A few questions from someone who's never done this but bought a fuel filter today and already has the little scissor-type thing:

(1) Do you guys do this on a lift, or with the truck on stands, or while it has four wheels on the ground? With my 06 S/Crew longbed, there's barely enough room for my head to clear from the ground to the bottom side of the frame rail. It's awfully cramped and I can't really see what I'm looking at.

(2) Do you have to bend the little tab on the frame bracket down to remove the filter from the basket? I can't see how the basket is attached to the back side of the frame bracket, so I can't tell what to do.

(3) How do you remove the 'bridge type' fitting that secures the downstream fuel line to the fuel filter's stem? Just kinda pop the upstream jaw off the fuel filter stem and let it dangle on the downstream line?

(4) What does the scissor-type tool do, exactly? Do you close the jaws over the fuel filter stem, then slide it forward into the duckbill fitting to get the fitting to release the filter?

(5) It's pretty tight between the forward (downstream) face of the filter and the front frame bracket. Is there room to slide the filter forward, out of the basket? Or does this relate to my question #2?

I know this should be easy, and once I do one I'll proably slap my forehead and think how easy it was, but for now I've got more questions than ability.

 

I have changed mine several times and the fuel in it did not look like that. Maybe its the winter gas with the ethanol.....I dont know. Dont wait so long next time. I will have a good look next time I change my fuel filter.

 

Yeah, I saw that gunk coming out and had to have a look inside. I think I'll change the fuel filter every other oil change or so from now on. It seems to run a bit stronger now too.

 

1.jack up drivers side, use a stand.
2.you don't bend it, it is a springy, you just twist and pull the filter out.
3.yes
4.exactly
5.I have to pull or pry it out, won't slide at ll.

 

That fuel is pretty nasty. I had mine changed at just under 30,000 miles (29,xxx). Since the dealership did it for me, I wasn't able to see the fuel that came out of it. But I did have them save the old filter for me. When I got it home, I cut it open. I didn't see anything unusual there. The paper element was actually pretty clean, on both sides. No noticable debris or contaminents that I could see. After seeing the inside of my filter, I kinda thought that it was a waste of money to change it that soon. I never had any performance problems, and I didn't notice any improvement after changing the filter either... FYI, I'm out in southern California, and use Shell all the time... So I don't know if the quality of fuel is drastically different in other parts of the US, or if I just wasn't looking hard enough at my old filter.

 

If you use a big name high volume dealer then you shouldn't have any issues with contamination. This assumes that the dealer is doing proper filter changes at the station. There is no excuse for fuel that dirty. I have almost 60k on the fuel filter on my focus.. and may change it at 60k. It is still original. When I do I will look it over to make the decision on when to change my truck's filter.

 

I guess if fuel was super clean we wouldn't need fuel filters in the first place

We need to get some more people to cut their fuel filters open when they are doing routine maint. and see what they look like. Maybe this in normal.

 

I vote for that. I wouldn't have cut it open if the fuel was clean on the inlet side. If it was that color on the outlet side I would have been pissed.

 

Amen.. There are stations, I go to, aorund where I live. Visit them one week and the next week they are shut down for having had water in their tanks. It rains a lot here in western Washington and stations are closing all of the time to have their tanks replaced. I ended up with a bunch of sand in the tank of my '84 GT convertible, once. It came from a station, never could figure out which one, but had to drop the tank and purge. I guess it is good that they at least check them once in a while.

 

Great post Stealth. I changed mine out at 23,000. I had bought the Mortorcraft filter for about $7. When I was in getting the oil changed the advisor asked if I changed out the filter yet. I told him the new one was sitting in the back seat and he offered to change it out for $20. Normally I would have just done it, but at -3 degree's...

 

what did you use to cut the filters open with, all i have at work is a bench grinder and i dont think thats the best idea. it would be nice if i had a few samples to show customers on how dirty the filters can get. you would be suprised how many people have not ever changed them out for more than 150,000 miles

 

I used a hacksaw to start, then peeled it open with some dikes. (angle cutters for all you pervs)

I should have just used a can opener. It would have worked I bet.

 

i have an old can opener in my cupboard somewhere, i will find it and cut open a new one tomorrow and if we get a used one, i will cut one of them too for display purposes. they have a lip on the so i bet the can opener will work.

 

Rosie must have strong hands....maybe that's why trump hates her-jealosy