Necessary to HAVE, likely not necessary to REPLACE.

The sock is relatively course grained, and it's constantly washing in gas in the tank, so it's not super likely to get clogged.

Having said that, I would replace it if I had the pump assembly open anyhow, for good measure.

 

If you are going in there, you might as well replace it.

 

I don't need to go in there! I suspect a fine layer of ice inside from the recent single digit temps
Fuel pump is ok afaik at the moment

Just wasn't clear if it gets gummed up with dirt and/or rust flakes 💩

 

I would not think the filter/sock in there has any issues. Opening all that up would allow you to inspect the inside of the tank for debris and whatnot, and clean it out. But if you are not having any issues that point to a bad pump I would ignore it. You can put treatments in the gas to deal with water if you think that is an issue. I could not tell you if they tend to clog up, but probably not overly likely.

 

For all I know this old fuel tank is going to burst from pressure once it gets fired back up after so long with all new tubing, except for the weird shaped evap vent tube, tank has to be dropped even more than the partway I had it down to replace the vshaped clamp a spell ago

 

Won't know until you try.

 

Mid-June of '21???? Was it working when you parked it? Charge the battery, check the oil, check the tire pressure and go!

 

Yes!, June is when I ripped all 3 rotted fuel tubes out from under the car to replace with new tubes, fuel filter + motor mounts and misc. front end stuffs. Then I ran into an issue with a discontinued fuel pump subassembly tube that was rusted shut on the flare fitting. Salvage yards were a disappointment 😞 then in December I finally found that discontinued tube NIP in a Japan warehouse and was recently delivered

Probably gonna need a new battery lol it's an old one & been off the car this whole time

 

If you're concerned about water in the gas I really like this Red Line product as it takes a fundamentally different approach to removing water (and preventing freezing of fuel pipes) than your standard alcohol-based HEET type product.

Fuel System Water Remover & Antifreeze

Removes water from diesel or gasoline systems, treats up to 250 gallons

www.redlineoil.com

 

Start it up. Drive it. See how it runs. Everyones' chrystal ball says if you rebuild everything it will still be a 1997 that runs like new but squeaks.