Fuel Filter - A DIY? - The Unofficial BMW M5 Messageboard (m5board.com)

Nabio · 3rd August 2006, 10:20

So I just had my beast in for the Inspection II. Very few issues came up, I need new belts and they found both diff seals leaking. What I do want to know, however, is whether the fuel filter is a DIY item. My Indy wants to charge me for .9 hours of labor, for some reason BMW thinks it's more time to replace on the M than any other E39 and the Indy uses BMW time recs to charge time. Now I thought this was a lifetime item, but they feel it should be replaced so I was wondering if it's something that I could do myself? I'm pretty handy and I can get access to any special tools I would need, but has anyone undertaken this themselves?

Nabio · 5th August 2006, 02:45

Bump... Anyone? Should I even bother replacing the filter?

mottati · 5th August 2006, 03:12

i replaced my fuel filter at around 70k on my 00, my dealer said it's a 100k item. I was going to diy, but the on day it came in to the dealer (they ordered it, not a common replacement part) my parts buddy's brother in law (a tech) was free so he threw it on for free! (well, i brought him a bottle of wine for the trouble, but essentially free) and it took about 10 minutes, literally. I do think it's a pretty easy diy. It is located under one of the plastic pannels on the drivers side, just below the drivers door. A large drip pan would be handy, as the fuel is under pressure and some will leak out when you release the fittings. I'd probably make sure the car is cold, gas on a hot cat could get ugly.

Jon@TheMShop · 5th August 2006, 04:26

We replace the fuel filters every 30,000 miles.

imolaman · 6th August 2006, 00:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jon@TheMShop

We replace the fuel filters every 30,000 miles.

Jon,

Is the replacement interval a function of the quality of fuel used, or what is the 30 000 miles interval based on?

Regards from South Africa.

Rudi

Jon@TheMShop · 6th August 2006, 00:09

Quote:

Originally Posted by imolaman

Jon,

Is the replacement interval a function of the quality of fuel used, or what is the 30 000 miles interval based on?

Regards from South Africa.

Rudi

Rudi,

It's not the quality but at 30,000 miles, hundreds of gallons of fuel have been passed through it. The filter starts to clog up and the fuel pump has to work harder then the fuel pump goes out.

You could stretch it a bit on every Inspection II but thats how we do it at the shop. The same thing goes with spark plugs.

Nabio · 6th August 2006, 10:11

So now that I've looked at the schematics the filter is indeed on the pressure side of the pump. If the car is off (clearly) can I just remove the filter as normal and just have what is left of the pressurized fuel flow out into some pan as Mike suggests?

Jon@TheMShop · 6th August 2006, 19:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nabio

So now that I've looked at the schematics the filter is indeed on the pressure side of the pump. If the car is off (clearly) can I just remove the filter as normal and just have what is left of the pressurized fuel flow out into some pan as Mike suggests?

Yes. Or you can remove the fuel pump fuse and start the engine till it stalls or just turn it over for a few seconds.

Nabio · 6th August 2006, 20:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jon@TheMShop

Yes. Or you can remove the fuel pump fuse and start the engine till it stalls or just turn it over for a few seconds.

It was my understanding it was bad to starve the S62 of fuel, but I don't see why this wouldn't work with any other engine so I think I'll do that. Does it throw any codes? I have a Peake reader so it's not an issue if it does but I just want to know what I'm facing. Thanks for the help!

Mattkins99 · 6th August 2006, 20:10

I did the fuel filter on my old 540 a couple of years ago, and the fuel line is a soft rubber tube going into the fuel filter. I simply pinched the line on either side of the filter before I took it out. This causes a little spillage, but not much. Most came from the fuel filter itself.