Fuel Filter – MacKenzies on the Road

We bought 3 extra fuel filters before heading into Mexico; be prepared and all that! The first swap came in Loreto, Baja. The second made it all the way to the Belize border. The third made it a few hundred miles after we picked up some really bad fuel.

On our way to Celestun and the flamingos, the Wee Rover started sputtering and bucking. We opened the bonnet and found the fuel prefilter packed with packing tape! We drained the front tank, replaced the prefilter and crossed our fingers.

A few hundred miles south of the US border, the final fuel filter sputtered to a slow death. Unfortunately, Mexico is not the land of diesel cars so no fuel filters to be found. Luckily, the Napa near my parents had them in stock. My parents made a quick trip there and FedEx’ed a new set of filters to us. Problem solved.

Thanks Mom and Dad!

The remaining bits of what looked like packaging tape after cleaning out the filter as much as we could.

The elusive fuel filter. We now have a healthy stash of them, again.

We’ve had a periodic problem with the fuel system on the Rover. When the system is hot and we stop, restarting, usually on a steep uphill, the fuel line gets an air bubble in it that causes the Rover to be starved of fuel, which like all of us when we are starved, makes us cranky, and in the Rovers case makes her buck like a bronco. We have been a able to avoid stalling by quickly changing the gas to the opposite tank.

Today, we (the proverbial we, which actually means Darrin) are trying for a more lasting solution. Because the metal gas filter sits next to the engine, it gets really hot. We think because of this heat it is causing some expanding, contraction and boiling of the fuel as it heads to the carburetor, thus adding a few air bubbles where they shouldn’t be.

Darrin’s solution is to raid my pantry and insulate the gas filter with a peach can and a soup can. The peach can provides an air gap and the soup can lets air in when the fan turns on. This will hopefully avoid the contracting, heating and air bubbles. (Darrin’s version is much more technical with words like induction, and such. I put it into non-engineering human speak!)

Fingers crossed it works because when the Rover gets cranky, Darrin gets cranky😎

Tag: Fuel Filter

Fuel Filters

Rover Repair #3