African diesel

[cruiser_guy]

We've moved from Guatemala to Sierra Leone and brought our trusty BJ60 with us. When we arrived back in January all I had to drive was a Ford F350 with a 5.4L gas engine. We had numerous problems which we finally traced to abnormally dirty fuel. It ended up needing to change the fuel pump after pulling the tank back in March to clean the pebbles and rocks out of the fuel tank and pump. Of course I was concerned about the diesel quality with the LandCruiser on the way.

Thanks to Rob I have a Mr. Funnel filter funnel to clean my fuel. Attached is a photo of the filter after just 5 gallons of diesel passed through it. This is diesel that came out of a jerry can that has not been used in Africa before so this is just dirt from the 5 gallons.

I'm not surprised about the problems folks have with vehicles here. I'm only surprised that no one else has figured out it's the fuel. I'm the only one filtering fuel and everyone comes looking to see what the weird contraption is that I'm using. I even had one gas station attendant refuse to fill the Ford when I wanted to use it because "it was too strainful"!

I'll take another picture this weekend when I fill up with 30-40 gallons and see how it looks.

 

[Volcano cruiser]

Charles,
Glad to see that you made it safe and sound. Question, what is the diameter of the funnel? Also does yours have two filters in it or just one? How much time does it take to fill up a tank with the funnel vs. w/o the funnel. Last, how do you clean the filters or do you simply replace them and if so, how often do they have to be replaced? Thanks.
John

 

[cruiser_guy]

John, the funnel is probably 10 - 12" diameter, has two filters and these filters are teflon coated so if necessary you could rinse them but the dirt falls off anyways. The filters are NOT replaceable. It takes a little longer but it is really dependent on the cleanliness of the fuel. We have one jerry can that has been in use here for a while and it's all slimy inside so the fuel in there takes a while to pass through the filter. Cleanish fuel at the gas station should be better, I'll find out this weekend for sure.

 

[tmarx]

"Africa is not for sissies !" but a harty welcome anyhow. Once it gets into your blood you will love the continent. Any plans on visiting ZA ?

 

[AJAEbj42]

Nasty! We have it so good over here in N. America.

 

[Cancruiser]

Nasty! We have it so good over here in N. America.

Agree! I changed the fuel filter on my 1HDT after about 60,000 km of driving, the inside of the filter looked like a new one. I slapped back on. No need to change!

 

[canucksafari]

Agree! I changed the fuel filter on my 1HDT after about 60,000 km of driving, the inside of the filter looked like a new one. I slapped back on. No need to change!

The paper media is also designed to absorb moisture not caught in the trap. After 60,000 kms, I would be replacing it regardless of how clean it looked.

 

[Elbert]

maybe you need to invest in some of the fuel filter assemblies that have easily replacable filters...ie you change just the replaceable filter not the entinre assembly. Spin on fuel filter. Just a thought. I would imagine that fuel quality is really bad in some areas.

 

[IanB]

maybe you need to invest in some of the fuel filter assemblies that have easily replacable filters...ie you change just the replaceable filter not the entinre assembly. Spin on fuel filter. Just a thought. I would imagine that fuel quality is really bad in some areas.

I agree that this would help as well, but what I like about this system is it keeps a lot of crap out of the tank in the 1st place. We're lucky we don't have to deal with this kind of thing here.

 

[cruiser_guy]

maybe you need to invest in some of the fuel filter assemblies that have easily replacable filters...ie you change just the replaceable filter not the entinre assembly. Spin on fuel filter. Just a thought. I would imagine that fuel quality is really bad in some areas.

The factory fuel filter on the BJ60 is like a spin-on oil filter. This filter funnel is to keep the crap out of the tank to start with. I was getting pebbles in the Ford tank but I have no idea who was fuelling it or with what before I got here in January.

I need to go to the bank for the Le 500,000 I need to refuel the truck!

 

[prado t]

If I was in AFRICA , or China , I would be running dual Racors and lots of fuel conditioner.
China Circa 1990 my Dad was helping a Lead smelter cut down on pollution. He travelled in a coaster bus , that had 3 water seperators . Every 45mins the driver would stop and drain the 3 water seperators that were by the drivers door.


Pebbles in the tank , sounds like sabotage to me.

 

[Elbert]

many people run aftermarket fuel filters.... beyond what's OEM.

 

[prado t]

Nasty! We have it so good over here in N. America.

There are some places ( fuel stations ) across the line and up here that have bad fuel too.

 

[cruiser_guy]

Mr. Funnel also filters out water believe it or not! I'm planning to make sure as little dirt or water as possible makes it into the tank. I figure if I can keep it out of the tank that's 99% of the battle.

 

[expat]

Shurhold, West Marine, and Mr. Funnel are all the same. They work great.

 

[cruiser_guy]

Well I filled up with 25 gallons at the local station out here where we are stationed. I used the Mr. Funnel and it stopped flowing at 20 gallons due to water and dirt on the filter (see first picture and the dirty water in the bottom that the filter funnel caught).

After the full complement of 25 gallons I took a couple of other photos of the filter.

All I can say is I'm glad the dirt is NOT in my tank or worse in the engine and injection pump!

 

[gerg]

Wow man that is crazy. I bought some crappy diesel that had been sitting in an old tug boat for years and it was cleaner than that. I let the water settle and used an old frantz filter before I put it in my truck. Worked great, incredibly slow mind you. Im gonna have to get me one of those Mr. Funnels.

 

[Dougal]

That reminds me. After 20+ years of diesel from dodgy tanks I should clean out my fuel tank. I know it's got at least an inch of crap in the bottom.

 

[gerg]

4 table spoons of epsom salts in 500ml water with a hot vinegar enema will do you wonders. Erm for your tank that is

 

[cicak]

impressive thats even worse than our crap Malaysian fuel 177,000k and I had to replace the fuel pump from the tank on the HILUX recently as it blocked and destroyed the fuel pump in the tank.

I would X2 the cleaning out of the tank and then a flushing of the fuel lines.

im surprised any dielsel vehicle runs over there