DIY - FUEL FILTER CHANGE (with photos)

Did changing the filter cure a lumpy idle?

Damn Thank you sir, I had been waiting for someone to post up a DIY about this.. My car been burning gas like crazy and hopefully this can solve my damn problem. Great post. Keep it up! Gonna save me good couple of bucks on this one!

Just changed my fuel filter and it went smoothly. Although, when I took out the old fuel filter a foam insulator piece came out and I never put it back in because I thought that it wasn't crucial. After reading through my Bentley Manual it says under the replacement of the fuel filter:

"Note: When installing fuel filter cover, take care to reinstall foam rubber seal in front of cover correctly to prevent flooding of filter with rain splash water."

Does anyone else know anything about this foam piece?

I just did the fuel filter change on my car this past Friday, it was a whole lot easier then I thought, I read that if your not careful you can blow yourself up.. I laughed but was worried a bit but everything went smooth as ice, Just unbolt the 3 bolts on the shield that is covering the filter and bend the shield back a bit and I believe it's 10mm socket to loosen the filter off the frame the car and use a pair of pliers to get the clamps off that rubber looking thing and make sure you have a bucket near by, filter is going to have a lot gas in it... my filter was completely dirty as F**K and the gas was black as shiiiiiit. Easy job. For me was 3 out of 10. Recommend anyone to do this. Felt bit difference in power afterwards.

Just did this today as part of the Inspection II kit from ECS. Most things have been covered but I wanted to just pull together some tips that worked for me which are spread across a few threads. I did not pull any fuses or "purge" the system by running/starting the engine until it wouldn't run etc... and spilled very little gas.

I did this just jacking up the left side and putting it on a jack stand. I removed the shield completely, I didn't find the front two nuts that hard to get to. The key to getting them is to have enough room to get both your hands in there. For me this meant ditching the creeper and just laying on the ground which gave me the 2 or 3 extra inches of room to lay more on my side and get in there with both hands.

Once the shield was out of the way and the clamp holding the filter was removed I loosened all the hose clamps and worked them up the hoses until they were completely past the nipple underneath so that they wouldn't bind when I was trying to remove the hoses.

On the front (engine side) of the filter I loosened the clamp closest to the filter, and on the rear I loosened the clamps closest to the hard fuel lines.

I used a pair of hose pinching pliers very similar to these which made gripping and twisting the hoses quite easy.

Make sure you have the plastic caps from the new filter handy. I removed the vacuum line and fuel hose from the front of the filter first, immediately capping the nipple from the filter with one of the plastic caps so that the filter didn't drain yet. The hose pinching pliers allowed me to pinch off the fuel line from the car while I got my pan into position at which point I let the fuel line from the car drain into a pan. Hardly anything came out even though I hadn't run it dry. Couple ounces at the most.

Before working on the rear of the filter I positioned the drain pan and then removed the cap from the front of the filter to drain most of the fuel before removing the lines at the rear of the filter. When the draining slowed I put the cap back on the front nipple so that it wouldn't continue to trickle.

Then I disconnected each of the rear hoses one at a time leaving the hose connected to the filter. As I disconnected each hose I capped the hard fuel line with my finger immediately as the hose slid off and then slid my finger off while capping with one of the plastic caps from the new filter.

After swapping the fuel hose stubs from the rear of the old filter to the new one I installed the new filter front end first. Then moved to the rear hoses.

Uncap one of the rear hard lines and cover with your finger, then slide your finger out of the way as you push the fuel hose over the hard line. Tighten clamp and repeat for second fuel line.

Doing it this way I spilled VERY little gas on me or the floor. No fuse pulling and running engine dry etc....

ez took me about 20 minutes.

I tried to do this yesterday and failed horribly.
First: couldn't get the front 2 screws of the shield out so I just bent it away to access the filter.
Second: Couldn't get the filter clamp 10mm nut out, the bolt snapped when tried too hard.
Third: Almost stripped all the clamps.

My issue I guess was because I had very less room under there because I was only using 2 jack stands and working under the car in a parking lot.

So I gave up and put it back together with the broken filter clamp just being held by the shield.

My questions,

1)can I just go to the autozone/advanced auto and get regular fuel lines and small clamps? What size and specs? I plan to cut the hoses on the old one, and also what size is the vacuum hose? I would buy that too.


2)Can I clamp the new hose tight on the nipples of the filter before going under the car and only tighten the clamps that are on the fuel lines only when I actually go under the car?

3)what can I do of the broken 10mm bolt still stuck under the car?

4)The new filter(Kayser) I bought doesn't have that rubber tubing around it, Can I re-use the one from the old one(if I can get it off there) or is there anything else I can use there?

