4 Hours for a fuel filter! (1 Viewer)

[Desertmedic80]

As the title says it took me a bit over 4 hours and a little less than a 12 pack of adult beverages to change my fuel filter. Yep, fuel filter. NO, not the head gasket the fuel filter. You read it correctly. As it was the first time I wasn't expecting to be finished as quickly as my first sexual experience, but 4 hours is a bit excessive. By the time I was done I had the front tire off, the brace between upper intake and block off, oil dipstick unbolted, and the splash shields under drivers side fender well removed. Vehicle was on a jack stand with drop lights top and bottom. A few tools included every extension I own with multiple wobble attachments, as well as deep and standard 12 mm sockets in 5 and 12 point and an 8 point 5/16 that that I will get to in a moment. Oh, and a 22 oz framing hammer! (SEE 5/16 socket) AMERICA! Both retaining bolts had apparently been installed by a cocaine snorting gorilla with a impact wrench set to "THIS IS NEVER COMING BACK OUT." The outside bolt did break free with a considerable amount of cussing, throwing tools and skin magically leaping from my knuckles to every sharp piece of metal within 18 inches of either hand. I applied way more leverage than what I thought a 12 mm bolt would take without breaking but finally managed to get it loose. Got to love Japanese bolts. A few adult beverage set to the relaxing sound of Five Finger Death Punch just to calm my frail nerves and back to work. As to the little hidden gem tucked up behind the God knows how old Chinese fuel filter that the PO had installed. Well, that did not fare as well. The rear bolt fought me to the 10 level of hell to say the least. No amount of force, screaming, leaping skin or bargaining with the Toyota gods was going to allow me to get that out. Eventually it was rewarded with the afore mentioned 5/16 socket being hammered on to it as it had stripped and a 12 mm simply laughed and spun happily round and round like children on a merry-go- round. At least it didn't break. I finally did manage to remove it, install the new Toyota filter, (Yes I did use anti-seize) reconnect the fuel lines, and reassemble my now partially disassembled 80. All is well in the world and my knuckles will heal I have no doubt. I guess the lesson learned is never underestimate a task. I have nothing to add, no advice to someone planning the job or words of wisdom. Just thought I would post my misery and hope someone got a laugh out of it.

 

[Irish Reiver]

Sounds like a little trauma. Lets hope that you don't have to do it all again to swap out the PHH and/or No. 1 bypass hose or a any of the vacuum lines & valves that are hiding in the same general vicinity.

 

[flintknapper]

As the title says it took me a bit over 4 hours and a little less than a 12 pack of adult beverages to change my fuel filter. Yep, fuel filter. NO, not the head gasket the fuel filter. You read it correctly. As it was the first time I wasn't expecting to be finished as quickly as my first sexual experience, but 4 hours is a bit excessive. By the time I was done I had the front tire off, the brace between upper intake and block off, oil dipstick unbolted, and the splash shields under drivers side fender well removed. Vehicle was on a jack stand with drop lights top and bottom. A few tools included every extension I own with multiple wobble attachments, as well as deep and standard 12 mm sockets in 5 and 12 point and an 8 point 5/16 that that I will get to in a moment. Oh, and a 22 oz framing hammer! (SEE 5/16 socket) AMERICA! Both retaining bolts had apparently been installed by a cocaine snorting gorilla with a impact wrench set to "THIS IS NEVER COMING BACK OUT." The outside bolt did break free with a considerable amount of cussing, throwing tools and skin magically leaping from my knuckles to every sharp piece of metal within 18 inches of either hand. I applied way more leverage than what I thought a 12 mm bolt would take without breaking but finally managed to get it loose. Got to love Japanese bolts. A few adult beverage set to the relaxing sound of Five Finger Death Punch just to calm my frail nerves and back to work. As to the little hidden gem tucked up behind the God knows how old Chinese fuel filter that the PO had installed. Well, that did not fare as well. The rear bolt fought me to the 10 level of hell to say the least. No amount of force, screaming, leaping skin or bargaining with the Toyota gods was going to allow me to get that out. Eventually it was rewarded with the afore mentioned 5/16 socket being hammered on to it as it had stripped and a 12 mm simply laughed and spun happily round and round like children on a merry-go- round. At least it didn't break. I finally did manage to remove it, install the new Toyota filter, (Yes I did use anti-seize) reconnect the fuel lines, and reassemble my now partially disassembled 80. All is well in the world and my knuckles will heal I have no doubt. I guess the lesson learned is never underestimate a task. I have nothing to add, no advice to someone planning the job or words of wisdom. Just thought I would post my misery and hope someone got a laugh out of it.

