OMG! Fuel Filter was a pain!

[98GSXtreme07]

After reading all of the posts on changing the fuel filter I decided to do it myself and save me some money. Yall were not lying when yall said it was a bi*** and boy was it! I spent an hour and half trying to get that top bolt off and spraying the crap out of it with PB Blaster it finally let loose and my hand nailed the firewall. But it was ok since thankfully it finally let loose. Than came the bottom bolt. After spending in hour trying on that my dad comes home and I ask him if he wouldnt mind helping. It took him all of 30 seconds to get it off! Me and my scrawny self... Thankfully after spending 3 and a half hours working on this, we fired her up and no leaks. Hopefully it stays that way. When I took off the battery tray I saw 2 lines disconnected but I'm going start a new thread on that. Here's some pictures from the install.

You can see some of the PB Blaster running down the filter:

<a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/3201/1001040ye7.jpg" border="0" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us"/></a><br/>

This is how I got that top bolt loose. Just squeeeeze together... :

<a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/3848/1001044sw0.jpg" border="0" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us"/></a><br/>

And that bi*** of a bottom bolt:

<a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/7765/1001051lc2.jpg" border="0" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us"/></a><br/>

 

[Splitpi]

After spending in hour trying on that my dad comes home and I ask him if he wouldnt mind helping. It took him all of 30 seconds to get it off! Me and my scrawny self...

Thats only because you used an of work loosening it just enough for you dad to do it in 30 seconds

Also those vac lines are for you non-existent charcoal filter. Properly cap all that off so you don't have boost leak. Search for "Taboo" on here for the vacume line diagrams.

 

[Splitpi]

Do it yourself. You learn new words and you can get you knuckels all cut up + you feel a bit closer to the car.

Hahaha... I have noticed my car requires regular donations of plasma to function properly. It starts getting cranky till I do some work on it, bust a knuckle and leave a plasma donation on the engine bay somewhere. Then its happy for a few weeks or a month.

 

[zero97tsi]

This is my next project, not entirely looking forward to it but Im also not going to let anyone else touch the car

Maybe Ill ask my dad to come over

 

[kenamond]

Mine's got 90k on it and is due for replacement. I might do the knock sensor at the same time and see if I can cramp up my back and bust all 10 knuckles.

Not "plasma donation". It's "blood offering"...like the Mayan and Aztec civilizations. Leaving a drop or two of your own blood on the altar (valve cover) adds 10whp. However, PB Blaster and the notorious "right tool for the job" are loopholes in the divine workings of the DSM gods.

 

[c4uldr0n]

Us folks with Tatoo's can't always give blood/plasma

I've always used a crows foot to take off the lower portion of the fuel filter, works great.

 

[kenamond]

Us folks with Tatoo's can't always give blood/plasma

The DSM accepts all blood offerings.

 

[BigSorn]

I changed mine in about 30-45 mins, all my dad did was watch :/


PB Blaster FTMFW

 

[ryanx99GS]

Don't even get me started on the Fuel filter. My god. Took me and 2 of my friends 3 hours to change it, we just impacted the bi*** off. Let alone I, leaning on the engine, snapped off my BOV nipple which pissed me off more. Atleast now I won't have to change it for awhile. Being I bought the car in Chicago didn't help either as salt/water/snow don't mix well with a DSM

 

[BigSorn]

is it just me, or is it easier to change a fuel filter on a 1g compared to a 2g, all the post that said it was easy own a 1g, and 2g owners said it was a b*tch. I've never woked on a 2g so I have no idea how they are though.

 

[98EclipseTurbo]

First time I did it I had the same problem, top one came out ease but on the buttom one kinked the line allitle and gave up for the day. I tried agian persisting only to bend it even more. After that it was useless, I got a pipe flaring tool, fuel line,fuel line clamps and a Home depot adapter that would thread into the filter and the hose would slide on.
It works fine. This one and the Oxygen sensor (front upstream) are the worst.

 

[voodoogsx]

I had a fun tiem with my fuel filter when I did it a few weeks back...this is the text from my other posting about what I did.

