The question of replacing the fuel filter arises from time to time for every car owner in Russia, since there is an abundance of low-quality fuel, which contributes to rapid clogging of the filter, even in the capital, not to mention the regions.
From this article you will learn:
- How many fuel filters are there in a car?
- Where are fuel filters installed?
- Where are the filters on Renault?
- Where are the filters on Toyota?
- Where are the filters on Ford?
- Where are the filters on a Chevrolet?
- Where are the filters on Opel?
- Fuel filters for diesel cars
- When to change the fuel filter
- How to change fuel filters
- Which filters to choose
- How to buy a fuel filter cheaper
How many fuel filters are there in a car?
Before looking for where the fuel filter is located, the car owner needs to understand what kind of filter we are looking for. Most modern cars have at least two fuel filters - a coarse filter and a fine filter.
The coarse filter, as a rule, is a mesh with very small holes (about a tenth of a millimeter), which does not allow large grains of sand and other debris in the fuel to pass through. Most often, this mesh is located on the intake port of the fuel pump (which is located in the car tank).
The fine filter is a sealed capsule with a filter element inside. The filter element most often is special paper, which is capable of filtering fuel from all particles larger than a thousandth of a millimeter (sediment, impurities).
The fine filter is usually located between the fuel pump and high-pressure fuel injectors in the engine, and in different cars it can be located in different places (in the tank, under the bottom, in the rear fender, under the hood).
Installation of coarse and fine filters
The first step is to determine where the filter is located. On many gasoline-powered cars, it is customary to use two types of TF. The first element is a coarse mesh located inside the car’s fuel tank along with the pump.
Mesh coarse filter
It is removed for replacement like this.
- The battery terminals are removed.
- The rear seat is removed.
- The fastening of the decorative gasket is unscrewed.
- The pressure in the system decreases and the fuel pump fuse turns off.
- All fuel lines going to the filter are unscrewed.
After removing the pump, the mesh should be released and replaced.
Another type of filter is designed to carry out fine cleaning of fuel. It is located under the car, usually near the door threshold or under the bottom. Replacement is done like this.
- It is necessary to remove the ends of the tubes connected to the device using nuts.
- Then loosen the holder, also tightened with a nut.
- Disconnect the tubes from the fine cleaning element, placing any empty container under them.
- Remove the old filter and replace it with a new one.
When installing the FTO, it is important to remember that it must be installed in the direction of the arrow. Any filter of this type has a pointer showing the direction of fuel flow. Therefore, it is necessary to mount the element according to this paragraph.
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Where are fuel filters installed?
If with a coarse filter everything is more or less clear (in order to effectively clean fuel from large grains of sand and other debris, it must be located at the inlet pipe of the fuel pump - in the tank), then with a fine filter it is much more complicated.
The location of the fine filter strongly depends on the design of the car, on its year of manufacture, as well as on its belonging to a particular class (the newer the car model and the higher its class, the more complex units are used on it, which require more advanced filters ).
In most new models of cars with injection engines, a fine filter is included in the design of the fuel pump (located in the tank) and replacing it can be a very time-consuming and expensive procedure.
At the same time, on some new budget models (as well as on development models more than 10 years old), the fine filter can be located anywhere on the fuel line (near the tank, under the bottom, under the hood). Replacing such a filter will be much easier and will cost significantly less for the car owner than replacing the filter from the pump in the tank.
Eg:
Fuel filters for diesel cars
About diesel cars, it must be said that their fuel system is much more complex than a gasoline one, and in addition to a coarse filter and a fine filter, they are also equipped with a special separator for separating water from fuel. Filters can also be equipped with all kinds of insulation and heating (to avoid crystallization of paraffin from diesel fuel in cold weather).
Fuel filters on a diesel car can be located either in the fuel tank itself or under the bottom or under the hood (the mesh is most often in the tank, and the fine filter and separator are most often under the bottom or under the hood of the car). The cost of diesel filters themselves, as well as the cost of replacing them, is usually noticeably higher than gasoline ones.
