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DIY: Fuel Filter Change

189K views 186 replies 131 participants last post by  tritron 
#1 ·
#3 ·
BMW4631 said:
When do i need to change my fuel filter, is there a symptom?

I think the fuel filter is part of the INSPECTION II or III service which is 100,000 miles.

I changed my fuel filter at 66,000 miles after my car was sitting in storage for a year. The fuel was extremely dirty when I cracked it open.

There is no "performance" gain but I your car would definately thank you. Changing your fuel filter is extremely easy. Just a little messy that is all.

Good luck
 
#4 ·
Just changed mine this AM. Car has ~48K miles. Drained fule out of the filter and it was black!! I thinbk changing it every ~50K miles is good preventivive maintenance, esp since the fule pressure regulator is part of the filter, at least on later models.

BTW, yanking fuse 54 whilst the engine is runnign sure prevents spilling a lot of gas. And, before you go to restart the engine after putting fuse 54 back, turn the ignition to posit #2 a few time to allow the pump to get fule back in the lines. When you do start it the engine will run roughly for a about 20 seconds or so. It's just the air in the fueling being expelled at the injectors. :str8pimpi
 
#5 ·
Good write-up.
-Just for anyone out there that is wondering what happens.....
I Changed my filter a few weeks ago, but forgot about pre-charging the fuel lines before starting the engine. IT stalled once, then started the second time, but ran very poorly for about 45 seconds. Then the idle smoothed out a bit and I drove it around the block for a few minutes. It seemed like the car had lost about 75% of its power, and the check engine light came on. I drove around the block once more, and the car came back to life, the power came back, and the light went off.

All in all, it took about five minutes for the car to work properly again.
 
#7 ·
Bump. I did this job today. The DIY listed above is actually very good, but I thought I should add my own notes.

First, just leaving the shield to hang was awkward, but I couldn't figure out where the last attachment point was. I would up bending the shield out of the way.

Second, the hose-clamps on my car turned perfectly under a 5mm socket. I did not use a screwdriver.

Third, the hoses are REALLY stuck on there. Next time I do this job, I will just slice the hoses off with a razor, and replace them with new ones. It seems much easier to put the hoses on than to take them off. I did not have the 3-4 inches of play mentioned in the DIY. The part number for the hoses (3 needed) appears to be 13537788347, while the part number for the clamps (6 needed) appears to be 07129952104. Caveat: the small front hose appears to be a vaccuum hose (for 325/330 cars; the 323/328s do not have this). I wouldn't cut that; it pulled off easily with just hand-strength.

This job really sucked. I didn't enjoy it at all, and don't look forward to doing it again. I hope I've made this a little easier for the next guy.
 
#8 ·
Hey thanks for the props, and yes it did suck. I like you couldn't easily remove the shield. I did bend it enough out of the way to get the work done.

Yes those hoses are on pretty good. I'm not sure if cutting them and replacing them would be any easier but it would sure be an option.

You should have had 3-4 inches of play. If you tug on the filter it should allow you to pull out the length in question. Otherwise you will not have that play. At first I thought... how the heck, then I pulled until it wouldn't budge and that's how I got the play in the line.

Yes I'm glad that this will probably only be done once, but at least it's doable.

If I get around to it, I'll update the DIY with the part numbers you listed. In case someone else wants to do it and the 5mm socket option. It's the weekend so who knows.
 
#9 ·
FWIW that particular fuel filter with the regulator built-in is good to 100,000 miles according to BMW. It is not supposed to be replaced during the ~60k Inspection 2 service.

If you feel like changing it for a piece of mind that is up to you, after all its a $100+ fuel filter.
 
#11 ·
Long time since this DIY, but I just finished the job myself... It took all but about 30 min.. I bent the shield out of the way and everything came out easily.

One thing, afte removing fuse, the car kept starting without problem, it would just die soon after... About a quart of gasoline came out which I had a drain container placed underneath, so very clean. I started with the back part, and just left the filter hanging to drain, took about 5 min.

