Engine/Transmission (1998.5 - 2002) 21 gallons at 59.52 a gallon

[JeepBuilder]

That's about where I am at after todays oil and filter change. Saturday morning wife Becky and I left in the dodgemahal with the camper on the back for Chinook pass in Washington state for a memorial for my cousin. She died from cancer. We were going to stay the night but decided to come home same day. We motored in to Ellensburg WA and topped off the fuel tank at the same station, same pump I have used for years when I pass through there. I got back on the freeway with only one exit to go for our run over Blewett pass to home now in Wenatchee wa. I exited after a short run on interstate 90 and the truck died while rolling down the off ramp. I pulled over and started trouble shooting. I found my fuel filter bowl full of gas. And my tank was full. 35 gallons of bad fuel. State farm road side assistance said sorry we cant help you. Would you like to make an appointment? Grrr. We ended up getting towed to a side street next to a tow company for a tow home in the morning. I was tired and rattled. I tried to call the station twice to tell them their diesel supply tank was full of gas but they never answered. The guys at the towing company said this happens all the time there. I will remember that.

#ad


With not much real sleep at all, listening to people pass by all night we got up in the morning and got hooked to the longest roll back I have ever seen. We were too tall for riding on the deck. Then the trip over blewett pass towards home.

#ad


1000 dollars later we got dropped at home where the repairs began. I drained the tank, hotwired the FASS pump and flushed the lines with fresh diesel. Pushing gas back into the tank to be drained. Then hooked all the lines back up after filter changes and again flushed the return line back into the tank. Drained that again and started with fresh diesel and ran the FASS pump again till I was sure I had fresh fuel in everything.

#ad


It fired off after about 15 seconds of cranking and ran smooth in about 30 seconds. A drive showed it to be apparently just fine. A slightly high oil level mandates an oil and filter change today. I am about 1250 dollars into that fill up. A shout out to EJ towing owner Jake and driver Drew. They were more than helpful and if anyone needs a tow in this region I highly recommend them. I have had better weekends.

EDIT: I am not sure why the pics won't show. I used photobucket and cannot see why.

 

[Chief USA]

Sorry to read about this s!@t show you and Misses had to go through. This is just another example of the culture and nation we live in where there are NO consequences for just about anything. It's getting worse by the day.

 

[Chief USA]

BEAUTIFUL truck by the way! That is my favorite color.

 

[GAmes]

I pass through that area now and then. Could you post the name of the station?

 

[JeepBuilder]

Yes it was Astro 1703 S Canyon Rd, Ellensburg, WA Yellow building on the west side of the road right at I-90. Across from Chevron. I have always used the far northwestern pump. I am not going back there again.

Thank you Chief. Years ago my ole best friend from 7th grade (I am 60 YO) brought me his 1970 wagoneer for a ground up restoration to my former home in the Idaho pan handle with his nephew driving that truck pulling the trailer with the wagoneer on it. I fell in love with it as soon as I saw it. It was one of those if you ever sell it call me first conversations. A year passes by and I just happened to call him to remind him of what I said. He says, I was just getting ready to put it on Craigslist. I went and got it right away...LOL

Another noteworthy thing today. Napa wanted 43 dollars for a WIX 57620XE oil filter today. I declined it and went to the dealer and paid 26 for a mopar filter. I prefer fleetguard. Time for a Genos order soon.

 

[GAmes]

Thanks for the info. I just bought some Fleetguard LF9028 filters for $45 each which is a travesty. They used to be $24 and I remember Mopar filters at Wal-Mart for $5. That wasn't too long ago either. I see now their price is $14.

 

[JeepBuilder]

I went to walmart for my oil today. Mobil delvac extreme in 15w40. 3 one gallon jugs of it. Selections are getting scarce when you go by the oil articles found here at the TDR site. About the SN rating being a reduced anti wear package. More and more oils are sporting that rating. I saw mopar filters but no truck ones. The dealer filter looks to be of good quality. I looked at royal purple oil but it was very expensive at 27 a gallon. The mobil seemed to have good ratings. No SN rating either. 45 for a filter is nuts...

 

[GAmes]

45 for a filter is nuts...

Not when you do 15,000 mile filter changes and 30,000 mile oil drains.

 

[petersonj]

@JeepBuilder , good job doing doing a thorough flush of the fuel system using the lift pump. A few years ago, a friend of mine who owns a truck repair shop in Colorado, had a customer who experienced an identical situation ending up with a fuel tank full of gasoline in a VP44 truck. I drained and flushed the fuel system similarly as you did. The truck ran fine afterward.

- John

 

[JeepBuilder]

Not when you do 15,000 mile filter changes and 30,000 mile oil drains.

Thats a lot of miles you have clocked. My oil had 1500 miles on it. It was much dirtier than I would have expected. I don't know if it had gas dilution, but the level was high. It always seems to be black as night at the normal interval of 4k ish miles. I just did my first oil analysis on the last oil change. It was great and sometimes I get concerned about things I shouldn't be.

 

[JeepBuilder]

@JeepBuilder , good job doing doing a thorough flush of the fuel system using the lift pump. A few years ago, a friend of mine who owns a truck repair shop in Colorado, had a customer who experienced an identical situation ending up with a fuel tank full of gasoline in a VP44 truck. I drained and flushed the fuel system similarly as you did. The truck ran fine afterward.

- John

I would not expect anyone to remember my 4 year dead pedal problem. That turned out to be dirty battery cables. But trying to figure out the random cause of my dead pedal, I had replaced the VP44 injection pump with an OFI tuner ready pump. I was pretty worried about damaging it with the gas. I drove it 8 miles to town yesterday to top up the tank. With diesel LOL... It ran like a champ and I slept better last night.

 

[Cummins12V98]

Thanks for the info. I just bought some Fleetguard LF9028 filters for $45 each which is a travesty. They used to be $24 and I remember Mopar filters at Wal-Mart for $5. That wasn't too long ago either. I see now their price is $14.

Remember FleetGuard moved production to Mexico?

 

[Grumpy8811]

thats a bad experience.. one question though, was it actually bad fuel or incorrect fuel?

I know one thing, you can't trust the color codes on the pumps... most stations in the US use Green for Diesel but not all of them.. enough said..

 

[GAmes]

Remember FleetGuard moved production to Mexico?

Why should I remember that? I don't care where they are made.

 

[GAmes]

Thats a lot of miles you have clocked. My oil had 1500 miles on it. It was much dirtier than I would have expected. I don't know if it had gas dilution, but the level was high. It always seems to be black as night at the normal interval of 4k ish miles. I just did my first oil analysis on the last oil change. It was great and sometimes I get concerned about things I shouldn't be.

There is always a qt of oil left in a 12 valve engine when it's oil is drained. The IP doesn't drain so that oil is mixed with the new oil as soon as the engine is started.

Now that you have had an analysis perhaps you won't be draining good, serviceable oil out in the future. I didn't get to 30k drains overnight. I started at the 6000 mile point, then sampled and gained confidence in a 10k drain and so on. It is hard to let go of the things we learned in the '60s and accept that filtration and oils have vastly improved.

 

[Topzide]

I do once a year or 15k, whichever comes first.

 

[JeepBuilder]

Grumpy it was gasoline.
For the rest of you guys, I have definitely learned a lot from all of you over the years. That is for sure.

 

[Cummins12V98]

Why should I remember that? I don't care where they are made.

I just mentioned it as the tariffs may have something to do with the “travesty” you mentioned.