14 year old fuel filter opened and replaced

[19jacobob93]

My car has been struggling to start for over a year now and was surging under load.
I've had a fuel filter lying around but I've not bothered fitting it until today and it was a nightmare.

The plastic clip to attach the filter to the bracket on the flexi fuel hose was way too big so I went back to the store (in a borrowed car) to check if they were all like that but they had none in stock.
Drive 30 minutes to their other store to find the brackets on all the filters were too big.
Drove to a different store with different brands - same again!
Ended up cutting the end of the hose off, pushing the filter inside, and clamping it with a jubilee clamp, seems to have worked!

I cycled the pump a few times, then started and it fired straight up! Hasn't done this for as long as I remember and no more surging up hills. It's much more responsive off the line!

Never thought a fuel filter would make such a difference until I opened up the old one


The filter media was coated with a dense sticky black substance that was almost like oil sludge

 

[GMBoy]

Just changed a fuel filter in a 2001 Saturn SC2. That filter has the fuel pressure regulator so it was a little pricy at $54 RockAuto price. When I tipped it over black sticky fuel ran out. This was the original filter with 132k on it. It was surging a little on WOT and the new filter fixed that.

 

[19jacobob93]

Originally Posted By: GMBoy
Just changed a fuel filter in a 2001 Saturn SC2. That filter has the fuel pressure regulator so it was a little pricy at $54 RockAuto price. When I tipped it over black sticky fuel ran out. This was the original filter with 132k on it. It was surging a little on WOT and the new filter fixed that.



Yep I had similar come out of mine, I didn't expect it since I thought fuel went in clean and it looked like something you'd find in an old oil filter haha
I'm going to have to set an interval to change it, maybe every 50,000kms since they're only $20 for mine and no harder to change than an oil filter now I've got rid of the old plastic connectors!

I've been driving around more this evening and it feels like a new car, it feels like it has so much more torque and is super responsive now it's not starved of fuel.

Full tank of 98 octane next to clean things up a bit

 

[SwampSurvivor]

Yup - had the same issue with my old Taurus for probably 1.5 years. Mounting hardware was so bad that I couldn't pull the tank off to drain and clean the tank ... until the straps rusted and it practically fell off.

It would have trouble starting unless I primed it 3-4 times. Hills were a pain too. It just couldn't pull hills. One time it stopped running alltogether. Luckily I had a spare fuel filter and replaced it on the side of the road.

Eventually a hole developed in the top of the tank and the straps holding the tank rusted out and it nearly fell off. Didn't have the problem after the first fuel filter replacement after the tank replacement.

 

[stockrex]

unless your vehicle has sat for a long time should never need to replace your fuel filter

 

[95busa]

^ absolutely incorrect

 

[19jacobob93]

Originally Posted By: stockrex
unless your vehicle has sat for a long time should never need to replace your fuel filter


I don't think my car has ever gone more than a couple of days at most without moving and this old filter was heavy with this sludgy build up.
Your filter only catches contaminants when the engine and fuel pump is running anyway

To be fair I didn't think it would need changing, thinking that the only thing I put in the tank was fresh clean fuel and the odd additive every blue moon, the filter should be shmick! Opening up the old filter proved me very wrong indeed!
It's a wonder how any fuel could pass through at all when I looked at it closely.

I think if people change their fuel filters more often a lot of problems they have would disappear!
I changed my spark plugs, leads and coil pack and cleaned out the throttle body, costing over $150 to try fix the misfire and it turns out it was a $20 fuel filter all along

 

[AdRock]

Originally Posted By: stockrex
unless your vehicle has sat for a long time should never need to replace your fuel filter


WRONG

 

[BHopkins]

Originally Posted By: stockrex
unless your vehicle has sat for a long time should never need to replace your fuel filter


Would you please explain why you feel this is the case.

I've had a lot of cars in my decades of driving experience. And I've had to replace a few fuel filters. Never have I had a car that sat for an extended time. So, I'm curios how you reached your conclusion. Personal experience? Old mechanic shop talk? Please share.

 

[circuitsmith]

I changed the fuel filter on my fuel injectd '88 Accord at the recommended 30K mile interval and the fuel poured out the inlet of the old filter was always filthy.

 

[Kira]

Is it GENERALLY agreed upon that 30,000 miles is a fuel filter's service life?

SPECIFIC CASE: A car (2002 Saab 9-3 2.oL) had its fuel filter replaced 4 years ago when the fuel pump was replaced.

Would you change the filter now or just before Winter? Kira