[AKDoug]

the inside of the tank is white and when I cleaned out the tank there was absolutely nothing in the tank.. my filter at 7k was black but not plugged and no residue to see. almost like it was washed out from white to black.

Yep. Same as mine. White and clean as a whistle. I really would like to know where the black is coming from. There was a guy here last season saying he thought it was from the pump housing. I'm not on board with that yet. I will say that I haven't had a repeat issue yet, but I also have not been riding much do to a house remodel being in the way.

 

[suv1]

Ya we all like to know where the black stuff is coming from but until then leave everything as is, the added filter on the inlet hose is a good idea, lets see if it helps

 

[Freewill]

I have had the same issue with hydraulics on machinery. The black stuff that seems to come from nowhere. After some time I figured out what the problem was. The inside of the lines were deteriorating allowing rubber to flake off. I wonder if this could be the problem with your fuel lines?

 

[awful knawful]

 

[suv1]

I have had the same issue with hydraulics on machinery. The black stuff that seems to come from nowhere. After some time I figured out what the problem was. The inside of the lines were deteriorating allowing rubber to flake off. I wonder if this could be the problem with your fuel lines?

Everything plastic is white on the inside of the tank, there's nothing black in there, that's what got everyone scratching their heads?

 

[CanGadeX]

Unless it is the black canister coming apart or being decomposed by fuel that the sock filter is in?

 

[nm9stheham]

Unless it is the black canister coming apart or being decomposed by fuel that the sock filter is in?

This is certainly a good thought. I have been looking into fuel components and notice that butane is said to be a common additive in winter gasoline. And butane is listed as not compatible with some forms of rubber and plastics. Not saying that is the culprit but is an example of what is in the gas....

 

[nm9stheham]

I have had the same issue with hydraulics on machinery. The black stuff that seems to come from nowhere. After some time I figured out what the problem was. The inside of the lines were deteriorating allowing rubber to flake off. I wonder if this could be the problem with your fuel lines?

Maybe others will share their observations in their particular tanks, but I assume the fuel lines inside the pumps and tanks in question are all the clear plastic lines..... presumably not a rubber.

 

[Freewill]

Just another thought and a long shot at that. The hose on the gas pump at the gas stations are black rubber. 🤔

 

[mxz1998]

Just another thought and a long shot at that. The hose on the gas pump at the gas stations are black rubber.

I wouldn’t be surprised if the problem is something like this. I haven’t heard of a single Ace with this issue in the area I live, and there are a ton of Aces around. I think it’s a fuel supply issue.

 

[nm9stheham]

I wouldn’t be surprised if the problem is something like this. I haven’t heard of a single Ace with this issue in the area I live, and there are a ton of Aces around. I think it’s a fuel supply issue.

Can you tell us the area in which you live and ride?

 

[pierre3737]

The gas cap and float for gauge are black

 

[CathBeau]

Lets expand our thinking here. While everyone is focussing on where the black is coming from, perhaps it comes from nowhere ! Meaning it may come from the filter itself. As we know the octane at the pump is a cocktail of compounds and the fabric the sock is made of reacts with one or more of these compounds. A simple chemical reaction !

If someone has the patience, time and money, take a new sock and let it sit in a clear glass jar full of fuel. The fuel needs to go through cycles of cold and hot (since it sits on top of the tunnel, and behind the engine when on the sled). For how long you say ? That's what the experiment would determine. Just to make it more fun, you'd also have to consider the geological sources of your fuel, because that will affect its composition. Lastly, pressure. We need to increase pressure to match the pressure found in the gas tank of your sled.

Then again, maybe BRP could change the polymer the sock if made of to a more inert material. Or simply figure out a solution so their customers don't have to, and issue a recall. Uhm...what a concept !

 

[suv1]

We all all know that air gets sucked into the tank of these GEN4's, curious to know if any way smoke "pollution", from the air, drivebelt debris....etc could be sucked into the vent, of course it don't happen overnight but for sure it happens, blackened filter i mean, more often to some than others, just a thought?

 

[CanGadeX]

We all all know that air gets sucked into the tank of these GEN4's, curious to know if any way smoke "pollution", from the air, drivebelt debris....etc could be sucked into the vent, of course it don't happen overnight but for sure it happens, blackened filter i mean, more often to some than others, just a thought?

I asked where the tank vent was located on the gen4 as I own an XR. My XR vent is hosed above the left shock tower above the belt guard along the frame to a molded nipple in the rigid side panel. There was a crack in mine and fixed it. I always suspected a potential for belt dust as the tank can be in a vacuum from time to time.

 

[yammie for now]

We all all know that air gets sucked into the tank of these GEN4's, curious to know if any way smoke "pollution", from the air, drivebelt debris....etc could be sucked into the vent, of course it don't happen overnight but for sure it happens, blackened filter i mean, more often to some than others, just a thought?

if the fuel in my tank wasn't so clean that would be a good theory , i poured the fuel in a clean white bucket and not a peck of dirt to see... clogged filters are being caused by dirt getting in tank some how, my filter other than being discolored was clear of any kind of sediment. it seemed to be faded from white to dark ?????? lots of time to ponder now as it is calling for 4 mild days on this part of the rock .wish mother nature would make up its mind but mother nature is a female😂😂

 

[Snow Terror]

I mentioned the vacuum of the tank being a possible source a while back, but the more I think about it it's probably less likely, but not impossible. Perhaps an inline air filter on the tank vent hose might reduce/eliminate this possibility? Might be an easy check at the end of the season - just check both filters for contaminants.

I suspect that any fine particles that the fuel filter is picking up (over time) is probably not really visible with the naked eye. Even if you had a fine micron strainer to put your fuel through to check it, there still might not even be enough to see due to the particle size and low volume per tank. I guess it's obvious that this isn't a problem resulting from a single tank of fuel, but rather something that happens over time with a larger volume of fuel and contaminants having to pass through the filter in order for the filter to plug/change color. That may be why this is so hard to nail down.

 

[awful knawful]

Everything plastic is white on the inside of the tank, there's nothing black in there, that's what got everyone scratching their heads?

My 19 expedition sport is black inside the tank if I remember correctly.

 

[nm9stheham]

if the fuel in my tank wasn't so clean that would be a good theory , i poured the fuel in a clean white bucket and not a peck of dirt to see... clogged filters are being caused by dirt getting in tank some how, my filter other than being discolored was clear of any kind of sediment. it seemed to be faded from white to dark ?????? lots of time to ponder now as it is calling for 4 mild days on this part of the rock .wish mother nature would make up its mind but mother nature is a female😂😂

The inline filter after the pump is 10 micron nominal particle size (if I have that right). None of us can see actual particles of a size in the few 10's of microns, which would be caught in the sled's inline filter. What particle size was your filter? Who knows....

This is part of why this is so vexing. None of us have the equipment to find such fine particles. Larger particles have been found and could be from a completely different source.

Keep in mind that one possible source of this for the inline filters (after the pump) is the graphite brushes in the fuel pump's motor.. assuming this is a brushed motor. The fuel passes right over these brushes, and brushes wear and produce fine graphite.

 

[CanGadeX]