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The problem with having the fuel filter changed is that you have to trust the mechanic or service tech at the dealer to do it right. The danger with regular maintenance is that often the car comes out of the shop worse than when it went in.
Outdoorsguy some people hate having extra money in their wallet, so they go directly to the stealership, and buy the manufacturer parts, or better yet, they drive by the small business mechanic, and pay $800 for a brake pad replacement.
I'm with you on this one!! I helped one guy out who's car had a blocked secondary filter. This car is a Mercedes 300D turbo diesel. Poor guy spent over $2k having the injection pump replaced in a modern workshop, yet they did not find, or fix the problem. His car then stopped on the side of a major highway. I pulled over to help him, & I replaced this little filter. He was mobile in a few minutes. The cost of this little filter was less than $10.
+SILVERSTRIPE PSN it pays off the first few times, then by the 500th time you are doing the same job it gets annoying or boring. No matter the activity it gets boring or at the very least a lot less enjoyable the more you do it after you have either mastered it(if possible) or have become very good at it.
I've been keeping the filter in my trunk and delaying the change for few months now and you just scared me to pull my head out of my bottom and do it ASAP, thank you, Scotty.
About 2 years ago my father bought a Citroën Xsara break (French station wagon). It drove and ran fine, but after half a year the car started to smoke and ran on 3 cylinders. Okay, no problem, we thought the ignition coil was broken and replaced it. It didn't work. So we brought it to a Citroën dealer for a scan. (We don't have fancy scan tools) And they found 1 code: "no ignition in cylinder 3" So we replaced the injector, but that did not help either. Ad that point we were really pist off and didn't know what to do. Once under the car we saw a filter that was a little bit rusty on the outside. We replaced it and the problem was solved. It turned out to be the original fuel filter from 2004 and after we saw it open, it was completely black from the rust and junk. That was a wise lesson. Always replace a fuel filter with the engine oli when you buy a cheap second-hand car...
That is the first thing I did after buying my second hand opel corsa B. After changing oil filter and gas filter alongside with oil it runs a lot smoother
Yup, just do a whole tune up will save you trouble;New Spark plugs, Distributor cap/ignition wires, air filter, Oil filter, Fuel filter, oil change, fill up transmission fluid, check/top up radiator fluid, change brake pads, inspect tires, check battery alternator, inspect steering rack, fill up Power steering, and fill up brake fluid. That should be a basic full Tune up, then your car would be guaranteed to run another 10,000 miles til next checkup. Always replace old car batteries, before you drive em daily too. Being stranded is not fun.
Also would point out to use additives on your fuel when first buying it, you never know how badly the fuel pump was treated by last owner, and you wanna be using the fuel injector cleaner as well.
Just changed mine on the 83 corolla, along with mechanical Fuel pump. Easy as pie, now just need to clean up the Carburetor with some fuel additives, and like new with 350,000 miles.
Another reason to love my Lincoln Town Car, The filter is next to the frame under one of the passenger doors. You don't even have to jack up the car. To connectors and loosen the strap. Done!
Dammit Scotty! Every time I think I finally replaced and maintained every single part of my car, you come up with something new... There goes my weekend. ;)
paulparoma lol not even a dollar a day wtf is he talking about! Gas isn’t cheap and your wasting at least $5-10 if you really want to be technical with it.
You can see what these dishonest companies are doing. They don't want you to fix your own car. Does the government need to lay out some laws just like we have crash standards. Its all BS. This is the big screwjob that the car review sites never mention.
Stan Roberts I read somewhere that said if you replace it at over 100k, it might kill the fuel pump. Probably nonsense right? My car’s at 194k so I’m a little nervous to replace it
It's pink ninja Always love the show Scotty! We used to watch your show on TV! Me and my brothers were like "WE WANNA WATCH SCOTTY!" When we were 9 Heaven is for Scotty's of the world. Ring that bell!
