Replacing Fuel filter
 

Replaced my fuel filter today & took a few pics along the way. I hope you find them of use.

http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/k...lFilter001.jpg
Old (Bosch) filter in situ & new Mann filter ready to go. The bosch one was there on purchased in 2003 :shock: Over 50k miles with me, who knows how many before :?

http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/k...elPumpFuse.jpg
You need to release pressure in the fuel system. Pull fuse #6, then run engine till it stops. Finally remove fuel filler cap. If the fuel pump fuse is showing signs of overheating, now is a good time to replace it!

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Disconnect -ve terminal of battery!

http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/k...lFilter002.jpg
Disconnect output side of fuel filter (can do input first, this is just the routine I used). Note using an adjustable spanner on the filter to allow the 17mm on the nut to be used with a bit of force.

http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/k...lFilter003.jpg
Then disconnect the 15mm connector on the brass elbow joint on the input side. This is a bit fiddly due to the bonnet hinges & spring being 'in the way'.

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Next undo the 10mm nut on the fuel filter holding bracket. This has a captive nut by the way.

You can now remove the filter, although you may need to spin it free from the output pipes thread. Some fuel will no doubt spill out.

http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/k...lFilter005.jpg
Next you need to remove the brass elbow joint from the input end of the filter. I did this on my bench.

http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/k...lFilter006.jpg
New filter with the elbow screwed in ready to be mounted.

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New filter in place.

Refit (new) fuse #6

Re-connect battery

Start engine, which may take longer than normal to allow fuel to get through new filter & thoroughly check for signs of leaks!
Hopefully all will be well :D
If I've missed anything, please feel free to add info':thumbs_up:

Very useful "how to" Paul - it's something I haven't done for over ten years thanks to running lpg.

It is worth making sure you have a good quality fuse (genuine Volvo ones are not expensive) as some are a soft plastic and with slightly corroded contacts will rapidly get hot and the plastic softens giving a poor contact.

Mike

I must confess I didn't do any of that depressurising stuff. I just loosened the banjo bolt a little and wrapped a rag round it to contain the small spillage.

good writeup, for everyone else out there, always use new copper washers on the fuel filter when available, if your new filter doesn't come with them you can re-anneal the old ones be heating them until red with a butane torch (or your cooker's gas hob!) than dunking them into water, brings them up all shiny, malleable and new again! Also, always check very carefully for leaks with the engine running, the slightest leak could let fuel drip or spray onto the hot manifold, with obvious consequences!

Great write up. My experience was that these fuel unions can be very tight, having probably never been undone since manufacture! Has anyone else got an exceptionally noisy fuel pump and if so have you changed it? I am not sure if it is the external pump fitted under the rear on the near side, or if like more recent models, there is a secondary pump but mine is so intrusive the noise is distracting. There is always the chance it will fail outright ever present in one's conscious while driving!

i guess its one of those posh injection engines? mine just has a tiny inline filter unless its been "adjusted"

Yes tis Chesters B200E, sorry! LOL:thumbs_up:

great place for the filter though ,far better than lying under the car getting petrol in your eyes along with grit:thumbs_up:

This morning, inspired by this thread, Beetledrive and I had a go at replacing the filter on our 240.

We bought our replacement filter from Volvo. The old one was so rusty, I would not be surprised if it had been on the car for most of its life!

Anyway, it wasn't quite as easy for us as it looks in this 'how-to', mainly as the elbow joint was tightly rusted on at both ends. Removing the shroud while the filter was still in place was very hard (requiring a trip to Wilco to invest in a 15mm spanner, which then flew into Beetledrive's face with the force of the shroud finally giving way!). We were almost at the point of having to remove the bonnet hinge to get enough leverage, but we managed it. To add to the 'how-to' though, you should note that you need to turn the spanner clockwise (i.e. upwards) to release the shroud.

Once the filter was off, it took a lot more cursing and bleeding before the elbow released itself from the old filter (using two adjustable spanners).

Replacing the new filer was just as hard, as we couldn't get a tight enough seal on the shroud to stop leakage while the engine was running. We had to tighten the shroud with all our might two more times before the fuel stopped leaking. It's still not 100% leak-free, but it's the best we can manage. Can anyone recommend something we can use to provide an extra protective seal around the outside (some sort of silicon maybe)?

Anyway, I am very pleased that we went to all the bother of doing it, as the new filter looks very pretty, and the fuel that came out of the old filter was black (see the picture below)! The best bit of all is that the car is definitely running a lot better, and is more responsive.

Excellent tutorial Paul!:thumbs_up:

Paul,

Did you prefil the filter with petrol before fitting as there is a risk of damage with the petrol pressure on start up.

I haven't done this change for a long time as I run on LPG.

Oil filters are prefilled with oil before fitting but I do use by-pass filtration and they take 1 ltr. The oil light goes out on start up as in usual on start up.

brianh

Gotta cough to not pre-filling the filter, Brian. I did this in Sept 10, so hopefully......... Thanks for the info'

Excellent informative thread.

Unfortunately, due to lack of time, etc, I farmed mine out to a monkey at the local garage, who totally fooked the unions, both ends, and at the nearside end of the green line that traverses the bulkhead too!! (Yep, I know, don't ask me how he did it).

Moral of that is: if in doubt do it yourself - even if it is a pain in the rear for us amateurs!!!

Anyhow, someone asked about getting a fuel tight seal when you run out of muscle power.

A good tip before you start to put in your new fuel filter, to make certain you get a fuel-tight seal, is to wrap the threaded ends in PTFE tape.

A couple of points on using the tape though . . .

