Thanks stir fry boy, I just picked up a 3 piece set, 6 total sized. Should hopefully meet my needs. Also grabbed a service manual while I was in there. Gotta go work, have to be back at work at midnight!

 

Oh, one other thing. Manual says to only change the filter on a cold engine. I don't have time for that. And really, it's been leaking since god knows when, so... hot engine/cold engine, the fuel has been exposed to the chance this whole time.

 

Just wear some glasses while doing it so you dont splash fuel in your eye. There will be a little pressure in the lines that is released when you break the lines loose.

 

Woo hoo. All good, it was the threads but I changed the filter out anyway. Depressurized the system, popped old boy off, cleaned up a bit (lots of sludge on the undercarriage and surrounding parts, must have been leaking for a while), cleaned the threads a bit and put the new guy on. Pressurized and checked for leaks, happy day... no more drips.

For the old posters, not sure if they ever caught onto it or not.... but there are two bolts that hold the filter bracket up to the underbody. If you undo those bolts, you don't have to go at the topside clamp bolt blind Figured I'd throw that out there for next year when the next noob has the same questions I did!

 

I just replaced mine yesterday. It's been in the north east all its life and has 87K on it. Anyways, the fittings did have some rust but the swap went without any problems.

BUT, the fuel that poured out of the filter was as brown as my interior panels!!! And a quick blow through test showed an obvious amount of restriction compared to the new filter. So glad I did this as soon as I could, it idles much smoother now and even feels like it's got an extra bit of pep.

 

Yeah, for something conceptually so simple, what a PITA. It took me three tries to line up the flanges so they didn't leak. I finally took off the bracket entirely in order to have free movement of the filter along the lines:




It was no problem to install the bracket with the filter already in place. The only snag was that the grove in the filter didn't line up with the groove in the bracket:



I did not feel like loosening up the fuel lines just to line up the grooves. So I got a longer screw and tightened the filter, grooves askew. No problems with movement:

 

Mtn Mike,
It was much easier to put the filter in the truck with the filter INSIDE the bracket. When I purchased my filter from the dealer, it came with the bracket. Same thing with my 3mz-fe Camry. Each time I have replaced my fuel filters, it has taken me less than 10 minutes.

My procedure:
1) remove plastic cover (3 bolts)
2) completely loosen the flange nuts (both sides)
The filter should still be mounted to the truck.
3) remove the 2 small nuts holding the fuel filter onto the car (size 8 or 10 I think) one is kinda hard to reach, but doable and it helps to have a light to see up in there.
Filter will now drop out
4) Line up small nuts with fuel filter bracket to make sure it will go on the right way
5) turn the flange nuts by hand one or two turns into the new fuel filter DO NOT TIGHTEN!
6)* put 2 small nuts holding fuel filter bracket on the car (the bracket makes it so that the filter only goes on one direction)
Flange nuts should now be loose, the bracket should be tight and everything should be lined up
7) tighten flange nuts
8) put cover back on

When I start my car after putting a new fuel filter in, I ALWAYS prime the fuel rail 2x to make sure that it won't quit on me. I do this by turning the key to "ON" you should hear the fuel pump. Do not start, but check for leaks because the fuel should be at least to the filter by now. Next, I turn my key to "OFF". I then turn it back to "ON" and let it prime again. I now start the car. Every time I have changed the fuel filter on my vehicles, this procedure yields a sure start every time.

 

I bought a new fuel filter for my 2000, after a tire guy suggested I replaced it due to the fact that there was a slight delay in the engine turning over when you turned the key.

I was able to loosen one side of the compression fittings, but the other side (towards the front) was impossible. Soaked it for days with PB blaster, had good wrenches on the fitting and filter, but it still wouldn't budge. I kind of put the project asside and was thinking about just taking it to a garage. Any final suggestions? It's frustrating!

Thanks,
Tim

 

Tim,

Sometimes in a situation like that I will tap on the nut or fitting with a wrench or something and it seems like the "shock" of the tapping will help the PB blaster or whatever is being used to better do it's job. And of coarse it's dumb to say this because I'm sure you've already confirmed it, spin the nut in the proper direction. Been workin on cars for 40+ years and I still get a brain fart once in a while. Hope it breaks loose for ya, was reading this because I should probably change mine. Shared info is a good thing.