Excellent video Scotty I didn't know that a clogged fuel filter can overheat and burn out your catalytic converter over time.👍🏽🇺🇸🇯🇲💯🏎💥💨🗯💭 I drive a 2004 Lexus ES330 which is smooth riding over NY crappy roads and last but not least it's very reliable and ages like fine wine🥂 & not like milk🥛 like some other brands.🤗🤣
Junior Lexus - it overheats because the engine won't have enough fuel if the pressure is low. But, it will still be drawing in the correct amount of air, so the fuel/air mixture in the cylinder will have too much oxygen for the amount of fuel that's there (that's what it means to run lean; the opposite is rich when there's too much fuel for the oxygen to burn). When the engine is lean, the excess oxygen makes the combustion in the cylinder happen faster than it's supposed to, which generates extra heat. So the air coming out of the engine is hotter than it should be, and that overheats the cat (and the muffler). The opposite can happen if the air filter is clogged - the engine can't pull air in properly so it ends up with too little oxygen (i.e. too much fuel - otherwise known as "rich"), so it burns slowly and incompletely and generates less heat than it should. Adding a bit more gas actually used to be one way that older injection systems would cool the engine - deliberately making it run a little rich to cool it off.
I'm 16 years in this trade and have only ever changed petrol fuel filters on my own cars, it's just not done, I don't think I've ever seen one changed in any garage I've worked in, however we do diesel ones all the time, great piece of knowledge from this video, especially about running lean codes. Thanks Scotty, always enjoy your content 👍
My 98 Neon was hard starting for years and I kept being told by the 'experts' that it didn't have an external fuel filter and the filter pump assembly goes into the side of those plastic tanks so to get it out you have to drop the tank... Well turns out Chrysler's engineers weren't stupid. They put the filter in the regulator that just twisted into the top of the assembly plate. Easy and quick to fix. The problem was in the FSM it was only marked as regulator and not filter/regulator.
ok this happens so often. it happened with the rainex snd a few others. as soon as I'm lookin this stuff up for replacement, you put up a video about it! well I just ordered the fuel filter for my car
To avoid some of these problems, I'd suggest sticking to Top Tier gas stations as much as possible. Where I live, I can always find it at the same price or less compared to other stations, so why not go there instead of filling up with questionable gas, especially now that you can find out gas prices online at any time of day?
+Jorge Hell, I don't have a car (over 20 years, ha ha) and watch Scotty's videos. Entertaining, plus the commenters actually posting about their Buicks with 783,000 miles is a hoot. They don't know the meaning of statistical outlier.
A couple of moons back I removed the in-tank fuel pump just out of curiosity to see what the inside of the fuel tank looks like, turns out the fuel tank is very clean no debris whatsoever. btw my car had over 250K miles at the time. So in my opinion here in the good old USA fuel filters may be a waste of resources. We currently own 4 cars that do not have a traditional fuel filter absolutely no fuel issues to date, In 3rd world counties like Sapin Italy, France among others may be a different story.
Great coverage , in 1982 a friend , Joe , his girlfriend poured a bag of sugar into his trucks gas tank . Joe bought a bag of brass filters , every time truck stop running , he change little filter then all be good , down the road until sugar plugged the next little filter . It took around a week to clear sugar from tank , his exhaust smelled like Frosted Flakes .
don't let your ride run out of gas in a older car once the fuel hits the bottom of the tank it sucks up all the sediment and rust that's been brewing for years and will clog your fuel filter
Jay Means yes that's a very good point!!! I've also been told to always keep at least a half a tank of gas... if you constantly let it run close to empty it will overheat the fuel pump... The gasoline actually dissipates the Heat and cools the fuel pump is my understanding
Mark Bingamon but they say modern gas degrades very quickly. Filling at half a tank means there’s always half a tank of bad gas in the car. What to do?
