Fuel Filter Change

[biggary]

With almost 57K miles on my '01 I decided to change my fuel filter this weekend. Not a particularly pleasant job the way they designed the mounting bracket, but with a little patience it's not too bad. The surprising part was after I finished I shook the contents out of each end of the old filter into a white plastic bucket and it was about the consitency and the color of black coffee. It actually appeared to have a lot of dirt or other contaminants captured in the filter - which is a good thing. I am wondering now if there will be any noticeable affect on performance or mileage. If you haven't changed your filter and the miles are getting up there, I would definitely recommend giving it some thought. A word of caution: Don't tighten the small bolt on the bracket too tight. They break easily.

[Ed Varin]

BiGary,
were is the filter located, mine has 92k on it and I never changed the filter
Ed

[biggary]

The fuel filter is located on a mounting bracket that attaches to the frame right under the driver's side door. I used a Toyota replacement filter which comes with a new bracket. Before you replace the filter you need to relieve the pressure on the fuel line by loosening the gas cap, then start the truck and while it's running, remove the fuel pump relay located under the hood in the fuse box. The engine will run for a few seconds longer then when it stops, turn off the key and disconnect the negative side of the battery. Remove the old filter (Note which way it is positioned for the correct flow) by unscrewing the nuts on each side and replace it with a new one in the reverse order. Do not use any kind of pipe compound on the threads. Be sure to have a pan or some old rags handy because you will lose about a half cup of fuel plus what's left in the filter. Also be sure to do this in an area with good ventilation and well away from any source of ignition, such as the pilot light on most gas water heaters, etc.

Good luck and let me know if you have any other questions I can help answer.

[BirdDog0]

Curious as to what type/grade of fuel you use??

I've always run Premium...except for two fill-ups where I tried regular and plus respectively. Just changed my fuel filter this summer at 85K miles and it was as clear as the brand new one. I didn;t go through the hassle of running out the gas or relieving pressure, or disco the battery, etc etc...just got under therre with a bucket and a two wrenches....crack the B-nut and worked her loose. I was expecting a huge mess, but barley lost enough gas to make the bottom of the bucket wet.

It's a simple change...good preventative maintenance...and I'd say definitely recommended if you consistently use "dirty" fuel...

Just my .02

[PagalDesi4Life]

Is the fuel filter change included in Toyota's Maintenance Service's or its something entirely upto us in doing so.

[dsconstructs]

Just changed my fuel filter this weekend. Simple, 10 minute job.

[biggary]

Originally Posted by BirdDog0

Curious as to what type/grade of fuel you use??

I've always run Premium...except for two fill-ups where I tried regular and plus respectively. Just changed my fuel filter this summer at 85K miles and it was as clear as the brand new one. I didn;t go through the hassle of running out the gas or relieving pressure, or disco the battery, etc etc...just got under therre with a bucket and a two wrenches....crack the B-nut and worked her loose. I was expecting a huge mess, but barley lost enough gas to make the bottom of the bucket wet.

It's a simple change...good preventative maintenance...and I'd say definitely recommended if you consistently use "dirty" fuel...

Just my .02

I normally run regular gas and once in a while, I'll fill it up with a higher octane, but I really can't tell you why. The computer is going to adjust the engine to run on whatever you put in the tank and it doesn't seem to run any different regardless of what I put in it. I always use Chevron or Mobil gas but given the number of times I've filled it up and the number of stations I visited since I bought the truck, it would be impossible to tell how dirt may have gotten in the tank. It could have been in there from the factory. But hey, it sounds like you might be onto something here. I think I'll switch to premium because they probably keep it in cleaner tanks than they do the cheaper stuff. You know what? That's probably why they can charge more for premium!

[splice57]

I have a 2000 SR5 4x4 Tundra with 65k miles.

I just talked to my dealer for pricing the filter ($31.79) but he told me that the Tundra filter is a lifetime filter, i.e. it never needs to be changed. Does this sound right?

$30 seems to be worth a little preventative maintenance, but "if it ain't broke, don't fix it".........

[Imdone]

Originally Posted by splice57

I have a 2000 SR5 4x4 Tundra with 65k miles.

I just talked to my dealer for pricing the filter ($31.79) but he told me that the Tundra filter is a lifetime filter, i.e. it never needs to be changed. Does this sound right?

$30 seems to be worth a little preventative maintenance, but "if it ain't broke, don't fix it".........

My service tech has told me similar. He said that the filter doesn't need to be replaced for 100k miles.

[Bbbutch]

The Haynes manual recommends every 60K or 48 months. I personally change mine every 25K and never more than 40K.
The only vehicles I have ever heard of that go 100K are Dodges and Jeeps and that’s because the only fuel filter they have is a sock in the fuel tank.

[dsconstructs]

I'll add that I had 50 months 28,000 miles and mine was pretty hard to blow through.

[biggary]

I found the same recommendation of 60K or 48 months that Bbbutch mentioned. All I can say is after seeing the gunk that came out of my old filter, I would highly recommend changing it for $30 and maybe a half hour of your time. It may be wishful thinking, but it seems like the truck runs better since I changed it, almost like it was starving for fuel.

[turbohawk]

Originally Posted by PagalDesi4Life

Is the fuel filter change included in Toyota's Maintenance Service's or its something entirely upto us in doing so.

I've thoroughly searched through the owners manual and the maintenance interval manual and no mention of the fuel filter is ever made...if I'm wrong, let me know.

My dealer mentions 30k change interval although they have nothing in writing to back it up. Even the little model-specific maintenance schedule pamphlets they have don't ever mention fuel filter.

[biggary]

Originally Posted by turbohawk

I've thoroughly searched through the owners manual and the maintenance interval manual and no mention of the fuel filter is ever made...if I'm wrong, let me know.

My dealer mentions 30k change interval although they have nothing in writing to back it up. Even the little model-specific maintenance schedule pamphlets they have don't ever mention fuel filter.

It appears to be a discretionary preventive maintenance item until or unless you start to have problems. Then your mechanic, by the process of elimination, will probably start eliminating possible causes and replace it. The only reference to changing it I found was in the "Haynes" repair manual as mentioned in an earlier post. If in doubt, I would change it. It doesn't cost that much and may prevent problems down the road. You never can be certain what is coming out of the gas pumps into your tank.

[KLS]

The fuel filter only needs to be changed when it gets dirty. That can be 100,000+ miles or one tank of bad gas. There is no cleanliness difference between the different octane ratings of gasoline.

I clean mine when I begin to get fuel starvation problems, which is poor running at high fuel flow. I never had that on my Volvo, and changed it at 100k when I changed the fuel pump, 'cuz I was into that system anyway. So far, 50k on the Tundra and no fuel flow problem.


Ken