New member here. Great DIY article, however, my 2006 non-S now will not start. I'm pretty sure we did everything correctly and we also did this job on a 330ci a few weeks ago and it was very similar. I can hear the fuel pump humming when I turn the key to position two. I have tried to start it probably 20 times, just put another 4.5 gal. of gas in (tank is now at 3/4 full) and still nothing. I removed that quick disconnect plug (was bone dry) and turned the key to position two. Gas poured out of the white housing. Obviously, fuel pump is working. How in the world can gas pour out like that, yet the QD plug is bone dry? I'm at my wit's end and fear having to have the car flatbedded to a shop. PLEASE HELP!! SOS! Thanks.

I would open the pressure test port on the fuel rail and then turn the key on and off a few times. Fuel should get there very quickly. The test port is just like a tire valve.

Yes, I tried that this morning. There was no pressure in that purge valve. I even straight-lined the fuel pump (pins 2 and 5) to the battery for 15 seconds two times, still no pressure in that purge valve. So we took it all apart again, could find nothing wrong except that the large thin O-ring that goes inside the filter housing was just too damn big and we could not make it stay snug. I ended pulling the old one out the garbage to compare and, sure enough, the new one was way too large. In fact, the other two large gaskets were too large too. We ended up using the old ones and only the two real small new ones. And that fixed it! Yes, the larger O-ring was probably binding up and creating a leak so that pressure could not build up. In fact, we had a terrible time getting it all back together last night and it went together like butter today. So it was strictly a matter of the wrong size gaskets and O-rings in the Vaico kit. Avoid this kit.

Hey eurothrasher great job, I was wondering how many miles did you have on your car when changing this filter. I am curious to know as your filter was BLACK!

Thanks

Wow I just want to say this forum is awesome. I am a new mini owner and consider myself pretty mechanically inclined. I thought it was foolish but I am pretty anal about keeping my car clean and maintained. I only have 19k on my 05 S Cab so I went to go change the filter and was so glad i did. The old one was black and the fuel was so dirty! Thanks for the How to as it helped and thanks for this great forum!

Mark
Faraj Auto

Just went through and did this filter replacement. Man, that sucked. lol
Just getting the cap off the container to get to the filter was insane.

But I followed the instructions to the letter, and I got it done. Felt good to know it all went smoothly after I was finished.
Thanks for posting these!

very important things to consider for all who are thinking of changing their fuel filter:

1. if you're buying a Vaico brand filter better reuse the large thin o-ring. You'll just break your fingers securing the filter lid back in.

2. rags rags rags and more rags.

3. after replacing the filter and you're ready to re-pressurize the fuel line, be sure the tank is at least 1/4 full. Otherwise it will never start. I felt very awful when it didn't start I thought i killed my baby.

i had to learn it the hard way, it took me about 8 hours, but my baby's back to life. all thanks to NAM and my fellow members.

Guys, thanks for all the good info. I just finished doing mine and every part was a royal pain. Prolly bc it hadn't been changed before and Huey is about to hit 100K.
I did the priming about 6 times as recommended and he started right up but a few second after started to misfire. Took it out for a spin and it now runs good. Neverthless the service light stays on.
Is there any way of turning it off without a code reader? Would it go away if I disconnect the battery for a while?
Thx guys.

Great guide. I don't have my Bentley manual at the moment, so this was really useful. First time my filter has been changed in 82k miles and it was black as tar.

Car is running slightly richer, and is now popping more.

Has anyone bothered changing the fuel pump gasket that is left over? Is it worth doing? Must be a reason why BMW put it in the kit.

Bentley Manual?! We don't need no stinkin Bentley Manual!!!!

Everything you ever needed to know about Mini's is right here in NAM:wink:

Nice DIY guide in changing the Fuel Filter. I hope that some aftermarket brands like Mann-Filter and others would really fit in and suits up very well in our cars, especially in a Mini.

Yellow,
I was wondering how often you should change this filter? Mini says it is a life time part? Also, how can I tell if my sending unit is bad because my gas gauge is broken and I found this thread so I know where the sending unit is. Does this also help with mileage?

Fuel pump replacement
 

Can anyone tell me how to replace the fuel pump on 2003 MCS? Is it pretty much disconnect, remove and replace? Is there any pressure relief step before opening up the fuel tank?

replaced my filter, runs good but now I get "check fuel cap " light. HELP !!!

and now the service engine light is on... :confused:

Sounds like you didn't put it together tightly. If there is an air leak it will set off your lights just as if you left the fuel cap off.

Rich

OK, took it apart and reasembled. no more loud gurgling noise, no more "check fuel cap light, but the SES light remains on even after taking the negative cable off the battery. :confused: :confused:

My guess is that will go away in a couple more cycles. You can reset it but, again, since you corrected the problem, it will simply cycle away.

Hopefully you didn't nick or mung any of the seals in there.

Rich

all the seals looked good. Fingers crossed!

Just finished changing my fuel filter for the first time and feel that I must share my particular experience...
Since I ditched my back seat over a year ago and installed a "rear seat delete kit", I didn't have more than 3 bolts to unscrew to access the black metal panel covering the fuel filter assembly.
Everything went smoothly until I disconnected the fuel line from the filter head and got a nice cool, high-pressue spray of gasoline in the face and eyes. I expected a little, but this thing was insane! After cleaning up and rinsing out my eyes, I went back to it. Everything came off according to plan until I got to the filter housing. Others in this post have mentioned what a pain it is to hold the bottom half of the housing while twisting the top off but mine must have been glued on at the factory. After several attempts and some creative words of disgust, I found an old oil filter wrench (from my Ford Expedition) and used it to hold the bottom half while using one of those 3-prong garden claws to twist off the top. It wasn't easy, but it worked. Then, I had to pry off the top from the bottom with a flat head screw driver. Fuel was every where and at this point, I didn't care. I just wanted to be done with it.
I did not have any Vaseline or anything like it so I proceeded without it. Big mistake. I discovered, after sending the wifey to get me some, that Vaseline actually makes reassembly easier as it lubes the o-rings. Getting the bottom and top of the housing back together was as fun as it was getting them apart. Buttoned up everything, primed the pump, started right up. Great!...I thought. Until the engine light came on. I tried cycling the ignition a few more times, stepped on the gas and noticed some misfires. Sounded like I was running on two cylinders instead of four. At this point, I was 3 or 4 hours into the whole process and wasn't thinking straight. I re-read some of the posts in this thread, and read some issues with air leaks, possibly around the where the fuel line goes into the top of the housing assembly. I decided to undo the line again (this time, wrapping a rag around the end) and then plugging it back in.
Re-pressurized the system, started up, but same issue. Crap.
Took out my Mini Mania Code Reader/Re-Setter, code read P0300, engine misfire. Re-set the engine light. Started it up, sounded normal, took it for a quick spin, no engire light and drives as advertised.
Hopefully, my experience may help someone with the same issues in the future. I sure wish there was a better way to unscrew the top and bottom assemblies though.

I just did this and now my yellow service engine light came on. Anyone experience this problem???

I just did mine and now my car interior smells of gas fumes and I have a P0455 CEL.... My kit from Vaico was packed with only ONE of the small o-rings, so I just left the bottom o-ring on and replace the top one. Any thoughts on what could be wrong:confused: :confused:

What filter brand does Mini use? I looked for pricing online, the results I get is OES brand. Is that good?

I am about to try this since I have a stumble at start-up, but kinda concerned about the check engine lights reported above.
What was the cause? Resolution?

It says "BMW" and "Rover" on my old gaskets---from the dealer.

Anyone use OES then?