Just changed my fuel filter....

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My 2003 Grand Marquis has 129,000 miles on it. Decided to change filter as I got it with 121,000 miles on it. I put a Microgard filter on it. My question:

Do you think it is more likely that dirt or rust would clog the fuel filter?
 
Originally Posted By: ZZman
My 2003 Grand Marquis has 129,000 miles on it. Decided to change filter as I got it with 121,000 miles on it. I put a Microgard filter on it. My question:

Do you think it is more likely that dirt or rust would clog the fuel filter?


NEITHER. When I changed the fuel pump (twice, argh) in my 1993 Suburban the inside of the tank was pristine. The only thing dirty was my hands and I tried to keep them away from the tank neck.

Almost all gas stations have very clean gas and with 10% ethanol in most, there is virtually no water.

The newer, shinier and busier a gas station is the less chance for some water or dirt in the fuel.
 
Yeah, I had to replace the fuel pump on my old BMW a couple of years ago, and even that thing was pristine inside the tank. It has seen nothing but E10 and even sat idle for a few years before I got it from a friend. I was surprised but happy to see it that way.
 
I changed my fuel filter of my 2002 Lincoln last year around 65K miles. Made no difference though. Best I could tell looking at it and weighing it, there must have been almost nothing in there. Won't ever change that again.

Things are pretty clean inside these engine and fuel systems these days. I took apart the air intake system today at 78K miles and it was pretty darn clean. I just did it to see how things were going since I hadn't ever looked beyond the air filter before. I can't imagine there being any build up on the MAF or IAS. The throttle body was pretty clean too but I gave it a bit of cleaning any ways. Probably won't ever open these up again until there's an issue with idling or how the car runs.
 
My '02 F150 had what appeared to be a spotless interior fuel tank when I change my fuel pump @ 180,000 miles, even sitting for almost a year with 1/4 of a tank in it before I got it.
I had changed the fuel filter when I got it (170,000 miles), and back flushing it after removal did get some stuff out, but as said, nothing I could see in the tank itself. Probably lots of small stuff that can't be seen with the naked eye.
 
It used to be a big problem, especially when buying fuel in rural areas.

Now, so much effort is made to sell clean fuel, it just isn't much of an issue anymore.
 
About 10 years ago, I bought a '95 Mustang that had the factory fuel filter on it. The filter had rusted a hole from the inside-out and was leaking.
It's pretty seldom that a fuel filter clogs anymore, unless you happen to run into a bad tank of gas.
I still replace mine as a preventative measure.
 
All the fuel filters I've changed out have always been quite dirty but never to the point where clogging could occur. I once filled up a gas can at a Shell and found chunks of dirt/crud in it so since then i've been skeptical.
 
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