Mahle fuel filter teardown

[KDonkey]

I changed the fuel filter in my brick yesterday, and decided to see what's inside it. I found lots of paper media. I haven't checked with a microscope yet, but it looks like 9+ years (at least 50K miles) may be a wasteful replacement interval for this filter.

Photos on imgur: http://imgur.com/a/T0ROM

 

[Olas]

With a plastic tank that filter will last till the body rusts out! Mahle and Volvo both male good stuff. (I'm assuming you drive a Volvo if you call it the brick!)

 

[KDonkey]

Absolutely a Volvo - our first one, actually! I'm pleased with many aspects of the car, but I wish they were more supportive for old car owners.

I think a small amount of dirt is visible on the media after the fuel dried.

Something interesting I noticed, that I haven't seen before, is the paper media is embossed with ridges. Maybe this adds strength and helps the pleated media maintain its shape?