4 hours is not all that bad. The first time I changed mine....I was probably a good couple of hours into it. When I finally got it out I was little surprised to see how small it was. If Toyota is going to put a fuel filter in the Nether Regions of the engine, then they should at least make the thing about 3 times larger than it is. Mine was filthy inside.

 

[BILT4ME]

I see folks on here post they can do something in "X" amount of time.

My comparison to that is X2 and add 30. If they say it takes 10 minutes, then it will take me 20+30 = 50 minutes at a minimum.

We appreciate the honesty and I have already learned from your post to START with:
Jack up the left side
Remove the LF wheel
Remove the rubber mud guards
Make sure you have every extension you own available as well as one or two wobbles.

So, did you remove the fuel pump relay then run it to bleed all pressure from the system before starting?

Anything special you did to hold the copper washers in place to get it all back in?

 

[effjay80]

I had smooth fuel filter replacement sailing until trying to get that last set of copper washers to stay in place. Dear Lord.

 

[Toyotas4life]

Agree, 3 to 4 hours with every size socket extension, pivot and wobble sounds about right. That said, hopefully you remembered to research some great information available from those that have gone before us here on MUD and cut a notch in the new OEM Fuel Filter on the side that is closest to the block. It makes installation of the new filter a lot easier as you can pre-start the bolt and slide the fuel filter onto it. Also will make removal of that filter in another 10 - 15 years that much easier.

 

[Desertmedic80]

Sounds like a little trauma. Lets hope that you don't have to do it all again to swap out the PHH and/or No. 1 bypass hose or a any of the vacuum lines & valves that are hiding in the same general vicinity.

All on the list of things to do. Right now I'm about 1500 into McGeorge and Witz-end in parts and pieces. 550 of that was a new distributer but the rest is belts, hoses, heater valve etc... I will keep everyone posted about those impending $h!t shows.

 

[NLXTACY]

Someone needs to come up with a kit to make the fuel filter more accessible

 

[Desertmedic80]

I see folks on here post they can do something in "X" amount of time.

My comparison to that is X2 and add 30. If they say it takes 10 minutes, then it will take me 20+30 = 50 minutes at a minimum.

We appreciate the honesty and I have already learned from your post to START with:
Jack up the left side
Remove the LF wheel
Remove the rubber mud guards
Make sure you have every extension you own available as well as one or two wobbles.

So, did you remove the fuel pump relay then run it to bleed all pressure from the system before starting?

Not sure of this "fuel pump relay" thing that you speak of. I guess I breezed over that in the FSM before starting this little job. To bleed the pressure I broke the banjo bolts loose and let the fuel drain into a pan/ garage floor.(Bad pan placement initially) To bleed the air I rotated the key to the run position twice for about 5 seconds each and then sent the lightning! Took a couple of seconds to fire, chugged for a few seconds and started running fine after that. Took it to work and back today and all seemed fine.

Anything special you did to hold the copper washers in place to get it all back in?

Installed the filter with bolts loose so I could wiggle it around. After I hard mounted and found out you could not get the banjo bolts to line up with it hard mounted. Then just used my sore, cramped somewhat bloody fingers to figit those damn things in there. Dropped one side once but that was it.

 

[Desertmedic80]

Agree, 3 to 4 hours with every size socket extension, pivot and wobble sounds about right. That said, hopefully you remembered to research some great information available from those that have gone before us here on MUD and cut a notch in the new OEM Fuel Filter on the side that is closest to the block. It makes installation of the new filter a lot easier as you can pre-start the bolt and slide the fuel filter onto it. Also will make removal of that filter in another 10 - 15 years that much easier.

