How much of a difference does a new fuel filter make?

GTE

Hello,

I recently got the car serviced and the fuel filter was changed. The Haynes manual says every 40,000 miles is when this needs doing and for me its the 20,000 mile mark since I got the car. The old filter actually had some surface rust on the top so I assume that means it was very close to 40,000 miles when I got it done.

Anyway, I tried to not let the placebo effect get to me of getting the car serviced and noticing how much of a ruddy stealthy powerhouse it is afterwards. Having said that it does seem to feel that the car pulls away better since it was done. Mind you its only a 90hp diesel but I just get the sense that its smoother up the revs now. The engine does seem quieter when warm.

So, the question, if a fuel filter is changed as per the schedule should I notice the car running a bit smoother after the change or is this only the case if it is running a bit over the 40,000 miles. 40,000 miles is a long time I suppose so I guess there has to be a difference.


Good news out of the full service is that there is nothing wrong with the car whatsoever. The service only cost 90 pounds and I didnt have the need to avail of northern prices as there was no big work to be done. I did realise that if I wasnt living in Belfast and I got the car serviced up here I would be wasting my time if I didnt know something big needed doing. At least I didn't learn that the hard way.

So, the car has done 170,000 miles and I was told everything is in such good condition that it seems the big things that need replacing have been replaced earlier in the year so hopefully all I will have to worry about are the general wear and tear items and not big parts which only need replacing after mad mileage.

Thanks,
bbk

Shouldn't make a difference, chop the old filter and see was it full of crud would be the only way of knowing was it overdue a change.

biko

Never noticed a difference after swapping it tbh.

Cill Dara Abu

What about the oil filter does that make much difference?

-Corkie-

Cill Dara Abu wrote: »

What about the oil filter does that make much difference?

Not in power but it makes a big difference to your engine as in reducing wear etc. I agree with BBK I change the fuel/oil filters before the due mileage.

shedweller

A new fuel filter won't make much of a difference in mpg. As regards running smoother, i can only guess, but a full compliment of fuel to the pump inlet can only be a good thing.
A blocked fuel filter will have the pump cavitating.
The filter is on the inlet and if it blocks up the inlet pressure to the pump will drop to the point where the fuel will cavitate. That is to say bubbles will form in the pump and pull minute bits of metal out of the pump. Over time the pump will seize. Suffice to say, this is more critical in a diesel pump.

johndaman66

I learned the importance of changing a fuel filter the costly way. I was left stranded in the carpark at work as a result of the fuel pump giving up. It cost €100 to get the car towed to the garage and another €350 for the fuel pump and fitting. If only I'd known to change my fuel filter it could have being avoided, as like a lot of other people at that stage it wasn't an item on my maintenance list. You learn by your mistakes though. I wouldn't dare go a mile over 40,000 now without changing it, usually much earlier.

If the fuel filter is that badly cruded there will be symptoms long before the pump suffers, the car not starting being the major indicator.

johndaman66

RoverJames wrote: »

If the fuel filter is that badly cruded there will be symptoms long before the pump suffers, the car not starting being the major indicator.

The car was difficult to start on a few occassions James. In particular if I'd left it facing in an uphill direction and left it that way for anything much more than a day. It would fire after maybe 15 - 20 seconds but then run pretty rough for the next 30 seconds perhaps. As such it was pretty apparent to me that it was most likely a fuelling problem but I suppose the damage was already done at that point anyway thinking back. That actually only happenend a handful of times until the pump totally croaked it. It was on level ground when it finally gave up for good.

Hal1

I changed mine about 2k ago as part of the routine maintainance. While not expecting much, I found a much smoother acceleration and maybe a bit more economy on juice. When I removed the old filter they fuel was clear enough with one or two specs / particles in it.

YouTookMyName

I change the Fuel Filter at the same time as changing the oil filter. Every 6000miles.

It's only a couple quid extra and easy done.

johndaman66

YouTookMyName wrote: »

I change the Fuel Filter at the same time as changing the oil filter. Every 6000miles.

It's only a couple quid extra and easy done.

Every man to his own thing but to me that seems like overkill. You come across as someone who is very thorough about the maintenance of your car and fair play to you for that.

YouTookMyName

johndaman66 wrote: »

Every man to his own thing but to me that seems like overkill. You come across as someone who is very thorough about the maintenance of your car and fair play to you for that.

It's fear more than anything else! A fuel filter is 10-20 quid a new pump is 300-600+ quid!

I like doing it. If it's worth driving it's worth minding. And everything has a price too, i could be outta here new week.

Nissan doctor

When people say they weren't aware that the fuel filter was a service item, are they all talking about diesels? A diesel fuel filter is every bit as much a service item as spark plugs are for a petrol engine.

Not so much on modern cars, but on older petrol cars the fuel filter is often a service item too.

GTE

Nissan doctor wrote: »

When people say they weren't aware that the fuel filter was a service item, are they all talking about diesels? A diesel fuel filter is every bit as much a service item as spark plugs are for a petrol engine.

Not so much on modern cars, but on older petrol cars the fuel filter is often a service item too.

Well its not a regular service item. Its every 4th oil change. How often to spark plugs get done?

My fuel filter must have been very old. There is definitely a more smoother way about it now.
Now I know everything is right with the engine. The fuel filter was the last thing that I was not sure when it needed to be changed. It was gonna be done this time no matter what so let the schedule begin!

Nissan doctor

bbk wrote: »

Well its not a regular service item. Its every 4th oil change. How often to spark plugs get done?

My fuel filter must have been very old. There is definitely a more smoother way about it now.
Now I know everything is right with the engine. The fuel filter was the last thing that I was not sure when it needed to be changed. It was gonna be done this time no matter what so let the schedule begin!

If it is due to be replaced at certain intervals, then its a regular service item. Spark plug intervals vary from every service to every 100k in some cases.

Diesel fuel filters normally need to be drained at every service and replaced at regular intervals, depending on the manufacturer/engine and type of fuel filter.

GTE

Nissan doctor wrote: »

Diesel fuel filters normally need to be drained at every service

That's interesting to know.

What's your main point anyway? I don't know why you mentioned people who didn't know everything on the list of service items.

Nissan doctor

bbk wrote: »

That's interesting to know.

What's your main point anyway? I don't know why you mentioned people who didn't know everything on the list of service items.

The conversation is about noticing the difference after a filter change and people have posted about failures they suffered due to not realising that fuel filters had to be changed.

I'm not saying people should know everything that's due on their car but I'd have though that most people know that the normal service items of a petrol car are oil/air/plugs and diesels normally oil/air/fuel.

If you felt a difference after changing the fuel filter, then it had obviously never been drained or hadn't been changed when due previously, which is why I brought up the subject of them being due regularly.

Having said that, sh1te quality diesel is a problem in this country too which can clog up filters prematurely.

GTE

Nissan doctor wrote: »

I'm not saying people should know everything that's due on their car but I'd have though that most people know that the normal service items of a petrol car are oil/air/plugs and diesels normally oil/air/fuel.

If you felt a difference after changing the fuel filter, then it had obviously never been drained or hadn't been changed when due previously, which is why I brought up the subject of them being due regularly.

Having said that, sh1te quality diesel is a problem in this country too which can clog up filters prematurely.

I get ya. The filter must have been a weak link from the last owner and the last full service it got before we bought it.

I thought it got a full service just when we got it so that means the fuel filter would have only been 20,000 miles old when I did it now but if not it could be as much as 60,000 without replacing and just the draining you spoke of.