Fuel Filters and Fireworks Festivals

After a long day, a well-deserved view.

Yesterday was a very long day for me. Although I slept in, I went through a lot of energy that day. It started in the morning, with Tackawanna.

A few days ago, I linked a video to my Facebook wall showing the insides of an original (as in, since the car was first sold) fuel filter. To save you the time of watching it, it was pitch black and disgusting. The fuel filter is the filter in between your gas tank and engine that prevents any dirt, rust, and/or other particulates from getting to your fuel injectors. Without the filter, your injectors get clogged up, and you'll have to keep going into your engine bay to clean them out. The thing is, even fuel filters need to get replaced. A clogged fuel filter increases the wear on other parts of the vehicle, like the fuel pump, which need to work harder to get the same amount of fuel. I'm fairly certain that Andou-san did not touch the fuel filter when Tackawanna was still in Kanagawa, so before I take my road trip to Hachinohe next weekend, I decided to swap the fuel filter myself.

The part itself was around $55. Pricey, but it was a genuine Mazda part. I had to order it at the local Super Autobacs, and it came the next day. I was able to borrow a pair of jack stands from Saito-san from Straight Arrow Motors (for free, BTW), but I had to go to a local hardware store to pick up my own jack for $40. Regardless, I was still saving money doing the swap myself. I found a shady spot on the edge of campus and got to work.

I am now definitely certain that Tackawanna spent most of her life in the southern area of Japan. There was so little rust underneath her. (That will probably change after two Aizu winters, but still.) I was able to get off the screws and the bolt attaching the old fuel filter to the car with some effort. I also had a close call when a few drops of gasoline got near my eye. It was a good thing that I had that large water bottle nearby to flush out my eye.

The installation process was much faster, and I was able to install the new pump, prime the fuel system, and test the engine running all under 15 minutes. (Take that, Mom!) However, the swap definitely wore me out. I was underneath the car, constantly bumping into mechanical parts, having to take constant breaks because I was getting winded. I have no upper body strength at all. After my road trip, I'll be adding in workout times to my schedule.

After installing a new shift knob and shift decal in Tackawanna, I took a well-deserved shower and had some leftover tacos for lunch. While there, I checked the various routes to Iwaki. That night, there was going to be a fireworks festival down by the aquarium. 20,000 fireworks were going to be launched, twice the amount of the fireworks launched at the festival in Kitakata that I missed last week. But by the time I had lunch, it was mid-afternoon. Even worse, in order to save money on tolls, the plan was to take the side roads to Iwaki, which would take an hour longer than going by expressway. So after I ate, I took a few minutes to get ready, and then set off.

But first, I had to stop by the ATM to get some money for said tolls, and then I had to stop at Straight Arrow Motors to drop off the jacks. I got to the garage at around 1530 hrs. Saito-san tried offering me to come inside, relax, and have a drink, but I was running late at this point and had to go. I felt kind of bad having to reject the offer in the haste that I was in, because if it were not for that man, Tackawanna would still be sitting in the parking lot with an improperly assembled fuel pump. He's been a real help and a great guy. Still, there was definitely going to be traffic, so I got back on the road and made my way towards Iwaki.

The trip took three and a half hours. I ended up taking National Route 294 to Fukushima Prefecture Route 6 to National Route 49, all at the discontent of Apple Maps, which kept suggesting even after I was south of Lake Inawashiro to turn around and go back towards the Ban-etsu Expressway. As I was getting towards Iwaki, I caved and let Apple Maps command me onto the expressway, where after $5, I was able to cut around the city center and towards the coastline. I turned onto the road blocking off thru traffic just as they were launching the test fireworks.

I was able to find an open parking space nearby, and made my way towards the port, where there was an area where people could watch the fireworks for free. A lot of people were out that night. People were walking down the street, dressed in yukatas. Vendors were set up along the street and in the main area, selling everything from shaved ice to cow tongue. A girl who'd dyed her hair two different colors was standing through the sunroof of a slammed Toyota Crown on her phone trying to locate her friends while the driver was trying to find parking. A man carrying his daughter on his shoulders did a double take when he saw me and openly wondered to his friends if I was taller than the two of them combined. Truly, this was a festival.

The fireworks display followed a structure given by the local radio station, which had speakers outside for the attendees. Each display was numbered, and it went all the way up to around 35. The announcer would announce the number, and then a synth beat would play as she read off the names of all of the sponsors of that particular display. Then she would announce the theme of that particular display, and then it would happen. Some displays only had one firework. Other displays had tons.

About halfway through the event, they stopped to have a break for all of the "love birds" out there. One guy taped a prerecorded message asking his girl to marry him. The whole crowd went "aww." Not sure if she said yes, or was even able to get a word out with a face, I'd assumed, redder than the sun. This particular display had heart-shaped fireworks.

The ending was pretty nice. Everyone did a major countdown, and then a five-minute long display with a classic J-POP song in the background happened. It wasn't as jarring as an American fireworks finish back home, but it was still a stunning display. That video is also on my Facebook wall.

The ride back home on the expressway took $30 and two and a half hours, mainly due to the traffic from all of the people leaving. The expressways here in Japan, though less crowded, have a "speed limit" of about 50 miles an hour. However, no one in their right mind pays attention to those limit signs, not even the NEXCO patrol car. There are also, with the exception of at the insides and immediate exits of tunnels, no lights. And the expressway is in the middle of the country, too, so it's just you and the road. Pretty tranquil stuff.

The upshot is that now, Tackawanna is much more responsive to throttle input. I probably got an additional 10% of power back from changing that filter. And even that night, I was still feeling proud of myself. It was my first major service change by myself, without entirely relying on an auto mechanic. (That is, if you don't count the jack stand rental.) I had watched multiple videos and read multiple instructions in the days leading up to the swap. I spent about three hours doing the whole job, with about two of them getting ready and trying to take out the old part. They say that the Miata/Roadster is an easy car to work on. I can see now what they were getting at.

This week, I'm writing a paper to be published in a journal with an outgoing PhD candidate. I also have to present my thesis progress, and present my [Japanese translated] poster at an open house event. Then, it's off to Hachinohe. Here's to another busy week.

-wp