anyone get the "spatter paint" of black on the fuel filter? if so you gotta change the fuel float as it is deteriorating. mine had nearly plugged my pickup screen acting like a bad lift pump

 

cool thanks for the heads up. Haven't noticed it yet. Is it hard to change. Never had my head in the tank yet, or my hands either

 

Just changed my fuel filter yesterday and it was it's normal dark yellow color. Thanks for the heads up though.

 

Are you sure the black you're seeing isn't asphaltines, a normal constituent of all diesel fuel caused by uncracked or damaged molecules left over from the refining process? It looks like chunks of tar or can be small and turn the filter black.

More here
http://www.baldwinfilter.com/engineer/94_14.html

 

good link bill, while some people may deffinatley suffer from asphaltine buildup if you look at a dodge filter with a bum fuel float and a torn pickup screen you will poo ya shoe! my float was less then half the original size and the tank was full of speckled phenolic dust of varying size. without busting out my chemistry set i will bet 100 bucks that the dust was from my float based on the fact that it was all floating on the diesel left in the tank. also asphaltine molecules that linked together into large enough chains to appear as "spatter" would most likeley have smoked us all by clogging the pickup screen in the tank.

 

I enjoyed dropping the tank about not at all if it were june and i could use my pressure washer to get the crud off so it did not bounce off my nostril into my eyes without so much as slowing down on my saftey glasses it would help alot! I strongly caution you to remove the pickup screen VERY carefully as it is not the toughest part on a dodge. I would say you will need about 1.5-2 hrs with good tool selection, if you get stumped by the wires from the sender to the harness just cut the old sender wires and pull it up to the bench

 

Well if it makes you feel better the fuel pump just quit on my dad's Cheby and when all was said and done it cost about $1100. Don't you feel better now? I at least feel a little bit better about having to pay that much since it was completely full of gasoline, it better be when we get it back too.

 

I would have paid that much after my second trip to the eye wash, oh well money saved

 

Sounds like you have about as good luck with safety glasses as I do, things just go around them when I have them on. I'm about ready to get those all out lab glasses which are full surround.

 

Wusses. I don't use anything but my sunglasses. Maybe that's why my right eye sucks.

 

Lol, I take if you never got a chance to visit your ER after not being able to open either eyes due to the discomfort caused by one of them getting a scratch on the cornea. I'm not to much of a safety advocate but after that I decided to wear my safety glasses much more often.

 

the good news is if the dirt has enough diesel in it it slicks up the eye so A) it does not scratch the cornea and B) it leaves a sheen on your eyes, thus resembling sun glasses

 

My best was a surprise behind a wood piece of trim at the peak of a roof while already standing on a 4" wide edge 5ft off the ground and on my tip toes, not exactly a good position to try dodging it!