Well, after reading all the posts about changing the fuel filter, I still didn't wise up and decided to change my filter myself. My local shop wanted $72 just for the labor.

It can be done - took me 1-1/2 hours.

Here's my $.02 worth on the subject.

(NOTE: I stole the basic directions from Brian Dowling's page and modified them as I thought appropriate.)

0. I didn't go through the fuel pressure relief steps. I just removed the gas cap. My car was sitting overnight so that may have allowed the pressure to dissipate on its own.

1. Raise the rear of the car onto big jack stands. I got a SUV jack from Sears ($60) with a 21" lift capacity. I started with a jack that only lifted 15" and that just wasn't enough room to get my big fat arms in place. You need enough room to be able to reach around either side of the differential so you can fumble blindly with both hands.

2. Remove the undercovers (two - one metal, one plastic).

3. Slide back the spring clamp that attaches on the end of the filter with the U-turn in the pipe (you can see this end of the filter while its still in place). Remove this fuel line from the filter. Be prepared for some fuel to spill (I got a little but no geyser as some have described). I think it's easier to do this one with the fuel filter still held secure by the bracket.

4. Remove the two bolts holding the fuel filter bracket. The fuel filter is held by a two piece bracket. There is a round section that circles the filter and there is a L section that holds the whole thing to the car. The L bracket has 4 bolts. Two are veritcal with heads pointing down that screw into the chassis. Two are horizontal with heads pointing to the rear and they secure the round half of the bracket. Use a 10mm socket with a short extension and remove the two horizontal bolts. (Brian recommends removing the other two, but this looks like a more difficult method.)

5. Slide the filter so you can access the second fuel line, and remove this line.

6. Remove filter with bracket from car. Remove bracket and attach to your new filter.

7. Reverse the rest.

P.S. I think it may help if you learned to cuss in Japanese. I tried discussing my situation with my FD in English, but it just didn't seem to understand.

 

TRUE, TRUE!!!!! Cussing in Japanese in theory should help. It actually took me about 2 hrs, but I fumbled a lot. But, did you prime the line by jumping the fuel pump? I did, but didn't know if it was necessary.

 

The only thing I did to fiddle with fuel pressure/prime was to open the gas cap and let the car sit overnight. I wasn't really planning to let the car sit - I just couldn't to the job with my small jack and ended up delaying a bit till I got the big one.

I only spilled a small amount of gas (the contents of the fuel filter). Didn't seem necessary to do any special priming and the car started up and ran fine.

 

Changing the fuel filter is truely a PITA..

I did mine, but my car was on a LIFT and it was
STILL a Pain...

 

Its not that bad, but it does help when the cars on a lift. Opening the gas cap is not going to do anything because the pressure is in the fuel lines past the fuel pump. I just disconnect the lines and let the fuel come out. I did this at work and thats how we always do it. I usually take off the whole bracket with the fuel filter as an assembly. This way the gas doenst drip on me. I dont speak Japanese but my car seems to understand Chinese pretty well. And if the fuel line doenst come off it helps to twist it to break the seal. Pure pulling force usually doenst work. It took me about 25 minutes. I think book time is like .75 hours.

 

Opening up the gas cap DOES do something! If there's any residual pressure in the gas tank (there usually is), it will pressurize the gas lines. When I was changing out my fuel pulsation dampener, I didn't do the fuel pressure relief procedure (Becuase I've never done it on any other cars I've owned and never had problems). When I removed the gas lines under the extension manifold, lots of gas came out, and continued to flow... then I remembered the gas cap! That did the trick, but only after I spilled probably a cup of gas all over the engine.

So, anyway, loosening the gas cap is definitely a good thing to do when changing the fuel filter, unless you like LOTS of gas all over your face.

 

Relocate it to your engine bay!!!

 

I agree w/ paw. Think about when you open the cap, it sometimes has pressure, but sometimes doesn't. I didn't do it on my car, but I am pretty sure it was on a cold engine in the morning after sitting overnight. And, it was 3 years ago, guess it's time for a repeat!

 

Ok folks. I've decided that the best way to spend my Saturday was to spend it underneath my car cussing at fuel line hoses.

Question. I had no trouble getting the bracket bolts off, but it still seems like the assembly is still attached at some point. Is there some type of latch or something I need to release? Once I remove those bolts, the filter and bracket should be free from the chassis, right?

Damn are my fuel lines on tight!!! Wiggling, using a screwdriver, WD-40, nothing is helping. And I'm talking about the one on the 180* bend most people think is the easier one! Damn near ready to take shears to it and go get longer line for a relocation!

Thanks in advance, and just to think, I still have a burning, Golden Shower FD-style to look forward to.

Jesse

 

Once those 2 bolts are off, should come free. If there's enough surface rust on it, it may need a little nudging.

Took me about an hour tops with just a little floor jack. I found that there's enough room to shove it over to the driver's side to get a clear shot at the retaining clamps. Getting both my arms up there wasn't that big of a deal once I positioned myself right. And my lines came off pretty easily. I'm wondering if someone did that somewhat soon before I got it.

As far as the fuel pressure, I had at that point already completed my injector upgrades, so the only fuel left was what was in the filter.

I think I may be missing a cover. I did have the metal cover that I removed, but where's the second one that you're supposed to remove supposed to be?

All in all, piece of cake.

 

I'm gonna need to do this soon too, this write up will help...

 

Well I'm still a newbie, but I did learn that complaining on the forum helps. :-) Shortly after my last post, I easily pulled off the 180* bend hose.

Now on to more complaining for karma...I can see how this job really can be *fairly* easy, but for some reason, I cannot get that bracket completely off. Took me minutes to take the bolts out, but the bracket seems to be stuck on something. It can rock up and down from the ground perspective, but won't fully move away from the chassis. I'm afraid to give it a good shove without hearing a "that's what I had to do" from the forum. The car "only" has 50K on it (it's a 95 FWIW), so I'm not sure how likely it's rusted over, and the kind of play it has doesn't seem to indicate something like that.

Kai, there are many good posts on this subject. I actually came across this one while explicity looking for the bracket issues I'm having. Hopefully the SMIC I'm getting from you will be much easier :-D.

Some wins for me so far have been using a small needle nose vise grip to clamp and reduce the fuel flow, and a ball point pen to cap the line I did get off (didn't have any pen caps as others have suggested, and I'm not sure that they would be big enough). I then used a large zip freezer bag to cover up the filter since it leaks a lot as I rock it around.

I also have started wrapping a small towel around my forearms and then covering that with latex gloves as needed to reduce flow down the arms to armpits (so far so good).

 

Complaining on the forum wins again!

No sooner did I finish my keyboard rant and get back under the car did I notice that my bracket has foam circle thingies that stick through the chassis bracket. I had to remove some metal inserts and squeeze that foam through the chassis bracket and presto! free filter with bracket! Nothing I've read discusses this. But maybe I'm slow and didn't take this as a given as the instruction providers did. Maybe it's a 95 thing (if so, thanks a lot...can't wait to try to put that **** back on)...

Hope it helps the next person.

 

The fuel filter is held on by a two-piece bracket. It looks like you separated the fuel-filter piece of the bracket from the body-piece of the bracket. Personally I removed both pieces at once, I had to use a open-end box wrench to get at those bolts (they are perpendicular to the ground).

-s-

 

Damn! I think you're right. Man, I could have changed that thing in about an hour for my first time if I had removed those bolts. I got a different impression of which ones to remove when I looked at the robinette site.

Oh well. Live and learn. Thanks!

Overall, it's really not that hard. If I can do it, anyone can!