How To Remove Fuel Filter Without Tool

Irresolute the filter on a fuel-injected vehicle tin be tricky. On fuel-injected vehicles, you need to disable the fuel pump to relieve the pressure on the fuel lines, which may be secured to the filter with clamps, threaded fittings, or special quick-connect fittings.

Lines with threaded fittings require a special flare-nut line wrench. Lines with special quick-connect fittings may require special tools to disconnect them. Ask the clerk at an auto parts shop or the service department at your dealership which type of filter your vehicle has.

If doing this infrequent job requires purchasing special tools, it's probably cheaper to have it done past a technician. If not, the first thing you need to do is notice the filter. Your owner's manual should bear witness you where your fuel filter is and whether in that location'due south more than one on your vehicle. If information technology doesn't, enquire someone in the service section at your dealership or consult a service manual for your vehicle's make, model, and yr. (Although information technology'south a good idea to ain one, y'all tin usually find these manuals at your local library.)

If your engine has fuel-injection, your fuel filter is located somewhere in the high-pressure fuel line, either under the vehicle about the fuel tank as shown here:

A fuel filter located under the vehicle near the fuel tank.

A fuel filter located nether the vehicle near the fuel tank

Or under the hood in the fuel line most the engine, every bit shown here:

A fuel filter in the fuel line under the hood.

A fuel filter in the fuel line under the hood

Some vehicles too have a fuel filter in the fuel pump besides equally a filter screen inside the fuel tank. If they go blocked up, only a professional person should deal with them.

Here are step-by-step instructions for changing a fuel filter. Before you lot get started, read them carefully and make sure that you want to do this job yourself.

Save the pressure in the fuel line before disconnecting it. To do so, you lot accept to disable the electric fuel pump earlier you start the engine.

To disable the fuel pump, exercise the following:
1. With the engine off, remove the fuel pump fuse from the fuse box. (Your owner'due south transmission should show you where it is.)
2. Make certain that the parking brake is on and that the vehicle is in Park or Neutral, and and then start the engine. It won't run very long later on you start it up, but the pressure in the fuel lines will be reduced.
3. Turn off the engine. With the fuel pump disabled, you're ready to disconnect the fuel lines from the filter.
Look at the old filter and the new one before disconnecting annihilation.

You lot should run into an arrow stamped on both filters that shows in which direction the fuel flows through it. If the new ane doesn't have an arrow on it, wait to see in what management the quondam filter is installed so that you can tell which cease of the new filter goes where.
Remove whatever is belongings the quondam filter in place and remove it.
Put the new filter on in the aforementioned position as the erstwhile filter.
Replace any holds the filter in place, and make certain it'south secure.
Replace the fuse for the fuel pump in the fuse box.

Make sure that the parking restriction is on and that the vehicle is in Park or Neutral, and and so start the engine and check for leaks around the filter.