Wow, 1x hour fuel filter change turned into a 4x hour long job.
it was SO dirty , literally chunks of particulates came off the inside and outside of the filter housing ajd the ENTIRE bottom of the tank was dirty so i spent along time carefully siphoning what little gas was left and wiping out the inside of the tank and filter housing the best I could. I wish I'd taken a befor pic but I had so much gas around I wanted to just get it done but check out how BAD my filter was and you can see how well I cleaned the inside.
other than the extra cleaning the job was relativrelativelynd straight forward BUT i fought putting the filter housing back into its slot once the outer/largest gasket was on. I finally found the trick which I HAD to have the housing halfway in and then pry over the gasket and install it around the tank opening and spit all over it like you hate it so it can slide some and then CAREFULLY line up and lower the filter down into the housing and then the outer cap SHOULD be able to fit on and begin tightening down without you having to press the filter down with force.
I also unplugged fuse #20 i belive and ran my fuel pump dry to alleviate what pressure I could but even then about a cup poured out of the feedline once I disconnected it BUT thankfully I had towels down and a container to catch it..
I used a simple hand fluid pump to suck out the gas and once done I unplugged my coilpack and cranked the car a few tines to prime the system. I had to reset the cel codes then caused by cranking with the coilpack unplugged so if you can't clear codes I don't suggest it. But you might get a code anyways for the few seconds it might run rough as it's priming and building up fuel pressure.
my pump now sounds 100x healthier when I key on and it primes , it definitely was struggling befor. ALSO I don't know if its a pseudo effect but the car feels faster , sounds smoother and better at idle.. I also only refilled my tank half way and added alot of fuel system cleaner and once I run the tank down my new bosch 550cc injectors will be going in and I will sell my current 550cc injectors as they're a different brand than the new ones I got. Not that there's anything wrong with them and they're only 1x year old with minimal miles , I just wanted EVERYTHING new. Lol I replaced alot of ignition stuff and sensors too..

 

How many miles are on your car?

 

odometer reads 217k and the 3x years 20k miles or so owning it I never changed it.. perhaps I should have done this day 1x , you'd think when they put a new engine in they woulda done stuff like that for preventative maintenance but apparently the prior owner either NEVER changed it or its been aloooooooong time. Also when my gas cap went bad last year maybe it allowed alot of junk past the seal into the tank.

 

Good to know. I'm just getting ready to break 100K so hopefully I have a few miles left. Any idea on the service interval of the fuel filter?

 

I can't say for sure but I belive it recommended every 50-70k

 

My car has 57k miles and the filter was pretty dirty.

 

Also I have a F150 and it would take a long time to crank and start really hard and idle poorly. I changed the fuel filter and it ran like a new truck, so I can defiantly say a fresh filter can liven up a car.