How hard is it to replace...

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sicbeing

sicbeing

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A fuel filter.

I took my car into a Shell gas station to get my oil changed, and they kind of went "buy this, fix that" on me, which kind of surprised me because I've been going there ever since I've had both my cars, and they've never done that.

Basically they were under my car and told me it was about time to replace my fuel filter. They said it wasn't rusted but it definatly looked like the origional filter (2002). They said they could replace it for around 37 dollars, but the part costs about 12 at autozone or etc.

How hard would it be to replace this part? They said I could screw up my fuel line if done improperly, but right now I'm on a college budget and I don't want to pay for it if I don't need to.

What do you guys think?

(By the way, my car knowlege is so bad, that I didn't even know what a fuel filter was before that day.. So that gives you an idea on what kind of foot I'm standing on).
 
You don't need to replace your fuel filter unless it rusts, mine rusted out from Michigan roads so I had it replaced for like $20. But really I can't imagine it's hard to do because it took them like 5 minutes to do it.
 
They're trying to get you to buy something you don't need. The original filter does not mean it's bad. My car's 15 years old and it's on the original filter.

But, should you decide to replace it, fuel filter jobs aren't that difficult, however if you don't change your own oil, you may not want to attempt it without a more mechanically-inclined friend.
 
Like said before, if it only takes 5 mins it can't be hard.

Find someone in College and see if they'll do it, say you owe them a drink or something.
 
Like others have said, just because the filter is old doesn't necessarily mean it needs to be replaced. If you are on a budget I wouldn't worry about it, especially since the car is practically new anyway. The only reason I could see to replace it is if it's damaged or clogged, it's not really a part that wears out over time.

I don't know where the filter is at on your car, with the location of the filter on my car it's kind of a pain to change... the bolts were very tight, and the location of the filter made it hard to even get a wrench onto the thing, let alone put a crapload of torque on it.

But then that all depends on the car. I could do the fuel filter on my dad's truck in a few minutes. Theoretically it's a simple job, just unscrew the hoses from the filter, unbolt the filter from the car and replace. And try not to get gas all over everything :)
 
Alright, thanks. They said it can clog my gas mileage and make it use more fuel or something, which made sense to me, but if it isn't rusted I guess I won't worry about it. Thanks for the advice.

Also, where would be a good place on the web (or book in the store even) to have directions to begin doing small mechanical work (replacing oil, changing filters, etc). I'd like to someday end up knowing how to do my own performance upgrades and other stuff that I would normally goto autozone or etc for.
 
Chilton's repair manual or a Hayes repair manual...but I don't know what kinda car you drive or what year it is.
 
I don't know about their decreased gas mileage claims... it seems like with gas getting expensive every shop is claiming they can get you better gas mileage. I doubt you could measure any difference in fuel mileage from a new fuel filter.

I like factory service manuals, I've got them for my car and motorcycle and they're great. Only downside is that, at least in the case of cars, they tend to be expensive... I'd expect around $130 based on manuals I've priced. I did an engine swap on my car, with almost no experience, just using the factory service manual for reference.

The cheap ones are probably fine for simple stuff... and since you've got a pretty new car I'd guess you probably won't have stuff breaking all the time like I do, so a good manual might be a waste of money.

But then, being in college you may already be used to paying $130 for books that you end up not using... at least you'll use this one :D
 
Yeah, having the FSM (Factory Service Manual, not the Noodly One) is a great thing. I do tend to order them for all my cars (I keep 'em a long time), but they are expensive. Right now I need to buy a set for the Battle Bus and a set for my wife's TSX.

Most public libraries have Haynes and Chilton's manuals for many cars. The problem is that a real FSM tends to be a telephone book-sized manual that covers a single model year in great detail... whereas the aftermarket manuals tend to be ~1/2" thick and cover about, oh, say, 5 to 10 model years of a given car, or even family of cars. Obviously a lot of detail is lost.

But they're not expensive, and in fact free at the library. I used to go copy the pages I needed for any given project so I wouldn't get the whole book greasy and have to buy it from the library.
 
Generally I would recommend a replacement every 100,000 kilometres (roughly 62,000 miles). Unless its rusting/damaged lie mentioned above.
 
Ive never replaced my own, but its one of those easy fixes that most people can do in their own garage without too much worry...

If youre like me and dont want to do anything that may put your vehicle at risk, go have your oil changed and have them replace it while youre there... If you buy the part yourself and just bring it in, you might even save a bit of money as well...
 
The guy is bsing you. How could a decrease in flow from a claimed clogging increase your fuel use.
 