I used these wrenches as opposed to the flared wrench or line wrench.
Craftsman 3 pc. Extreme Grip Wrench Set, Metric - Model 42513 at Sears.com
or search google --> Craftsman 3 pc. Extreme Grip Wrench Set, Metric
These seemed to get the grip that I needed for that bottom fitting. When I initially tried this with a flare wrench It started to strip the fitting. I attribute this to a cheap brand of wrench.
For the top one, I ended up pulling the fuel line from the fuel rail(I needed to anyway due to some new injectors) so I didn't have to fight with the upper fitting/banjo bolt while it was still in the engine bay. there are only 2 bolts that hold the fuel line to the rail(leave the rail on...unless you're changing injectors too)....and this makes life OOHHH so much easier IMO
This helped considerably since I was able to get the leverage I needed when it was out, though still not that easy.
I also had to pull the battery tray support and evap can which were both royal pita's.
For this, I had to bend the tray support after removing the two bolts farthest from the firewall. This allowed me to get to the evap canister I was then able to get the bolt closest to the firewall that holds the evap canister. The first bolt for the evap can should be accessible, though still a pain to remove.

 

[DearDoger]

####in #### suckin fuel filter why is it torqued to 500 ####in lbs im goin to try a stick of dynamite next maybe that will loosen it up.

 

[DSMunknown]

Guess there should be a warning before attempting this maintenance replacement:


*Grow some chest hair!*

 

[91tizzy]

dam I didnt have a problem at all with my 1g and it had 153,000 on it

 

[Daaan]

starting my filter tonight. What looked to me a simple and effortless task, is now a nightmare and i have lost sleep over it. Anyway im picking it up tonight and ill let you know how it turns out.

ps. If you dont hear from me, the dsm won the fight.

 

[99RedGs]

God Speed

 

[Boost92awd]

When doing jobs like these where you know your going to have stuck bolts, make sure to spray PB Blaster or penetrating oil on it, a couple days in advance and do it everyday once or twice till you are ready to work on it. That way your giving the penetrating oil a chance to work.

 

[asd_gst]

on my 1g it took maybe 10 minutes the 1st time i ever took it off to change it . my car has 140,000+ miles on it. i didnt use any pb blaster or anything like that. my bolts came off fine. i can change it in about 5 minutes if that. and mine never leaks fuel or anything. no problems with 1g's . i just dont see how its that hard but i dont have a 2g but my friend does so i guess ill change his for him just so i can see how hard it really is. but i dont think it will take anymore then 15 minutes at the most.

 

[Daaan]

I changed mine last night, and it was real easy. My dad did come along and i quote, said "whatcha din over der?" he tried to jump in but i said dont touch . I lucked out i guess.

How i did it..
1. took out battery
2. removed some vacuum lines
3. releived fuel presser from top filter bolt. (hold a rag around it to absorb feul)
4. took out the big bolt.
5. removed bottom flange. (with only one wrench. did this carefully not to crimp fuel line)
6. removed bolts off brackets that are connected to fire wall
7. replaced filter. (If you take the brace off the filter you can screw the filter onto the bottom flange by hand. this helps out ALOT).
8. Place brace back on and tighten the brackets back up. Finish off the bottom bolt with a turn.
9. place crush washers on top and bottom of fuel line, and replace the large bolt.
10. easy as pie.

 

[Daaan]

ps. It took me about 20 min, since i had to read my haynes manual along the way. (It was my first time replacing the filter).

 

[asd_gst]

i didnt have to take anything out of my car

 

[Daaan]

i didnt have to take anything out of my car

You have a 4g63 right? then why wouldnt you take the battery out. Makes a tonne of sense.

 

[dsmmaniac12787]

It doesnt make any sense how I can replace my engine in my driveway...yet this fuel fiter is the biggest PITA yet. Got the top bolt loose easy. Couldnt get the bottom one loose. I tried and tried, then my friend tried but didnt take into consideration that it was upside down. He turned it the wrong way and tightened it till it stripped....

 

[asd_gst]

You have a 4g63 right? then why wouldnt you take the battery out. Makes a tonne of sense.

seriously it would take longer to take out and put in the battery then it takes me to change a fuel filter. a yes i have the 4g63 its a gst

 

[Daaan]

seriously it would take longer to take out and put in the battery then it takes me to change a fuel filter. a yes i have the 4g63 its a gst

Maybe your battery set up is different because there is no way i would be able to get enough torque with such little work space. Also if i may ad, disconnecting the battery is a must. Spark plus fuel equals fire. If you accidentlly touch the positive and negative wire, with lets say a wrench, will cause a fire. Taking it out allows you to see immediately if your lines aren't sealed properly, waiting to smell gas if you didn't remove the battery would be suicide. Taking out the battery is safer, easier and gives you less of a chance to bust up knuckles. plus takes 2 seconds..

right way first time = happy dsm