I actually did not do that. I did see that in the MUD and a Youtube video but actually didn't have much problem getting that bolt restarted. I thought about it but by the time I started back with that I was so tired of messing with it I took a vote and the "no's" won. Of all the problems I had that was not one of them. Not sure of the life expectancy of those filters but I will deal with it when it comes time I guess

 

[Desertmedic80]

Someone needs to come up with a kit to make the fuel filter more accessible

Yes, Yes, Yes they do. Of all the engineering that went into these things that are field serviceable jamming the fuel filter under the intake manifold was just a funny joke between Japanese engineers in the break room.

 

[NLXTACY]

Yes, Yes, Yes they do. Of all the engineering that went into these things that are field serviceable jamming the fuel filter under the intake manifold was just a funny joke between Japanese engineers in the break room.

*cough*

 

[gummycarbs]

I found the Harbor Freight locking extension set to be invaluable when changing the well-hidden fuel filter. The long one is just shy of 18", and the next is around 10":

Also, safety glasses or better yet a face shield, because you're almost certainly going to drop a bolt on your face at some point.

 

[iptman]

Yes, Yes, Yes they do. Of all the engineering that went into these things that are field serviceable jamming the fuel filter under the intake manifold was just a funny joke between Japanese engineers in the break room.

It could also be that the Toyota engineers put it there because it was a "lifetime" filter since it doesn't have a service interval so why put it anywhere else. I mean they even painted the thing black so it'd be hard to see. Not that I've seen every thread on here but has anyone posted up a fueling problem that was solved solely by replacing the fuel filter? I have seen a bunch of people replacing them as PM. It'd be interesting to flow test a 200k plus mile filter next to a new one. I'd wager a nickel there wouldn't be any significant difference.

 

[dpeshkin]

As the title says it took me a bit over 4 hours and a little less than a 12 pack of adult beverages to change my fuel filter. Yep, fuel filter. NO, not the head gasket the fuel filter. You read it correctly. As it was the first time I wasn't expecting to be finished as quickly as my first sexual experience, but 4 hours is a bit excessive. By the time I was done I had the front tire off, the brace between upper intake and block off, oil dipstick unbolted, and the splash shields under drivers side fender well removed. Vehicle was on a jack stand with drop lights top and bottom. A few tools included every extension I own with multiple wobble attachments, as well as deep and standard 12 mm sockets in 5 and 12 point and an 8 point 5/16 that that I will get to in a moment. Oh, and a 22 oz framing hammer! (SEE 5/16 socket) AMERICA! Both retaining bolts had apparently been installed by a cocaine snorting gorilla with a impact wrench set to "THIS IS NEVER COMING BACK OUT." The outside bolt did break free with a considerable amount of cussing, throwing tools and skin magically leaping from my knuckles to every sharp piece of metal within 18 inches of either hand. I applied way more leverage than what I thought a 12 mm bolt would take without breaking but finally managed to get it loose. Got to love Japanese bolts. A few adult beverage set to the relaxing sound of Five Finger Death Punch just to calm my frail nerves and back to work. As to the little hidden gem tucked up behind the God knows how old Chinese fuel filter that the PO had installed. Well, that did not fare as well. The rear bolt fought me to the 10 level of hell to say the least. No amount of force, screaming, leaping skin or bargaining with the Toyota gods was going to allow me to get that out. Eventually it was rewarded with the afore mentioned 5/16 socket being hammered on to it as it had stripped and a 12 mm simply laughed and spun happily round and round like children on a merry-go- round. At least it didn't break. I finally did manage to remove it, install the new Toyota filter, (Yes I did use anti-seize) reconnect the fuel lines, and reassemble my now partially disassembled 80. All is well in the world and my knuckles will heal I have no doubt. I guess the lesson learned is never underestimate a task. I have nothing to add, no advice to someone planning the job or words of wisdom. Just thought I would post my misery and hope someone got a laugh out of it.

I am planning on changing out the shocks and springs on my LC. I am wondering if that would be a good time to also do the filter. With those out of the way make it easier ?

