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Blocked
fuel filters - an essential check for RV8 enthusiasts
Useful threads appear on the V8BB regularly and recently two
threads clearly have a link producing a useful reminder for
fellow RV8 enthusiasts on the need to check the fuel filter
and a possible cause for the rust particles that can accumulate
there! Here Brian Kitching and Peter Garton provide photos of
what they found. (Jun 10)
Brian Kitching has sent in a report following his recent thread
on the V8 Bulletin Board noting he has a few cars -a Big Healey
BJ8, 2 Daimlers, an Alvis Speed 25 and a few Motor Bikes - so
a recently acquired RV8 is a new addition to his small collection
and very modern car for him. He has only had his RV8 for a few
weeks after driving it up to Teesside from near Oxford and was
very impressed with its performance during my drive up north.
Brian noted "I attend many rallies and reliability runs
and during an overnight rally I started to notice a lack of
response when accelerating hard, no power to the wheels when
required, car was cutting out and hunting. Although the RV8
is a modern car to me, I do have two V8 engined cars but none
with injection, and my first diagnosis was filters, dizzy. So
I asked for help on the V8 Bulletin Board and sure enough the
same answers came back.
After removing the filters it was obvious that
they were the problem, so new filters were duly ordered. I then
decided to cut the old filters in half for examination. I found
the large filter was not too bad but the small filter was totally
clogged up solid with rust, I have no idea how any petrol got
through at all and feel sure it is the original one fitted when
new. I found the date on the large filter was 1999 and from
the service records could see this car had many services during
its two ownerships, but there was no mention of any new filters
fitted. I did notice that there was a lot of noise coming from
the pump and the filter and now know this an indication of blocked
or contaminated filters. The previous owner had many problems
with the fuel pump and many invoices on this subject but no
mention of filters. I now carry spare set of filters and have
added a fuel injector cleaner to the tank. My car is now more
responsive and much quieter."
Peter Garton launched a thread on the V8BB with his concerns
over the quality of the fuel tank fitted to the RV8. He initially
had a small problem with his original fuel tank in that the
top connections were very, very slightly damp. So he had the
tank taken |
out and completely
overhauled by a fuel tank specialist in Koblenz. Whilst it was
being reconditioned he purchased a brand new tank from Rover
and had that installed, putting the old tank into store. Peter
notes impatience is his weakness. He placed numerous layers
of film all over the tank sealing it up airtight, most thoroughly.
Later he took it out of store and removed the film and all looked
perfect including the interior which shone as new. He noticed
a patch of rust on the top area where the four thin pipes are
fixed via a bracket. He carefully removed the rust and suddenly
a 1/2 inch hole appeared. Peter felt the hole suggested that
the original tank metal thickness and quality may not have been
that good! So he can only recommend checking this area from
time to time - there will be a fuel smell if the joints are
weeping. To see over the top of the tank is nigh impossible
of course, but a probe would show up something such as flaking
top paint and rust. Peter ended his V8BB posting with a query:
"a question I have for the experts is:- If the tank had
been in normal everyday use, would the rust have still eaten
its way through the metal?"
See a longer version of this note. More
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