fuel filter replacement!!
 

I have always heard that you should change your fuel filter in the 3rd gen every 15k miles or so. Well I am a firm believer.... I was due for my 15k change and almost decided to wait another month or so but I already had the filter and a afternoon free. Last time I did the change it was a snap (2 hours max). This time almost 4 hours and a good gallon of gas on me. I forgot to release the fuel preasure from the tank and did not have the correct plug for gas lines. I think I still smell like gas. Anyway after I was finished I took the old filter and fliped it so the rest of the gas would spill back out the unfiltered side. Damn!! It was brown!! I could not believe how dirty it was. No wonder so many motors are lost to clogged fuel filters. Mine was only 15,000 miles old and that was gas only from Exxon. So I will recommend everyone change your filters often!!

I just changed mine as well over the weekend, I agree that it is imperative to change that thing every 15k max. I have heard so many complaints about how hard it is to change it, granted it is in a slightly awkward spot to work on, but not impossible by any means.. I was pleasantly surprised at how much easier it was than I thought it was going to be. In a pinch, the end of a black sharpie pen (not the end with the cap) works well to plug fuel lines.. don't leave it too long though, gas will eat away at the plastic.

Matt
93 SSM

Yeah, I used big vaccum caps last time and it worked great. This time I remmember someone saying that the top of a bik pen works great. I graped 2 but never looked at them. The tops had little holes in them. So I ended up using the pen itself. A friend of mine said he used some type of clamp right on the hose!! Maybe I will try that next time or maybe just relocate it to the engine bay!!

what kind of fuel filter do you use and where do you get it?
thanks, brad

I used a Mazda one, you can get it at the dealer. I just had RP throw one in when I ordered the Denso fuel pump.

Matt

Dude, the Mazda fuel filter is ~2x as much money as the RP unit. WHat's the deal with that? Any functional difference?

mjw: you bought the Denso pump...do you know whether there's anything necessary for the fuel system other than installing it? I mean, I've got a PFC, but would you need to make any ECU tweaks by simply installing the new pump, or does it always flow at the same rate regardless of ECU,etc.?

I don't know what the deal is with the price difference, the one I got was in a Mazda box and looked like the one in the manual.. I need to check my invoice because I can't remember for sure which one I ordered. I have a feeling it is the Mazda filter though. Just call and ask em what the difference is, maybe it's the Bosch filter? The one I pulled off my car was a Bosch and the only difference was the way the outlet was bent.

You can just drop the Denso pump in with no problem, I didn't change any settings on my PFC to compensate. I need to get on a dyno and tune it correctly because it was already rich before I put the pump in, it dropped my knock readings from about 60ish peak to 30-40. Some people might say the pump doesn't make a difference with nothing else changed, but I say it does.. and always has on many different cars I have had. The Denso pump is capable of flowing more GPH at a given fuel pressure than the stocker. I put it in partly as a safety measure, but it also gives me headroom for any future mods. So to answer your question it doesn't make any difference on the butt dyno, but it is flowing more fuel.

Matt
93 SSM

Dood - buy 2 inexpensive hemostats (sp?) (aka roach clips with extra long handles) clamp those suckers on the hoses gently - no need to depressurize the system, no gasoline bath. Putting your filter in the engine compartment is an option - but - I really wonder if it's a good idea due to the very real possiblity of vapor lock and FIRE! :bigeyes:

I've been running my washable K&N fuel filter in the engine bay for 2 years now with no problems, including in the summer heat here in Charlotte

I use quick connect fittings, so I can clean the element and reinstall it in about 5 minutes

relocate the fuel filter to the engine bay, you will thank me later for never having to kill yourself trying to reach the stocker above the differential ever again....what a massive PITA....I did it once, never again

besides that, I like to be able to inspect the filter element and see how crap it is catching....I clean it every 5k miles and there is always some debris on it

That is the way to do it. I'm going that route next time. It was PITA for me as well, but mostly because of the bracket bolts, and not the hoses.