was blocked.
The tank was obviously pressurising with the warm fuel return and the heat from the exhaust running adjacent to the tank.
Cleared the breather pipe and found the plastic filter from pop-up-sprinklers pressed onto the end of the pipes to prevent further blockages.

Cheers
Peter

Top point Nightjar. fuel filtration is so overlooked I prefer the first filter to be a water separator. Water is a common problem in remote petrol stations! some fuel dealers actually fill the fuel storage tanks with water to keep the fuel out of the sludge on the bottom of the tanks! So when there getting low on fuel, guess what happens? Water in your tank!

The second point is fine dust which your secondary filter should hold back. A filter which is full of sediment, will allow this dust to go through your engine, this dust is abrasive, it will wear your cylinders, grinds your rings and valves and turns a good set of fuel injectors into rubbish!

Way cheaper to change your fuel filters.

Cheers~Chris.

Hi Chris,
Thanks for the advice.
Yes, am thinking very seriously about fitting a pre-cleaner fuel filter to trap the water, have had several experiences with water from remote servos.
One trip I was lucky enough to relay an HF radio message to a mate who contacted a courier in Leonora, he bought a filter for me and dropped it off on his way to Leinster. Paid him for the filter but he refused to take anything for the courier service. Can't get better than that.
As it turned out sludge had got past the filter element and was lodged in the gauze filter in the fuel pump of the 4.2L Nissan. (Have mentioned this problem in another post.)

Cheers
Peter

Hi Peter, The worst part is it actually takes most cars to come to a halt before the owner even thinks about, how long its been since the last fuel filter change?
The problem is, Engine damage has already started, thou everyone goes into denial, stating once there car is going again, Gee it runs even better now? Well of coarse it does, your motor is actually getting fuel? In 6 months time, you start thinking fuel prices are hitting your back back pocket harder than ever & why am I always topping up the oil?

Cheers again, Chris.