Changing a Fuel Filter: How to Change Fuel Filters

A fuel filter is an engine component that performs the function of filtering out rust and dirt and unwanted foreign particles from the fuel and facilitates the smooth running of vehicles. The fuel filter therefore is an important auto part. Sometimes unfiltered fuel can contain minute particles of impurities like paint chips or rust. This rust is caused due to the moisture in the steel tank used to store the fuel. It enters the fuel and makes it unfit for the vehicle. The fuel filter therefore purifies the fuel by removing all these impurities. Aging of the fuel filter creates the necessity to replace it with a new one. Let's learn about the procedure on how to change a fuel filter.

How to Change a Fuel Filter?

Material Required
For changing a fuel filter, you require hand gloves, protective glasses, incline ramps, screwdriver, pliers, jacks and jack stands and spanners of different sizes.

Before starting the procedure, as a safety measure, it is necessary to wear hand gloves and safety glasses.

Procedure for Changing a Fuel Filter
With all the material at hand you can now start off with the process. The first thing you need to do is to elevate the vehicle with the help of a jack and its stands or you can mount the vehicle on an incline ramp. It is preferable to have more than one jack as sometimes, due to an overload, the jack might slip or break and the vehicle could hit the ground forcefully causing damage.

The fuel filter normally lies near the fuel tank, but the location of the fuel filter might vary from vehicle to vehicle. If you find it difficult to locate the fuel filter, the vehicle guide would help you out to find it.

On locating the fuel filter, you will find that it is covered with a safety covering, generally made up of plastic. This covering needs to be removed with the help of a screwdriver. The fuel filter is connected with some fuel lines which are tubes that carry fuel to the fuel filter. These are attached to the fuel filter with the help of clips or brackets. Therefore in order to remove them, you can either use the spanners or the screwdriver, whichever serves the purpose.

Further, with the help of a golf tee, cover the fuel line and keep the fuel lines inclined towards the drainage bucket. The next step is to deinstall the existing fuel filter from the engine. The direction of removal will be clear by the arrow denoted on the fuel filter, which would be away from the fuel tank and directed towards the engine. You can follow the instructions guide if you face any difficulties in this step. While installing the new filter, be sure that the arrow on the fuel filter is pointing towards the engine. These arrows actually indicate the flow of the fuel. The last step is to reinstall all the fuel lines and safety guard to the fuel filter.

Your doubts of how to change a fuel filter must have been cleared by now. Changing a fuel filter yourself would help in saving the cost incurred in hiring a professional mechanic. But when changing fuel filters by yourself, it is better to refer to the automobile guide in case of any difficulty. Fuel filters need to be maintained regularly. This is for the health of your car or any vehicle for that matter, as a well maintained fuel filter would help your vehicle to increase its power and also make it a fuel efficient machine. It sometimes becomes necessary to install a new fuel filter if the old fuel filter stops functioning properly, even after regularly maintaining it. The reason behind this is that if the old fuel filter, not functioning properly, becomes a store house for many contaminated particles, which cause an obstacle for the fuel flow. This affects the fuel efficiency of the vehicle. It is therefore suggested to perform an overall checkup of your vehicle on a regular basis.