Is the 2F fussy about its fuel filter?

[Gappy]

My 2f started runny rough with a little load, like above 2k rpm (no tach, guessing). I figured either needs a tune up or fuel problem so I'd start with fuel. I have a new tank that I've run almost a full tank through, newish lines and pump so I thought id change the fuel filter first. Can I use a generic, see through filter or is the the 2F fussy about what filter to use? I did a quick search and lots of varying opinions.

 

[charliemeyer007]

I like clear fuel filter so you can see what's going on. I now run a gascolator from a Cub. Where you buy gas is important - go somewhere else if they are filling the underground tanks. Spring and fall add some gas drier to your tank every so often - warm days and cold nights will condense water in your tank as it breathes.

 

[Pighead]

Can I use a generic, see through filter

Yes, I always keep a couple in the Pig

 

[1911]

Where you buy gas is important - go somewhere else if they are filling the underground tanks. Spring and fall add some gas drier to your tank every so often - warm days and cold nights will condense water in your tank as it breathes.

Very important, and not many people ever think about this.

All underground storage tanks have a bit of water in them, it condenses from the air in the top of the tank, same as @charliemeyer007 says what can happen in your own vehicle gas tank. Underground tanks are much cooler than your vehicle tank, and hence condense water on a regular basis. The difference is how often the retailer addresses this with gas drier. The name-brand, major oil company gas stations typically have more strict standards/intervals for this than the Kwik-E-Marts, some of whom rarely if ever check for water and add drier.

Water is heavier than gasoline, so whatever is there sits on the bottom of the tank. When the tank truck fills the underground tanks, it stirs up the water and sediment on the bottom of the tank and makes an emulsion of it in the gasoline, until gravity settles it out again. That is why you never want to buy gas when the tank truck is there.

 

[65swb45]

Way too many people on this forum have been guilty of a rush to judgment on engine problems that were just a bad tank of gas. At least two or three times a year when people call me about carb rebuilds and I listen to their symptoms, I end up telling them to get another tank of gas through the truck.

That said, your symptoms could be fuel delivery. Try driving with the gas cap off to check for vapor lock. Also, with a clear fuel filter, you might see a little bubbling from an upstream leak in your lines.