Relocating Fuel Filter

[jgeorg]

I was recently listing to a call in car repair show where a caller mentioned of relocating the fuel filter to the engine compartment. It sounds like a great idea rather than grovelling under the driver's side rear wheel only to find that the fittings are seized because of exposure to road debris etc. Other than the safety aspect of gas spraying on a hot engine, it sure would make changing it much easier since the connections would probably be in better shape. Of course anyone who has attempted to change this filter knows depressurizing the line keeps the gas from getting in your eyes. Has anyone heard of or attempted to do this? Gas lines aren't that expenses and can be easily adapted for this.

[avatar307]

The biggest concern comes when you consider that there is a reason why the engineers elect to locate the fuel filter near the fuel pump in the rear of the car. My guess would be how the filter affects the pressure of the fuel system.

Yes, there are kits for relocating your fuel filter to the engine compartment. But those kits often also involve fuel line twice as thick and a fuel pump that generates twice the pressure that the stock one does.

There are kits to relocate fuel filters out there too... but there are reasons it rarely gets done. And an oil filter gets changed a hundred times more often than your fuel filter. (According to GM, the fuel filter should last the life of the car. Course "life of the car" likely means 5 years or 100,000 miles.)

['97ventureowner]

Originally Posted by avatar307

The biggest concern comes when you consider that there is a reason why the engineers elect to locate the fuel filter near the fuel pump in the rear of the car. My guess would be how the filter affects the pressure of the fuel system.

Yes, there are kits for relocating your fuel filter to the engine compartment. But those kits often also involve fuel line twice as thick and a fuel pump that generates twice the pressure that the stock one does.

There are kits to relocate fuel filters out there too... but there are reasons it rarely gets done. And an oil filter gets changed a hundred times more often than your fuel filter. (According to GM, the fuel filter should last the life of the car. Course "life of the car" likely means 5 years or 100,000 miles.)

The last sentence of your quote says it all... and why GM is in the trouble it is in today with car owners. That thinking about longetivity is what's causing the class action suit against GM concerning it's labeling of Dex Cool. Originally GM said the antifreeze was good for 5 yrs/ 150,000 miles but it is now being found out that a much shorter lifespan is being reccomended because of breakdown of the product and other various problems associated with keeping it in the vehicle that long. I've always tried to change my fuel filter every 1 to 2 years or 12-15,000 miles. I always err on the side of preventative maintenance, as it is usually cheaper in the long run to replace an item like this than to let it go and cause further problems.

[jgeorg]

I'm not sure about trusting GM engineers. They cheaped out on the plenum on the 3800 engine and I don't think there's a Buick owner who doesn't know someone who has had their engime replaced/rebuilt due to their infinite wisdom. The amount of gas going through that $5 filter is about 100 times more than the oil that goes the oil filter every 3 months. In a perfect world the gas that goes into your tank would be free of impurities. However, this is not the case and the quality of the gas is actually not as clean as one might think. This filter is critical to your engines longevity. So why not make it as simple as changing your air filter. It costs the same. Try cutting open the old one the next time you change it. You'll be amazed at the black tar that you'll find inside that little canister. I'm sure that has an effect on the pressure drop of the fuel line after 5 years of driving. You'll sure notice a change in your cars pickup after doing this change. I think this filter change is the most neglected much to the engine's detriment and the owners wallet.

[buickmastermind]

My parents put 220,000 miles on a 99 Pontiac Montana (unbelievably still going) before the head gasket started leaking coolant. The coolant never needed to be changed so we only added what had drained out because of the leak, and there haven't yet been any problems because of the coolant.

After putting over 200,000 miles on my LeSabre, I finally changed the fuel filter (because it was starting to leak/rust) and the performance didn't change a bit. However, my older brothers station wagon needs a new filter every two oil changes or it won't run at all.