DIY Fuel Filter B6 A4

[Frey7190]

Alright so I looked everywhere on Audizine for a DIY for a fuel filter replacement for my b6 a4. No luck! Ended up going to Audi World, so I decided to make one for this website.

It doesn’t make any difference because this is pretty much the same for all B6’s but mine is a 3.0 v6 with FWD.

** NOTE: Something VERY important is the fuel filter, don’t go to ECS tuning or any other website for your fuel filter, because there are THREE different types of them for this car… I bought my first filter at Kragen, and they sold me one with one in hole and one out. Went then to ECS, same deal, so I had enough and went to the dealer. The parts guy told me at the end of the part number (8EO-201-511____) there is a letter, it will either be G,L,J,D! The L is the new G, so if you have a G there going to give you an L. To find out which one you have the dealer will look it up with your VIN. The three types look the same, just the sizing of the inlet and outlets are bigger/smaller… pain in the rear! **

Parts you will def need:
1x OEM Fuel Filter
Gloves, I had 2 kind; nitrate dipped for when the fuel was present, and some leather ones to grip the tools and keep clean.
Goggles! Big time MUST HAVE!
10mm socket
Torx 25
Small flathead
6-8 Rags + bucket (opt)


Install Time
It took me about 45 minutes

Process:

1. Find a way to get your car’s rear end off the ground. You may consider using jack stands, or like I did use drive up ramps, and reverse onto them. Make sure that it doesn’t hit the mufflers or any pipes.




2. To gain access to the entire wiring and fuel filter you have to remove the black housing around it, its simple just take the 10 mm socket and remove the nut that is located right on the end of the skirt molding, then right by the front of the rear wheel you will see two torx screws, remove them as well. To the left of the filter you will see a black “plug� looking screw made of plastic, take the flat head screw driver and pry it out.


3. Now that the plastic covering is off you will see the entire filter and all the fuel lines. Take your TORX 25 and un screw the filter from the enclosure. Once you do that, you will need to dislodge the brake line running right to the side of it. That is done by pushing up on the line evenly on both sides so that we don’t bend it and then once out letting it hang down. Once that line is out of the way your going to need to “play� with the filter to get it out of that housing.






4. Alright breath.. Your 50% there! Ok so while your up taking a breather from being stuck down underneath the car, unscrew the gas cap a little and leave it like that. (It will get rid of any pressure that has accumulated in the tank)

5. Go underneath your car again, because now the fun begins! Now to remove the lines from the filter, its really simple take your flat head and push the clamps in on the hoses. Before you disconnect them, make sure you have plenty of rags, your goggles on, and the new filter in hand. Like you see in the photos, it is a good idea to keep one side of the filter plugged up with the yellow caps that came with your filter.. Trust me, it stopped the leaking and gave me time to unhook the other side of the old filter off.




6. Once you have removed the old filter and have installed the new one you MUST check for leaks by pulling on the lines and seeing that they are truly connected.



7. Your done! Now all you got to do is put everything back. Start off by mounting the fuel filter in the housing, then putting back that line on the clamps. Lastly put that plastic cover on (includes two torx 25 screws, a plastic cap, and the 10mm nut) Oh and don’t forget to tighten up the gas cap again or the MIL light will turn on!

-- Start her up… might take 2-3 starts to get the fuel pumping in her veins again but she’ll start right up purring like new --

Just thought you might want to see what was inside the filter; just look at that dirt! By the way, this car has only been filled with 91 octane and still Premium has all this! Yuck!




Well that’s all, enjoy your ride for the next 30k until this has to be done again! Hope you are happy with the DIY!

BTW the gloves and goggles were bought from www.Liftsafety.com I have to say they are the BEST gloves I have ever owned. Not only are they built really well they are well priced and they work great for car repairing and more!

[wunder wagon]

great DIY and thanks for posting it.

In regards to the Lift gloves you have. I have average to just a tad large hands (palm width is 4" and I usually wear Large gloves but will go down a size for a tighter fit). Since Lift doesn't have any sizing chart what would you recommend based on the pair you have?