Thanks

RB

 

Thanks for the tip RB.. I did confirm the direction (sometimes even the best mechanics do that I think when you're upside down and reaching in all directions!).. but I might give it another go this weekend with your tapping suggestion. it's also been soaking in pb blaster for a week so if it doesn't go now, don't think it ever will.

 

Wear rubber gloves and eyepro for sure; slowly release the pressure but don't wait for it to stop dripping once you're free; stuff a small corner of a CLEAN rag into the line while you swap filters or just do it quick; use the right tool, spend the $7 on a fuel line wrench. Toyota considers this filter a 'lifetime' part and doesn't need to ever be changed but it is a FILTER. It's not all that expensive, why not do it every 10 yrs to ensure a clean fuel delivery?

For best results for how much to tighten it, leave it on the loose side and start your engine; it will spray a small amount of fuel so hang a rag over it and leave your drip pan in place; with the engine running, SLOWLY tighten the union bolts until there is no leak; this is the proper torque; I don't know what kind of torque wrench you would be able to use anyway with the in-line setup. Check periodically over the next couple days/drives to ensure there is no leakage. Did mine on a 2000 tacoma last year and worked fine. 93 4runner next....

 

Check out this link...
http://www.4runners.org/writeups/fuelfilter/index.html

 

Yeah it took me nearly an hour to do mine myself. I wished it were like a lot of GM style filters. One side has a quick disconnect and the other a flare nut. Sometimes even both have a quick disconnect.

I'll admit I'm a pro when doing them on GMs. We charge depending on the vehicles .3 to .5 to change them and I can do them in 2 minutes flat. My 4Runner's FF kicked my butt! That's also when I found out that gasoline on your arms burns after more than 10 minutes. My recommendation would be to tie rags around the ends until you can get them threaded on.

 

completely and totally off topic...but, Pearl Jam fan? rock on!

gotta do my fuel filter soon....been spraying the threads with WD40 for the last 2 weeks haha

 

yup, mine's due on the 4runner; it's a 93 and pretty sure nobody has changed the FF yet

I think it took me about 30 min on my tacoma; had a hard time lining up the threads on the union bolt, PITA...

 

Can anyone comment on the quality of different fuel filters?

First, does it really matter in terms of the differences?

Second, if it does matter, which ones are the best?

For Example:
Advance lists:
Purolator $16.99
Fram $26.99
Beck/Arnley $32.99
Fram High Performance $68.89

After seeing this thread, I want to change mine and just wanted to make sure I spend a few more bucks and get a good filter since I probably won't do this ever again. THANKS!

 

I don't think there's really any appreciable difference in what's available. I just got mine from Schucks for about $25, don't even remember what brand it was, I think it was the FRAM. If you want to spend some extra time/$$ go to the Toyota dealership parts counter and get one, no idea what they would charge. Just changing it once every 10 years is good enough I would think. FRAM is a reputable brand, I use their oil filters in all my rigs, 15 years and counting. Anyone have any useful facts on the filters?

 

Fram is something you don't even want to get involved with- back in the shop class i took in high school, the instructor had 5 filters cut in half to see what their innards look like. The Fram was the worst with cardboard endcaps, less filtering media, and that ugly orange...

Take a quick surf and see for yourself. A lot of info on Fram's woes. As for the fuel filter, I wouldn't support a company that does oil filters the way they do and expect something different for the fuel.
my .02

 

Here's a study that's worth 20 minutes of surfing time. Comprehensive and enlightening at the same time...
http://minimopar.knizefamily.net/oilfilters/index.html

 

After reading/filtering through most of that (lol), I'm going to get the Beck/Arnley one at Advance, assuming it's in stock. I was going to get FRAM, but that article persuaded me otherwise.

I do run a FRAM air filter right now, but only because they were $8 each on Amazon a while back, so I got a few of them. I probably won't get to this until tonight or tomorrow sometime, but when I'm done, I'll update if there are any noticeable improvements from changing the filter. To my knowledge, my 98 hasn't ever had a new filter.