New forum participant here, thought I'd share what I've just learned changing a fuel filter on my 2013 R57.....

TL;DR
-used Hengst filter where large o ring was too slack causing it to slip down and get mangled resulting in car not starting
-keep old o rings and seals just in case one of your new o rings and seals gets mangled
-have some oil filter grips handy
-use a grease such as sil glyde to keep seals and o rings in place and to help lubricate your filter housing

I bought a Hengst fuel filter as a replacement, package said it was made in Bulgaria from RockAuto for $38 including taxes and shipping. Anyway, after combing through the forums and youtube and watching various videos on how to replace the fuel filter, I went at it. Maybe a bit overkill, but I had my garden hose ready, fire blanket and a fire extinguisher handy and parked the car *away* from the house. I also used a rubber mallet ($2 Harbor Freight) and for the screw driver I used to tap off the ring fastener, I wrapped it in electrical tape. Yeah, maybe overkill, but I just figured for the time it took versus risk reward, I was happy doing so. Here are some points:

1. It seems every youtube video I watched everything went swimmingly..... Well it didn't for me! First, I puzzled over the rear bench seat removal, it just seemed to be stuck in there even after a few forceful tugs. It was only after a time I realized that it seems to be angle sensitive. If the rear bench doesn't come out easily, adjust your angle (I think the angle closest to level worked and for some reason I thought you'd have to lift it more).

2. I removed the panel cover and ring fastener (marked it with a Sharpie so I knew how far to tighten it back) quite easily. No problems here. However, here is where it got interesting as a I tried to twist the fuel filter holder top to undo it. All, and I mean all the videos on youtube seem to show an almost effortless twist and it was off. Not so mine.... Because of the cramped quarters I just couldn't seem to get a good purchase on it, and after some thought and some pretty severe skin scrapes on one hand, I ended up using an oil filter removal grip to hold the base while I twisted, and it worked!

...another tip here: once you get the filter housing up, shove in a clean rag between the rim and filter housing to prevent it falling down into the tank. Make sure you leave a large part of the rag out so if it did fall in the tank, it was easily retrievable, or tie a piece of string to it.

3. The old filter came off reasonably easily but keep the old seals and o rings -not least just to make sure they don't somehow drop into the tank. I had a devil of a job with replacing the large o ring and the even larger flanged seal (not the 2 smaller o rings that go on the top and bottom of the filter). The large o ring would keep just falling off, but eventually I got it (or so I thought) and installed everything back together.

Tip: the flange seal I got was difficult to put on. I eventually worked out that the best technique for me was to not put it on the filter housing, but on the tank rim. And even then, It wasn't easy. I found by installing one side easily and then using the housing to press against it, I was able to slip the flanged seal into place on the other side of the filter. You'll know when you do it as it will be in place, and putting the filter housing on
​​​ it will fit snugly but not proud (of course making sure you have the upper tab in place so it can fit in snugly)

4. So I'm at the point I'm patting myself on the back, dreaming of being awarded the Master Mechanic of the Year award when I attempt to start it (note: didn't put the cover back on so I could see if there were any leaks), and of course it didn't start. I had primed the fuel pump by turning just the ignition on at least 5 times, and I had over a half tank of gas. I tried at least 3-5 good attempts at starting until I gave up as I didn't want to kill the battery and obviously something was very wrong.....

5. Thinking it over, I couldn't get out of my mind how bad that large o ring was, and it's propensity to fall off... So I take everything apart, and would you believe it the large o ring is toast and mangled (and there was fuel that had been pumped in the filter housing). Remember I said keep the old seal and o rings? Just as well I did, but there was something else that I did: while again all the videos I saw never mentioned lubricating the seals, I used sil glyde to not only lubricate the seals for easier installation but also to keep the seals in place. Result: car started after 5 fuel pump primings no problem....

Hopefully I'll help someone with this description -maybe my housing was just really stiff, or that the o rings and seals that come with the Hengst aren't terrific, but using the oil filter grips and sil glyde really helped me out.

 

Probably best to post this over in the second gen forum rather than here with first gens.

 

Yep, post over here. Good info: https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...-change-2.html

 

thanks for that, for some reason I thought I was in the gen 2 section!

Mod, please feel free to delete this post.