Very good DIY. just did it yesterday. Very difficult to reach the top two nuts to remove the shield. no slack on the front fuel lines, decided to cut the three hoses, was very difficult to remove them, replaced with brand new 8x13mm BMW hose for $18 for 3ft. Also replaced the clamps, the old ones were really easy to strip the heads, replace with european style clamps.

its a messy/dirty job, i hate working/dealing with car fluids!

It's about time I do this again myself... I just don't like getting gas near me, otherwise I don't mind it too much.

Overall this wasn't a bad DIY. Just a few pointers that I missed when reading/watching how to do this.

1. You MUST buy a new pack of small hose clamps. The ones on the car are NOT reusable.

2. Our cars have a 1/4" rubber vacuum tubing attached to the filter. Mine was brittle and cracked as soon as I touched it. You will need only about 6 inches of it. Buy 1 foot.

3. You should replace the rubber fuel lines also. If I remember there's less than 1 foot of it. Buy the good stuff. Don't be cheap.

4. A lot of gas will pour out of the line. Have a catch can ready.

5. Use rubber/latex gloves, eye protection, and a headlamp. Makes it easier.

6. If you have anywhere near 100k miles check for leaks while you are under there. No one else will (including the guy you pay to change your oil).

7. The rest is on YouTube (FCPGroton has a nice video) or written on this site. Watch/read and learn. It will go smooth.

.02 HTH and GL!

BTW, I noticed smoother acceleration and smoother shifting (Auto trans). I was definitely overdue for this one (115k). Fuel that came out of filter was black. Not sure the recommended interval but 115k miles was way too long.


-Daniel

Originally Posted by trj

I tried to do this yesterday and failed horribly.
First: couldn't get the front 2 screws of the shield out so I just bent it away to access the filter.
Second: Couldn't get the filter clamp 10mm nut out, the bolt snapped when tried too hard.
Third: Almost stripped all the clamps.

My issue I guess was because I had very less room under there because I was only using 2 jack stands and working under the car in a parking lot.

So I gave up and put it back together with the broken filter clamp just being held by the shield.

My questions,

1)can I just go to the autozone/advanced auto and get regular fuel lines and small clamps? What size and specs? I plan to cut the hoses on the old one, and also what size is the vacuum hose? I would buy that too.


2)Can I clamp the new hose tight on the nipples of the filter before going under the car and only tighten the clamps that are on the fuel lines only when I actually go under the car?

3)what can I do of the broken 10mm bolt still stuck under the car?

4)The new filter(Kayser) I bought doesn't have that rubber tubing around it, Can I re-use the one from the old one(if I can get it off there) or is there anything else I can use there?

trj,

since it's been a few months since you tried this I assume you got the job done?

I'm a little worried about your fuel filter bracket tho. Were you able to secure it?

I think it's there to prevent the filter from moving around when driving over bumps, etc. If it moves, the lines could come loose or crack and spill fuel. The car could catch on fire!

I would recommend having a pro address that problem if you can't remove the old bolt. Maybe it can be drilled out and another bolt put in. It's a very critical part that is there for a good reason.

GL

-Daniel

Originally Posted by swordsman11868

trj,

since it's been a few months since you tried this I assume you got the job done?

I'm a little worried about your fuel filter bracket tho. Were you able to secure it?

I think it's there to prevent the filter from moving around when driving over bumps, etc. If it moves, the lines could come loose or crack and spill fuel. The car could catch on fire!

I would recommend having a pro address that problem if you can't remove the old bolt. Maybe it can be drilled out and another bolt put in. It's a very critical part that is there for a good reason.

GL

-Daniel

Yah, I have the fuel filter ON. I took it to a shop with a lift and they did it for me. They didn't remove the broken bolt, but the outside covering plate is holding the filter just fine. It doesn't move or is sagging.
Thanks for checking.

But I definitely have to get that screw out. Haven't seen anyone else with this issue so, I don't know whether that screw is bolted to the chassis, or welded to the chassis.
Any ideas, anyone?

trj,

I can't remember if the bracket bolt is attached to the frame or not. I wasn't under there long enough. But I think the filter needs to be secured some how to the frame/body. The reason I say that is that the bracket is very sturdy when it's bolted on but when it's released the filter has some play. So I assume the filter is designed to be held rigidly in place.

If it's not, it seems to me that it could wiggle loose and put stress on the fuel lines. Maybe a shop could just drill and tap another bolt and secure the bracket that way. Or even weld one onto the correct spot.

Talk to them. I'm sure they could come up with an easy solution.

GL
-Daniel

Ha, someone else with the same issue! I, too, broke that post (what you guys are calling a screw).

In my case, I wound up cold-welding (ie. epoxy) the nut and half the post to the stub of what was left on the car. It'll be a pain to get off the next time the filter needs to be changed, but that will probably be another 100k miles (someone will probably have to dremel it or drill it or something).