Replacing the diesel filter
To carry out the work, the following is required:
- Manual type vacuum pump;
- Fuel containers;
- Fuel filter cartridge;
- O-ring for filter cover;
- Water containers.
In general, replacing a fuel filter on a diesel engine follows a similar scenario, but with some nuances:
- First, turn off the ignition in the car;
- You need to unscrew the cartridge from the bottom, having previously installed a container under it. After completing the collection of fuel, you need to thoroughly wipe the cartridge from any remaining fuel;
- To remove the filter shell, you need to unscrew the bolts and remove the fasteners;
- The fuel hoses are disconnected;
- The filter housing mount is removed.
The fuel filter is secured with four bolts
Before installing the cartridge, you need to remove the water that is present inside the filter. This is where you need a vacuum pump. Next, a tube is inserted that will suck directly to the filter housing. After this, you need to make sure that the filter is clean, and then you can insert the cartridge.
Sealing ring
The housing is closed with a lid that fits onto a new O-ring. The ignition turns on for two seconds, but the engine should not start. This is necessary to activate the pump that pumps fuel, to fill the filter with fuel and remove air that could have formed in the fuel system, in the case of a replaced filter. If fuel forms on rubber parts, you need to wipe it off. At this point, replacing the diesel engine fuel filter is considered complete.
When to change the fuel filter
The timing of replacing fuel filters is specified in the maintenance schedules or operating manual for each vehicle.
As a rule, the time frame for replacing fuel filters is no more than every 40-50 thousand kilometers. However, low-quality Russian fuel often makes its own adjustments to the timing of filter replacement.
If your vehicle shows signs of a clogged fuel filter, such as:
- Rough engine idling
- “Jerking” and “jerking” at low engine speeds
- “Missing” or even “triple” of the engine
That means the time has come for its unscheduled replacement.
If the above symptoms appear on a car with less than 100 thousand mileage. km, most often it is necessary to replace the fine filter, since it takes on the main portion of dirt entering the car tank along with the fuel. But, on cars with mileage of more than 100 thousand km, when such signs appear, both filters will most likely need to be replaced.
In what cases is replacement obvious?
Almost all fuel filters have a filtration system consisting of two stages of cleaning: coarse and fine.
When passing through the coarse one, large particles are retained, and the fine one is able to stop microscopic dust and small metal particles.Manufacturers use different filters, but if you combine all the recommended periods, then the filter must be changed after 60 thousand km.
When you notice that the fuel pump has become very noisy, this is a reason to check the condition of the filter.
If you are the owner of a VAZ car, then getting to the filter is quite easy, so replacing the VAZ fuel filter is very quick. If the filter is clogged, the fuel pump will wear out and may burn out.
At the first suspicion of a clogged fuel filter, you can conduct several experiments; based on the results, you can assess the condition of the filter.
For example, if when you sharply press the gas the car begins to accelerate evenly and quickly, then this is a good sign. And if during acceleration the car moves jerkily and almost stalls, then in this case an immediate replacement is required.
How to change fuel filters
After deciding on the need to replace the filters and their location, the car owner needs to understand whether it is possible to replace the filters on their own, or whether it is better to go straight to a car service center.
Most often, replacing two fuel filters at once, built into a single unit with a fuel pump and located in the tank, is quite difficult. To carry out this procedure, you must have a number of specific machine repair skills.
In addition, do not forget that on many new car models, the manufacturer provides for replacing the fine filter only by replacing the entire unit along with the built-in fuel pump, which is quite expensive (such a replacement is planned by marketers in order to increase the owner’s expenses for maintaining the car). That is, replacing the filter separately from the pump in such machines can require a lot of effort and time.
In the case of a fine filter located on the fuel line, replacing it is much easier, and this can be done by almost any car owner who knows how to change tires on a car.
Which filters to choose
It is no secret that spare parts for cars, in addition to their manufacturers, are also produced by many other companies and brands. Every car owner has a wide choice of prices and quality when ordering spare parts.
Of course, it is best to buy original spare parts for your car, but for many brands of cars their cost can be quite high. In this case, you can choose filters from well-established brands, such as:
- Mann
- Parker
- Fleetguard
- Bosch
- MFilter
