DIY - FUEL FILTER CHANGE (with photos)

Originally Posted by firefirefire90

wanting to do this today!



did you guys buy the OEM filter, or is asftermarket fine?

OEM from german filters dot com or Tischer.

BTW, this was not a fun DIY due to the gas fumes. One thing to note: Wear clothes that you can throw out later after air drying.

Ok so i've been trying for a while now to get these damn hoses off the fuel filter, its nearly impossible. I've got the small tiny one off the front but the larger front one will not budge. I've tried putting a flat had under it, using plyers to pull it out while twisting the filter and just straight up going crazy pulling on it and it barely moved. Any tips on how to get this mofo off! I'm going to reuse the hoses and clamps so i dont want to damage them either. Please help! My car is just sitting on jack stands/jacks right now and Im helpless!

Use a trim tool like the black forked ones pictured here -> http://www.amazon.com/DOOR-PANEL-TRI.../dp/B000NGIPP8

Damn I dont got those! Oh well, I just got the old filter out, i went insane crazy and just started to shove my flat head into the pipes like a mad man. I literally just kepy swearing and they hoses came out. Now im just happy its out and im taking a little break. This is the worst diy i've had to do, effin sucks! I wish i had a lift

Originally Posted by alwaysbored786

Ok so i've been trying for a while now to get these damn hoses off the fuel filter, its nearly impossible. I've got the small tiny one off the front but the larger front one will not budge. I've tried putting a flat had under it, using plyers to pull it out while twisting the filter and just straight up going crazy pulling on it and it barely moved. Any tips on how to get this mofo off! I'm going to reuse the hoses and clamps so i dont want to damage them either. Please help! My car is just sitting on jack stands/jacks right now and Im helpless!

Try a really small flathead screwdriver.

You can also try cutting them and getting new hoses at O'Reilly/Advance AutoParts/Autozone. This would be the easiest.

Also, make sure you took your gas cap off to depressurize the system.

Originally Posted by alwaysbored786

Damn I dont got those! Oh well, I just got the old filter out, i went insane crazy and just started to shove my flat head into the pipes like a mad man. I literally just kepy swearing and they hoses came out. Now im just happy its out and im taking a little break. This is the worst diy i've had to do, effin sucks! I wish i had a lift

It's not that bad. It does suck that you are working with gasoline and have to be very careful. There are worse.

^true, I finally got it off, i was using the small flat head screw driver forever, just going nucking futs with it on the pipes. I crushed my front jacked point even with a small peice of wood inbetween the jack and jack point. I will never do this diy without a lift every again.

On the good side, my car feels like before, maybe a tad bit smoother (probably placebo effect) haha. Thanks for the tips, I really appreciate it guys!

Help.

i just did all this and now it wont start. Any suggestions?

Help.

Great DIY. Just did this yesterday. After yanking the fuse it took my car about a full minute to die Took awhile to get the hoses off, but just kept prying with a small flat head screwdriver and they came off.

Check this story, "The Night of an E46 Fanatic":

So I get the car up on jack stands, and after sadly finding a beautiful colorful little bird my dog killed in my garage, I get under my car. I've got fans set up just right in prep for the fumes, doors open, all the tools laid out in easy reach for when I'm down there, worklights set up, etc etc.

I starve the fuel pump of fuel and then I start.
I start taking off the skid cover thing on the drivers side. I look under it: there's nothing there. I literally check it, think for a few minutes, check it again, crane my neck looking around the underside with a very puzzle look on my face, check it again, etc etc.. Then I repeat the same process on the passenger skid plate.
And finally, I go to take off the front skid plate, thinking it might be there, when I see the bolts are really philips head, and so it surely wouldn't be there cuz 'the diy said the bolts are 8mm'

I lay there for about 30min examining everything else under the car, and make some mental notes. Then I come to e46f. I get distracted by some thread this white girl posted on the OT forum showing herself off w/ pics. Then, /distraction. I consider posting that I can't find my fuel filter, but decide that's retarded. So I just search "fuel filter", read through about ten threads and find the answer: my car is SULEV, "and therefore hte fuel filter, pump, etc are built into the fuel tank". I then decide I still have to change it, fvck whatever BMW says about "lifetime" bs and I try to figure out how to change the filter, realize it's a $7,000 part, and conclude: "fvck it".




..The story continues w/ me researching on here how to flush my power steering fluid (ATF, whatever)

Cheers!

nice DYI

Originally Posted by Spitfire

Thanks to all who contributed to this thread...

As mentioned above:

Use three golf tee's to plug the soft fuel lines. Use the end caps from the new filter to cover the ends of the old filter. This combination resulted in virtually no spilling. There was no need for a catch basin or anything to collect the fuel.

Also, use a 5mm socket for the hose clamps--no screw drivers or pliers needed

Good luck!

I think this one is the best clever tip when you do this DIY project. I loved the golf tee idea. No spillage at all. Spitfire.

Originally Posted by bradn07

Help.

i just did all this and now it wont start. Any suggestions?

Help.

I'm sure its running by now. However for the future reference of other DIYers, I had the same problem. I wasn't paying attention and placed the fuel lines in the wrong part of the filter. I switched it back and it started right up.

A few quick tips;
I used snipers to cut the clamps(close to lines-not the filter) and used utility knife to cut off three hoses(other than the small hose in front part which came out very easy)
Even I had some golf tee's to plug the lines,I found that sharp short pencils works better.
I literally have to scrape off the hose leftovers(apprx. 3/4") from lines, well, there were stuck in 9 years.
I bought a foot of fuel line hose from Advance Auto for $1.50 and cut to size.Fit the hoses and clamps to filter before going under,but do not tight the clamps until you lose fit the filter.
Touch a little of oil over lines so the hose fits easy.Without oil it was almost imposable.
Used small clamps to tight the hoses with 5mm socket.
Overall difficulty:7 out of 10(hardest) underneath, tight spot, messy and smelly.

on my to do list

About 45 minutes up on ramps. When I drained the inlet side of the filter, it was very nasty. The one I removed was the original filter. Runs much better. Thanks for the DIY, the Bentley was near worthless.

no one ever posted a confirmed OEM part # for the fuel filter hose..... anyone know what that part # is?

Most likely:
Fuel hose 8X13MM part # 13-53-7-563-456

just got finish. took about 30 min considering i got fuel in my eyes. I thought i got all the fuel out of the system but when i took that first hose off.... whoosh fuel in my eyes. I even cleared it out 7 or 8 times. oh well its done now

Originally Posted by John in VA

Most likely:
Fuel hose 8X13MM part # 13-53-7-563-456

See this thread for more info on the part # Click here