 

[flintknapper]

Agree, 3 to 4 hours with every size socket extension, pivot and wobble sounds about right. That said, hopefully you remembered to research some great information available from those that have gone before us here on MUD and cut a notch in the new OEM Fuel Filter on the side that is closest to the block. It makes installation of the new filter a lot easier as you can pre-start the bolt and slide the fuel filter onto it. Also will make removal of that filter in another 10 - 15 years that much easier.

I definitely did that.

 

[FMC80]

Look, I am not going to lie (I’m probably lying) but I seriously didn’t have any issues removing and replacing my fuel filter. I get my ass kicked by simpler things, believe me.

I didn’t notch the filter bracket either; didn’t have to. I found accessing the filter bracket bolts from directly under the truck was the easiest and most straight-forward angle of attack. The banjo bolts were stubborn and that was the most difficult part of the job to me. I did have the wheel removed to facilitate other maintenance but the way I approached the removal and install, it wouldn’t have mattered.

I think everyone’s experience varies but for my first time, it didn’t take me any longer than approx 45min to have the whole thing swapped and torqued and leak checked.

 

[BILT4ME]

Look, I am not going to lie (I’m probably lying) but I seriously didn’t have any issues removing and replacing my fuel filter. I get my ass kicked by simpler things, believe me.

I didn’t notch the filter bracket either; didn’t have to. I found accessing the filter bracket bolts from directly under the truck was the easiest and most straight-forward angle of attack. The banjo bolts were stubborn and that was the most difficult part of the job to me. I did have the wheel removed to facilitate other maintenance but the way I approached the removal and install, it wouldn’t have mattered.

I think everyone’s experience varies but for my first time, it didn’t take me any longer than approx 45min to have the whole thing swapped and torqued and leak checked.

So, two hours then?

 

[YMT]

On a different note, @Desertmedic80 your writing style is incredibly amusing, your metaphors are magical, and I think you need to write more threads.

I follow @BILT4ME mindset for timing projects. X2 + 30 (except in my case, it's 30 months...)

 

[manofthewoods]

As the title says it took me a bit over 4 hours and a little less than a 12 pack of adult beverages to change my fuel filter. Yep, fuel filter. NO, not the head gasket the fuel filter. You read it correctly. As it was the first time I wasn't expecting to be finished as quickly as my first sexual experience, but 4 hours is a bit excessive. By the time I was done I had the front tire off, the brace between upper intake and block off, oil dipstick unbolted, and the splash shields under drivers side fender well removed. Vehicle was on a jack stand with drop lights top and bottom. A few tools included every extension I own with multiple wobble attachments, as well as deep and standard 12 mm sockets in 5 and 12 point and an 8 point 5/16 that that I will get to in a moment. Oh, and a 22 oz framing hammer! (SEE 5/16 socket) AMERICA! Both retaining bolts had apparently been installed by a cocaine snorting gorilla with a impact wrench set to "THIS IS NEVER COMING BACK OUT." The outside bolt did break free with a considerable amount of cussing, throwing tools and skin magically leaping from my knuckles to every sharp piece of metal within 18 inches of either hand. I applied way more leverage than what I thought a 12 mm bolt would take without breaking but finally managed to get it loose. Got to love Japanese bolts. A few adult beverage set to the relaxing sound of Five Finger Death Punch just to calm my frail nerves and back to work. As to the little hidden gem tucked up behind the God knows how old Chinese fuel filter that the PO had installed. Well, that did not fare as well. The rear bolt fought me to the 10 level of hell to say the least. No amount of force, screaming, leaping skin or bargaining with the Toyota gods was going to allow me to get that out. Eventually it was rewarded with the afore mentioned 5/16 socket being hammered on to it as it had stripped and a 12 mm simply laughed and spun happily round and round like children on a merry-go- round. At least it didn't break. I finally did manage to remove it, install the new Toyota filter, (Yes I did use anti-seize) reconnect the fuel lines, and reassemble my now partially disassembled 80. All is well in the world and my knuckles will heal I have no doubt. I guess the lesson learned is never underestimate a task. I have nothing to add, no advice to someone planning the job or words of wisdom. Just thought I would post my misery and hope someone got a laugh out of it.

It's an easy job when...
You pull the engine!