Well, the fuel pump has to work harder if the filter has a bunch of junk in it... so it draws more juice... you might lose like .05mpg there :P
 
also helps in throttle response but yeah car is still fairly new. make sure to depressurized the fuel line first. take the fuel pump fuse out, start her up. itll die after a few seconds. open the gas cap to vent any remaining pressure and close it there after. should help stop from spilling gas everywhere. make sure to have some rags handy. but yeah easy job. and dont smoke while on the job 👍
 
Yeah and if there is pressure left in the fuel line make sure you keep your eyes away or wear protection when pulling the fuel line off, petrol tends to sting :).
 
VIPERGTSR01
Yeah and if there is pressure left in the fuel line make sure you keep your eyes away or wear protection when pulling the fuel line off, petrol tends to sting :).
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Gee, doesn't it ever!!

sicbeing: On the original point, there are two questions:

- firstly do you believe that you need a new fuel filter? Think hard about it. We're talking need. If the car is running fine, and you have not noticed any performance drop-off recently, it's unlikely that you will need a new filter.

- secondly, you have stated that the cost of labour is approximately $25 (the $37 quote minus the $12 charge from autozone). Don't think about this in terms of the absolute cost. Think of it in terms of the opportunity cost to you of doing the work. Duke and Z32 have given you strong advice on how to get the job done. Supposing you follow Duke's advice, and toddle off to the library to photocopy the relevant sections of the relevant manual: how much will that cost you in time and materials? Then you'd have to go to Autozone and buy the part, then get back home. You could write that off as being the same cost as travelling to Shell, so we'll forget that. But do you have the other parts you need? The clamps for the disconnected hoses? Any jacks/stands you need to get under the car? The spanners for removing and refitting the filter and hoses? What about some form of power backup to cover for the fact that you'll need to run the starter while the fuel system repressurises and works out any trapped air? Any or all of these factors will increase the cost to you of doing the work, and you'll note that I haven't even mentioned the cost of your own time. Do you regard your time as worthless? If not, you can ascribe a value to the time it will take your novice hands to do the work. Add this to the cost of doing it yourself.

Your situation is different to mine. I like to attempt to do things where I know I've got a good chance of completing it successfully, and I get an immense amount of pride from a successful job (which you can evaluate numerically, and subtract from the DIY cost). But I'm so busy with work and family that free time is enormously valuable to me, and the $25 fitting charge would be a non-issue for me. I'm cash rich (ha ha ha ha! Yeah, right!!) and time poor. I'd outsource it every time.

Of course, all of the above has been completed without mentioning that hard-to-measure factor, risk. There are some things you can do to assess risk impact. For example, if we failed a fuel filter replacement, we would have to get the car towed to a garage (not a problem: we're members of a breakdown service), and would have to wait while they fixed it. The cost to us of being without a car for a working day is approximately £45...
 
Duke
...the Battle Bus...
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I hate to go off topic but it looks like the question at hand has had numerous different solutions thrown at it.....Duke, whats the Battle Bus? :)
 
you wont really notice a dop in poerformace from a fuel filter because it does gradually happen and how easy it is to replacve depends 100% on the car some are such a pain in the balls its worth spending the 20 extra bucks to have someone else do it

if you run crappy gas itll clog alot faster like going to the noname gas station thats always 5 cents cheaper and yes if a fuel filter is old change it simple as that gas varnishes over time so i'd say spend the cash or do it yourself simple maintnence like that it is needed if you want your car to last
 
Needed or not needed, it certainly won't hurt anything to replace it.

Replacing it shouldn't be hard... but different cars bring different problems. On all of my trucks, (Chevy) they have been right in the middle of the fuel line, underneath the drivers door. They have two bolts on either side of the line, that simply need unscrewing to remove. (You will have some fuel leak out) Then there is a pastic holder, that keeps the filter attached to the frame. Simply remove that, and boom, done. doing everything in reverse for the new one. Turn the car on, check for leeks and if not your golden.

Fuel Fitlers generally don't need to be changed, but the rust rule may not work in your area. (Take me in Florida) I think every 50,000 miles would be a good idea. They do build up with junk, just like any other filter on your car. So changing is needed. I learned this when my mechcanic did a tune-up on my first truck around 125,000 miles. He showed me the fuel filter, and pulled the fuel onto his hand from it, and lets just say it wasn't clear anymore. Which in turn means, thats the gas the truck engine receives, not what you see when your filling up.

He taught then how to changed the filter. Really easy. He adviced me that every other change wouldn't be a bad idea. (10,000 miles.) He said though, they generally take awhile longer then your other filters to go bad.

I would say learn how to do it, and do it. Its nice to know things about the machine your driving.
 
meh. can't delete my own posts.
 
Click and read.

I replaced my fuel filter in a '92 Blazer and it was exceptionally easy. I say go for it. It sure can't hurt, especially if it is starting to go.
 
ease of change all depends on what kind of car it is older chevy's are the easiest with it being located right on the rear framerail
 
I've changed filter on my car at least five times. Never took longer than 15 min from right when i was about to jack the car up. As long as you have two vice clamps and a screwdriver, you can do it perfectly fine.
 
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