pickup tube filter Do I really need one?

[sheetmetaldan]

Just thinking about this I put a new fuel tank in my car and reused the old sending unit but there was no filter/screen on the end of it. How important are they?I sort of blew it off as not that important when I installed the tank but now I`m having second thoughts.The tank is still dry so if I really need one it`s not too late. I have a filter near the carb wouldn`t that be good enough?If I need one who has them?

 

[ramenth]

Run one.

If only for one thing: insurance.

We were driving back from Florida with Pop's Duster when it kept stalling out. At first he couldn't figure it out. Kept playing with the carb, but after a little more diagnostic work he figured it a was fuel starvation issue. The pump wasn't picking up gas out of the tank, but it would pick up gas out a a plastic jug. He worked all night pulling the tank to find a rat's nest. Mind you, the car ran fine for the 1200 miles down. After the second fill on the trip back it started acting up. Someone change a hose on a pump and didn't check it? We don't know, but there the straw, shredded newpaper, etc, was, clogging the factory filter.

Pop took the old filter off the tube and got a metal aftermarket inline fuel filter. He cut the case open halfway to expose the paper element and used a piece of rubber hose to attach it to the end of the pick-up. It's still in the car, by the way.

Now, imagine how much of that crap would have been in the fuel lines if the factory hadn't put a filter on it.

Yeah, the above is a worst case scenario, but that's what the factory filters are engineered for.

 

[sheetmetaldan]

Thanks Ramenth,your story reminded me of my old 67 Merc Cougar it had sat for over 10 years. I put it on the road and it kept overheating. I pulled the lower hose off and had a mixture of anti freeze assorted nuts and acorns! Even found acorns blocking up the water passages when I pulled off the heads!