Have you seen that yourself? Or just heard about it? I think its a myth. A car always shakes. Gas moves around swishes around all the time when u drive.
pretty dern sure i've had to replace a number of filters in those circumstances or when the car was on a steep incline and the sludge slid toward the pump
Mark iv'e never heard that but if that's the case i would say that's bad engineering or planned obsolescence, the only reasoning i can deduce is perhaps they figure if the tank is more than 1/2 empty then the pump's probably not gonna run for very long at a time.
Scotty: I had an old 79 Honda Accord that had some weird fuel filter contraption under the rear left fender. Not only was it expensive by itself, but was hard to replace and needed a lot of tools. I got several inline filters and placed one before the factory filter and a second in line under the hood. Somewhere down the road, I ended up with a tank of muddy gasoline (not from a flood zone) and suffered a lot of serious hesitation problems. A quick look at the clear inline filter gave away the problem: muddy gas. Without seeing the muddy filter, I could have torn through the car looking for another problem since the factory filter was painted black. After changing the filter, my car would run, but I knew not for long. So, I jacked up the car, removed the tank drain bolt and let it run out. My God, all sorts of colors ran out and separated in the pan. First, mud, then orange stuff, the green stuff, then gas, then some multicolored stuff (likely unassimilated additives), then water, then several handfuls of rust. I poured in another gallon of clean gas to finish cleaning out the tank. More every thing else came out. This was years before they started putting corn water into the gasoline. I think you need to be take your high mileage Toyota and drain the gas tank and see the junk that makes your car run crappy and clogs every filter you'll ever put into your car. This would make a good YT video. If you notice that your car runs poorly when the tank is down to the last two gallons, then your problem is not fuel filter deficiency syndrome. Those last several gallons ain't gas.
Do simple stuff yourself and find a private mechanic who you can trust to do bigger jobs. Or even a mechanic who doesn't mind doing the job in front of you. That's what I do.
I'm getting a 2013 Ford F350 SD diesel, my brother is giving it too me. Your videos have given me a list of things I want to check and stay on top of when I get the truck. I fly general aviation airplanes, Cessnas&Pipers. I love old WW2 airplanes and go to airshows all the time. The combat life expectancy of these aircraft in the 1940s was measured in combat hours. The examples we see flying today are 75 to 80 years old. If you had told the engineers who designed these planes that they would last this long they'd think you were cracked. My point in all that is, properly maintained, a machine will last forever. I want to maintain my (new to me) truck! Thanks for another great video Scotty!
@Forrest Clark KoooOl... "Corsica" that's a strangely difriny model name dint hear read uv... I have a qweshin؟ pleeze 1 of you well-experienced tech/mechanics or Scaady-fans help me for I am in a konunjrum: If a fuel tank is vandalized by addition of some contaminant to it. Not sure if it's water, vinegar bleach, ..etc. **does the fuel pump necessarily need be changed** whay is the best recomendation?? SHOULD I AuDOMATICALY also GeT a different tank (it would need be from wrecking yard~) IF I DON'T HAVE PRESSURE WASHER OR HOSE or facility to wash and put a sleeve into it- the gas tank- for cleaning?
The pump can live (or, should i say, survive) up to 10, maybe 12 years without changing the filter, while most manufacturers wish their customers would buy new car after some 6 to 8 years, so... Go figure why they call it "lifetime" filter :)
It shouldn't be changed based on what they consider a "lifetime" filter. You can still get it done, but how many dealerships are willing to do that is a other story. I'd still change it, idc what those dealerships say.
The fuel filter on my 2013 Volkswagen Beetle Turbo and my friend's 2002 Volvo V70XC are both on the bottom of the car right by the rear passenger wheel. Very easy to change, I do it every 30,000-40,000 miles :)
Hey Scotty, Like everyone else who visits your channel..I can't thank you enough for sharing your knowledge and and wisdom! I really do like how you give a full explination of what you are looking at or working on. You're awesome mate! God bless you!
