To all the Dads out there, new Dads, old dads, Dads who are no longer with us, happy fathers day. My fathers day started off with a beauty of a breakfast date with my daughter Anna. After some coffee and eggs we ventured out for pedicures. Yes you heard me, and if you saw my feet you'd know its not only a good thing but a service to the general public that this gets done.
After we got home, my attention turned to fixing the problem I had created the previous day. The issue with jobs that are "easy" is that when you talk to a professional, they say OMG it's stupid easy, even persons who have tackled the task say "Oh ya, quick and easy...no problem...it'll take you a half hour tops!"
The task is so simple, they assume you know all the little dos and don'ts....and if you don't then your in big do-do.
Ever since my summer diesel in the winter episode earlier this year I wanted to change fuel filters when the time presented itself. So the day before fathers day was cloudy and cool and raining , what better time to get under the bus and change out filters.
This here is the fuel filter right by the gas tank. It goes tank, filter, lift pump, engine primer, engine filter, fuel pump. Its a super easy swap, just loosen with filter pliers/strap, take off the bowl, clean things up, oil the gaskets and spin it back on. Which is what I did.
Now here is where the little things can come back to haunt you. Some sources say put the filters on dry, others say presoak the filters with fresh diesel. But all sources say......if you change one filter change them both. Well this is where I screwed up on both fronts. I chose to put the filter on dry. My second mistake was after I replaced this one I decided to start the bus. All was well, until it wasn't anymore and after a minute or two of idling Fillmore sputtered and coughed a slow death and would not start again. I ran him dry. As the lift pump pulled fuel from the tank, I created an air embolus that seemed to work its way down into the engine room. So I started from scratch again. Pulled BOTH filters this time!
This bad boy is the one in front of the fuel pump by the engine, a little more of a challenge to get to but do able. I made a bit of a mess but nothing I cant clean up. Preloaded both with fuel, cycled the lift pump a few times and hand primed it to beat the band. Sure enough he came back to life and I may be wrong but seems to be running smoother than before.
After that I treated myself to a quick bike trip up the mountain. I packed a cold fathers day beer so once I was far enough and sweating hard enough the justify the beverage I picked a good view and sat in the silence!
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