At 52K miles (2001) fuel was very clean coming out, so unlike other people, it probably did not need changing... But I recently got the car, and when I first started it, it was like -5000 miles overdue for oil change etc... Today changed oil, oil filter, air filter, and fuel filter (changed cabin filter about 500 miles ago while installing BMW alarm... still need to activate that thing...)...

It was a good day...
 
#13 · (Edited)
EDawg said:
if one was wearing rubber gloves, does one still need to worry about grounding himself/herself to prevent static electricity??
Rubber gloves will be disolved by the gasoline...

oh and a tip for removing the hoses... get small needle nose pliers that dont have a rough gripping texture; put them open under the hose between the filterbody and hose, and then using the filterbody as a wedge push up the hose. This method popped the hoses off nice and easy with no damage for me.
 
#14 ·
Now I see why BMW doesn't replace the fuel filter at every Inspection II, because Mechanic says the official service life is 100,000 miles.

My experience was that at 85,000 miles, my 325i gas milleage suddenly went from 23mpg to 21mpg, so I replaced the fuel filter, and my mpg went back to 23+mpg. I suppose the regulator in the fuel filter has some seals that get soft and wear out.

Just cut the BMW filter open and look at the filter media, and compare it to a GM fuel filter, which also has a service life of 100,000 miles, as per GM. The BMW gas filtration-media component is about 5 times larger than the GM media, and I conclude that the BMW filter is much better than it needs to be, but the regulator portion has a slightly more limited service life.
 
#15 ·
Every expert ive talked to recommends a fuel filter change every 2 years. Even every year wont hurt. BMW says it will last up to 100k miles. They also state their transmission fluid is "lifetime." this is all BS. Even though the parts are more advanced today, they still wear down and decline in performance after a certain point. Thats why it never hurts to change the filter. and for $20 and half an hour or so, how can you go wrong? You also extend the life of your fuel pump and fuel system this way
 
#17 ·
Just changed it over the weekend. It was kind of different to get the tubes out of the fuel filter in the tight space. But it was well worth it for $40 and wasted some gas while changing. It seems like it fixed the RPM dead spot problem as well. At least now the car feels much better.
 
#19 ·
Get a trim pulling tool

This would have been impossible without a trim pulling tool that I had lying around. It is essentially a mini pry bar; a small screwdriver sized tool with a fork at the end. I was able to pry the hoses off very easily with this after struggling with a screwdriver for 20 minutes.
 
#23 ·
Fuel Filter

I just performed this over the weekend. It wasn't too difficult but I ran into a few unexpected things.

1) I would get 6 new clamps from the dealer before performing this. I have a 02 330CI and my clamps were not bolt shaped they were rounded and could only be removed by a screwdriver and needed pliers to tighten. I bought 4 new clamps and they can be removed/tightened using a 5mm socket.

2) after pulling fuse #54 my car kept starting and would not die, I proceeded anyway.

3) taking the hoses off is not fun, the pictures in the DIY show nice clean lines etc. Living in the northeast = havoc for your undercarraige. The lines meeting the hoses were full of gunk. I took an awl and cleaned where the house met the fuel lines to "break the seal" I removed the hoses from the lines first not the filter. then removed the hoses from the filter when it was off the car.

4) gas kept pouring out of one line from the tank in a pencil thick stream. I expected it to stop but it did not. Anyone else have this problem? So this led to my next issue.

5) I rushed to get the filter back on because the gas kept coming. well not only does it have a front and back, which was obviously correct, it also must be positioned properly on the lines. There is an arrow on both sides of the filter so it looked like It was right. Well my car wouldn't start, I checked the pics and realized I put the filter on upside down. :yikes:

I then quit for the night and proceeded to kill two 64 ounce growlers from the local brewery to forget my stupidity and my anxiousness about breaking my car.

the next morning I inverted and fuel filter in 15 minutes and it started up first try.

I changed all of my fluids and filters this weekend for inspection II and I don't know if it's placebo but it revs faster and pulls harder.

Thanks to whoever wrote up this DIY in the first place. I've been dreading this for months but Never would have tried it without the pics.
 
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