I’ll be changing mine tomorrow thank you Scotty I kept getting system two lean Kode I changed out my spark plugs my coils and it still didn’t fix the issue so I was going to just replace the fuel pump but it makes sense to change the fuel filter first
I have 2002 hyundai santa fe with 171000 miles. Whenever I ask the dealer or mechanic shop if I need to change my fuel filter, they say it is not recommended. What should I do? insist on getting the filter changed or drive as is?
Unless u own a 2000 Nissan Xterra. Just changed my fuel filter and realized it was stock because of the Nissan badging. Very stuck clamps and whatnot. I looked it up the model number and it was produced in 1999. My xterra has 200,000 miles on it. Ran no problem. I barely noticed a difference with a new k&n fuel filter.
Having the filter closer to the fuel pump makes a lot of sense: then it protects not only the fuel injectors, but also the pump as well. Sure, it's more of a pain to change it, but you'll need to do so less frequently. Having the filter in the engine compartment means that any crud gets sucked up by the pump and is sent all the way down the fuel line before it's caught by the filter.
Scotty I replace my fuel filter EVERY year. With my 1999 Mazda MX-5 the fuel filter is located underneath the tank and it has those real pain in the rear end plastic "quick release" clips. I even cut open my last years filter and it was already getting dark black. So would you agree even if a car hasn't done a huge amount of miles in a year... the filter can still go bad?
Thank you, Scotty! I found this video entertaining! I drive a 2006 Altima 3.5 SE so my filter is in the tank, too. Maybe time to check that bad boy! Have a great Texas Day!
Scotty, I simply can't thank you enough for your amazing wealth of knowledge and ease of explanation. I've learned so much from watching your videos and have had fun along the way. Thanks again!
The problem these days is some mfrs are mounting the fuel filter on or near the fuel pump, and in some cases, requires replacing the fuel pump as it can be one unit in some models/brands. The other thing is if you use quality fuel it's less of a concern. I have 147k on my vehicle right now, and no signs of issues with the fuel system. Still pretty much get the same gas mileage as I did from day one. I do run super concentrated fuel cleaner through the engine though periodically, which I think has helped but I have not noticed any difference in fuel economy over the years.
Considering my Honda manual says to change the in-tank filter every 50k miles (or 25k miles if you live in dirty/polluted area), I'm pretty sure those ones get clogged too...
I've been driving my 2007 Toyota Yaris for a little over 3 years now...i think its time im gonna have to check it out as well as my 2001 Mercedes Benz S55 AMG.
I don't know where you live but where I am, Honda dealerships charge £140 fixed price to change the in-tank fuel filters. According to the Honda manual, these need changing every 50k miles too...
I’ve got an all aftermarket fuel system that pumps about twice as much as stock so I got two external filters to replace the in tank one a 10um and 60um radium set with heat exchangers too :)
Thanks for great advice as always Scotty. Just ran into a fuel pressure problem after changing the injectors on a 2001 eclipse. Thankfully the pump is in under the backseat. Upon inspection the "sock" on the bottom of the pump was sucking closed and the filter unit was nasty. Was worried that the filter wasn't sold separately. Thankfully, was able to get both pieces. Run decent at idle and all sensors and regulator tested good but no gas was getting there intermittently when you pressed the gas pedal.
Yea, "Lifetime fuel filter" sure, just like the "Lifetime air filter" my 2006 Focus had. Exactly as you said Scotty, 6-7 years in it clogged and the stealership wanted $800 for a new one because the system was completely sealed and had to be replaced as a whole. I found an aftermarket kit that allowed me to cut off the orginal airbox, and seal around the pipe and replace it with their own hinged airbox that I can replace the filter in. Works like a charm and was only $200 with tax.
This is a sign. They told me I needed to replace the fuel filter. Then I saw this. Guess I'm going to replace my fuel filter next paycheck. Thanks for the video. Now I know why I can't just brush it off >.