1. Make absolutely sure the threads are clean and dry.

2. Wrap the tape carefully across the full width of the thread, going in the opposite direction to which it is screwed in - which is probably obvious. Make sure to get it good and tight, and around 6 revolutions is plenty, half that would be adequate and make it easier to thread.

3. Proceed to thread up.

Another good tip is to get hold of a couple of flared nut spanners 15 and 17mm, a flexi head ratcheting one for the 15mm side is definitely worth investing in.
Or Crow's foot flared heads that slot onto your ratchet drive. I know they definitely come in 3/8 drive, maybe other sizes if that's your poison.

Hope that's all helpful.

Cheers,

T

i would (and did) plump for a genuine filter. also i fitted copper washers on before doing up the unions.

didnt bother with any of the depressurising- a tiny bit of petrol comes out which you can just use to clean any grease behind the old filer!

Not sure if it was just me but the car certainly seemed to run a teeny bit better after :D

worth doing though and gets missed in normal servicing

Nick

Placing the fuel filter on the bulkhead made it a straightforward job to replace it, and easier for the home mechanic [Thanks, Paul, for the excellent guide, but mine's not like that.] Was it on the SE that Volvo decided to hide it away /only accessible when it's up in the air?

I'm not absolutely sure that it needs replacing, but the car is very sluggish (I've done the WD40 test on the injector seating, with no change) - and will start and run fine and usually only give a problem when I come to a traffic light (almost stalls, have to keep the revs up) and pull away (engine starved of fuel, almost dies but enough momentum keeps me moving until the blockage (?) clears and runs OK again - until the next time).

Yesterday around town it hiccuped and died a number of times, so today I need to sort it out. I already have another filter if that is the problem - and could do with any guidance if anyone has done it off the ground (as I don't have a pit or access to a ramp) - [I don't really want grit and petrol in my eye - as chester6].

Thanks - dan C

Definitely sounds like a fuel pressure problem. When I first got my SE it would stumble and cough when pulling away, which was immediately resolved by replacing the fuel filter.

Replacing it is reasonably easy - once you have sufficient room to get under the car (even reversing the car onto a few scaffolding planks to get sufficient room to worm under should suffice), the filter is alongside the pump on a cradle held by three (I believe) bolts to the underside of the car. It's located on the passenger side of the car, just forward of the the rear axle. Be gentle with these bolts and use antiseize spray if necessary, they're exposed to all the road gunk under the car and may be rusty. once you'e removed them, the cradle will be free, it's then a matter of loosening the clamp holding the filter and the unions (use caution as there's likely to be petrol spilled here - best to have a bowl under the filter and if possible rags round the unions when they're loosened), marvel at the black petrol that comes out of the old filter and fit a new one in its' place.

be gentle ... road gunk ... unions ... black petrol ...

This sounds like a job to pay someone trustworthily competent to do ... ;)

I've owned my SE a few years and I would guess previous services might or might not have included changing the fuel filter. It must be time to change the filter. I suppose I'll have to do my best when I get around to it ....

The bit I don't fancy is the ... unions. Tapered threads? They are a right of passage. Shudder. I suffered bludied knuckles, cold to the bone and severe self doubt under a Morris Minor doing tapered brake hydraulic threads many years ago ...

.

Since doing my 240 'under bonnet' one, I have tackled my 850's. That is under the car, rear end. The unions are 'simple push fit' . Well they were, surprisingly easy to 'undo'. However the cradle that holds the filter in place was 'dust' and literally fell apart as I tackled it! Of course that had to be replaced, prolonging a relatively easy job. But I know which one I'd prefer to do any day:thumbs_up:

Thanks wooble, Stephen and Paul - I've got the cradle off (bolts were OK) but when:

"it's then a matter of loosening the clamp holding the filter and the unions (use caution as there's likely to be petrol spilled here - best to have a bowl under the filter and if possible rags round the unions when they're loosened), marvel at the black petrol that comes out of the old filter and fit a new one in its place" [wooble]

how do I hold the filter sufficiently to undo the nuts [as it's not conveniently bolted to the bulkhead] ? I've WD'd the unions to start loosening them up, and will try to get them off (or pay somebody else) tomorrow.

I've also bled a little muck-containing fuel from a valved bleed tap on the injector rail, and - while outside the house - is running a little smoother, but may be stopping once I take it round the corner. At least it's not hunting so much as it was a week ago before I cleaned the plugs and closed up a couple of gaps.

Dan

WD is not really one for the job , it's a Water Disspersant. Get a penetrating oil, Bardahl do one it's a vaseline based one, there are others. I use a mix50:50 acetone and ATF. the yanks call it PB-Blaster. Works well.

I did my fuel filter about a month ago, following Pauls useful guide, as i'm pretty sure it had never been replaced. Mine is a 1990 GL so the filter is more conveniently fitted to the bulkhead. I sprayed, the unions with Plusgas a couple of days before and they came off fairly easily. The difficulty i had was trying to tighten them sufficiently once the new filter was on as access is a bit restricted especially by the bonnet spring/hinge. I ended up buying a 15/17mm flared spanner from Halfords for about £6 as (this is like a ring spanner but has a slot cut out so you can pass the pipe through it). Probably will never use the spanner again but it helped me to tighten the union without rounding off the nut. Hope this helps and good luck. Dave

agree - fuel filters can be a pain !
 

Interesting read - I had similar dramas with the fuel filter on our '85 240 . What I expected to be a 10 minute job took ages - stilsons , hack saw, much cursing - and again hard to seal new filter .

same era BMW is under car near tank but has barbed fittings and rubber hose with hose clamps .

Cheers

Second fuel filter?
 

I have just replaced the fuel filter under my 1991 240 Torslanda and I still get the fuel starvation symptoms. Car runs fine for half a mile, then dies. Is there another fuel filter nearer the injectors?