I certainly wouldn't go with only the shield.

My bigger issue is that, since I changed the filter, I've had an issue where in extremely heavy rain, I get a weird engine noise when I step on the throttle. No noise at all when my foot's not on the gas. I'm wondering if I somehow replaced that foam splash shield incorrectly, and if that could be causing it somehow (no idea exactly how... water getting into my gas? Gas not properly getting to the engine?0.

Originally Posted by swordsman11868

trj,

I can't remember if the bracket bolt is attached to the frame or not. I wasn't under there long enough. But I think the filter needs to be secured some how to the frame/body. The reason I say that is that the bracket is very sturdy when it's bolted on but when it's released the filter has some play. So I assume the filter is designed to be held rigidly in place.

If it's not, it seems to me that it could wiggle loose and put stress on the fuel lines. Maybe a shop could just drill and tap another bolt and secure the bracket that way. Or even weld one onto the correct spot.

Talk to them. I'm sure they could come up with an easy solution.

GL
-Daniel

Yup, will do it soon. Its not my daily right now. I am driving a beater mazda 626 right now for sometime till I get the RTABs, RSM, OFHG and the CCV done. Once I DIY those, I am going to take it to a shop who can get that bolt out. And see what I can do to secure that bracket there.

It snapped clean right on the surface where it emerges from. So, I don't have any room to use any tools to get hold of it. I don't have a drill on hand while I was trying it

Originally Posted by trj

Yup, will do it soon. Its not my daily right now. I am driving a beater mazda 626 right now for sometime till I get the RTABs, RSM, OFHG and the CCV done. Once I DIY those, I am going to take it to a shop who can get that bolt out. And see what I can do to secure that bracket there.

It snapped clean right on the surface where it emerges from. So, I don't have any room to use any tools to get hold of it. I don't have a drill on hand while I was trying it

I bet the shop could weld a new bolt on to the same spot. Then they could thread the nut and secure the bracket. It might not be quite as flush as the original but at least it would hold.

Unless JB Weld would work? I've never used it so I don't know if it's strong enough.

Welding is probably easier than drilling/tapping a new bolt, IMHO, if they have a welder.

GL

Dan

Originally Posted by Chris3Duke

Ha, someone else with the same issue! I, too, broke that post (what you guys are calling a screw).

In my case, I wound up cold-welding (ie. epoxy) the nut and half the post to the stub of what was left on the car. It'll be a pain to get off the next time the filter needs to be changed, but that will probably be another 100k miles (someone will probably have to dremel it or drill it or something).

I certainly wouldn't go with only the shield.

My bigger issue is that, since I changed the filter, I've had an issue where in extremely heavy rain, I get a weird engine noise when I step on the throttle. No noise at all when my foot's not on the gas. I'm wondering if I somehow replaced that foam splash shield incorrectly, and if that could be causing it somehow (no idea exactly how... water getting into my gas? Gas not properly getting to the engine?0.

Regarding the rain issue: I remember reading somewhere (can't remember where) that the foam shield is there to prevent water touching the filter. Maybe it was the Bentley manual.

Anyway, I live in Vegas and it never rains here! So I'll never know if I reinstalled min correctly. Lol

Originally Posted by Chris3Duke

Ha, someone else with the same issue! I, too, broke that post (what you guys are calling a screw).

In my case, I wound up cold-welding (ie. epoxy) the nut and half the post to the stub of what was left on the car. It'll be a pain to get off the next time the filter needs to be changed, but that will probably be another 100k miles (someone will probably have to dremel it or drill it or something).

I certainly wouldn't go with only the shield.

My bigger issue is that, since I changed the filter, I've had an issue where in extremely heavy rain, I get a weird engine noise when I step on the throttle. No noise at all when my foot's not on the gas. I'm wondering if I somehow replaced that foam splash shield incorrectly, and if that could be causing it somehow (no idea exactly how... water getting into my gas? Gas not properly getting to the engine?0.

Same thing happened to me. It's actually not a bolt. It's a stud that's integral to the body. I'm not sure how to get it out except maybe drill it out, tap the threads and put in a stainless bolt.

Out of curiosity did I get the wrong fuel Filter? I have a 2004 325Ci but I thought it needs a regulator in it? I haven't taken mine off the car since I'm working 10-8, but I just had the part delivered to my work, and this is what I got:

Originally Posted by Mulrich07

Out of curiosity did I get the wrong fuel Filter? I have a 2004 325Ci but I thought it needs a regulator in it? I haven't taken mine off the car since I'm working 10-8, but I just had the part delivered to my work, and this is what I got:

The regulators are built inside the filter. I got Kayser fuel filter, I cant see the brand name on yours. But it looks like it is the correct one, but it has to have 2 hoses on each side. I can see one on each side from the angle of the picture.