I’ve done a fuel pump and filter on a 3000gt man...talk about a royal pain...filtered screwed down so tight you break a line and then in the tank where the assembly is. You either break bolts or you get lucky and the nuts come off...
Louisiana is hot and humid as well. I work nights and sweat when I go outside. My glasses fog up lol. Suppose to be 100 degrees this week on top of it. Stay cool Scotty!
I also noticed he was really sweating. It was record breaking 115 in SoCal on July the 5th & 6th. So, I guess the heat wave moved east to TX at about the time Scotty made this video. But he's right, TX is very humid too.
actually my 2008 vw tdi is actually easy to replace the fuel filter it’s located in a canister right next to the engine it only takes 5 screws to replace
Scotty, tell your viewers that almost all additives are added when the fuel is put in the tanks at the station. Do not fill your car if you see one of the tankers delerving fuel! It stirs up the crud at the bottom of the holding tank and you put that in your tank! Best to go to another station to fill up or wait 20 to 30 minutes.
Hi Scotty, I hope you are well. I just checked my cars manual and it doesn't mention fuel filter change interval or anything, fuel filter is not even mentioned there. So doesn that mean I should ignore it, or maybe my car doesn't have fuel filter in first place????
You definitely have one, your engine would get destroyed pretty quickly if you didn't. Do you mean owners manual or service manual? The owner manual won't mention it if they consider it a "lifetime" part - that it's intended to last as long as the fuel pump assembly (like Scotty mentioned: it's not lifetime of the car, it's lifetime of some other part that it's related to. In this case, 'lifetime' probably means 'the warranty period we offer on the fuel pump'). If it's not mentioned under the service schedule then the manufacturer didn't intend it to be replaced separately from the pump assembly. The factory service manual (or Haynes etc. alternative) probably details how to change just the filter if you wanted to. Partly depends on the car - if it's just rolling up to 60-70K, maybe worth replacing the filter on its own. If it's done 150K already, likely easier just to wait until the pump fails and replace the whole thing like the manufacturer planned.
My 4.8l vortec shakes when i rev it in park or neutral. But not in drive. I installed New plugs,wires,fuel regulator. Cleaned mass air sensor and throttle body. No codes. Please help! ! P.s... i watch all your videos. Your the best
I have a strong feeling after replacing multiple parts in my emissions system and still having codes pop up that the fuel filter is at the root of the problem. 308K miles on the car, thinking I should replace the fuel filter now for the first time!!
My 97 Honda Civic had no check engine or other lights come on, just all of a sudden car would not start. Battery was fine but engine would not turn over so just took a guess that maybe it was the fuel filter. I changed the fuel filter and the thing started up no problem. It had been about two years since I replaced it earlier.
Many GMs have fuel filters in the tank and GM recommends a very highly concentrated fuel system cleaner you pour into the tank. It cleans the filter well. Any sediment that gets on the float and filter it removes. Smarter to pour in the tank once or twice a year is better than having to have your tank dropped !! the GM cleaner is so strong we even had no starts come in and poured this in and it started ! Excellent video Scott....every vehicle owner should watch. Perhaps do one on a Diesel !
ClusterHeadSurvivor, with every engine service my mechanic always adds fuel system conditioner, I'm presuming that's a similar cleaning substance. Maybe because it's got a difficult to replace filter, I'll find out next time If i remember to ask. 05 Alfa Romeo V6.
That type of cleaner only breaks up varnish deposits from old gas, will do nothing for the rust deposits which usually end up clogging the filter (provided you only buy gas at reputable stations that are well maintained). If the vehicle does sit with old gas in it, certainly use a fuel system cleaner, then run a top tier gas brand which has it's own special detergent additive package do keep deposits down.
I have truly been enjoying your videos! I’m learning so much from you & you explain things so simply. I have a 2007 Chrysler 300 over 107k miles & a 2001 Jaguar S 3.0 at 62.5k miles. Your vlog about the transmission fluid was very helpful too!