EDIT: ordered me up a pair of the Large size...at only $4.50 for a pair they're too cheap to pass up. They also have a pair of nitrile gloves with only the palms coated for better feel.

[IOKEPA]

BTDT... welcome to 2006! here's my original DIY posted on AudiWorld and AudiGeeks, and also linked here many times :)

http://forums.audiworld.com/a4gen2/msgs/917681.phtml

[Frey7190]

Btdt?

[Frey7190]

great DIY and thanks for posting it.

In regards to the Lift gloves you have. I have average to just a tad large hands (palm width is 4" and I usually wear Large gloves but will go down a size for a tighter fit). Since Lift doesn't have any sizing chart what would you recommend based on the pair you have?

EDIT: ordered me up a pair of the Large size...at only $4.50 for a pair they're too cheap to pass up. They also have a pair of nitrile gloves with only the palms coated for better feel.

Glad you liked them! If you have any problems with them let me know! I work for there "brother" company EVS Sports, so anything on your mind or if you want a catalog, etc PM me!

[IOKEPA]

Btdt?

Been there, done that. Just saying a DIY already existed, but unfortunately you weren't aware of it

[Stockton]

I just changed mine about 3 weeks ago.

It's a pretty easy part change once you figure out those annoying clips.

I got my filter from http://www.genuinevwaudiparts.com/

You can enter your vin when ordering to make sure they send you the correct part.

[audipotential]

Honestly I only payed 10 bucks more for the part at the dealer

[audipotential]

I just changed mine about 3 weeks ago.

It's a pretty easy part change once you figure out those annoying clips.

I got my filter from http://www.genuinevwaudiparts.com/

You can enter your vin when ordering to make sure they send you the correct part.

I still dont get why people think theyre annoying..
You get a flat head and jam it in the colored part or the bump and yank off at the same time

[Stockton]

I still dont get why people think theyre annoying..
You get a flat head and jam it in the colored part or the bump and yank off at the same time

Well cause the first time I did it, it was getting dark and I was alone and couldn't see the clips very well and I didn't understand how they came off.

Now that I know it's a very simple thing to do for next time. Just the first time without being sure of exactly how they work and being under the car with gas in my eye was frustrating.

[windyctyaudi]

I might have missed it but did you relieve the pressure in the fule line first????

[cruzin210]

Been there, done that. Just saying a DIY already existed, but unfortunately you weren't aware of it

Yeah your DIY (sorry OP) was much more informational. I changed my fuel filter in about 30 mins thanks to that.

[Frey7190]

I might have missed it but did you relieve the pressure in the fule line first????

You know I just couldn't find the relief valve on my car... Its the 3.0 and I looked everywere on the fuel rail system. No luck, so I just decided to undo the fuel filler cap, and hope that would be enough..
When I took the Fuel filter lines off there was NO pressure! I was bracing myself for streams of fuel to be gushing out and losing about a gallon of gas in the process, but i only lost about a half of a water bottle.

The hoses when disconnected seemed to just drip slightly never did they stream gas.

[A4TL]

i have the purems one and its not audi brand it is an oem equivalent. it works fine. matter of fact i know its the same cause i get the same lean codes the same time of the year as the last "audi original" part.

[vdubstreets]

very very well written, i will have do this soon i started to hear a whine.

[boy412]

I got my filter from ECS and I don't see how anyone could screw this up! They state pretty clearly that there are several different parts and even where the split is (in the 2005 year I recall). It was like $15 cheaper than the dealership and I didn't have to go there!

I will agree that the clips that hold the lines on were confusing to me too...being upside down and never having encountered this type of retaining clip before! I may have messed oen of them up but a well placed hose clamp made all well (I'll probably replace the hose/clamp assembly next time I'm under there and feel like getting petrol all over the place.

No more humming now...in fact I wouldn't wait for the humming to even start! This is going to be part of my normal maintenance plan from now on...at least every 40k.

boy412

[csondaatje]

alright... so I am attempting this for the first time. I am having a lot of trouble with those clamps. I have broken one of the clamps (black) and it still will not slide off the old filter. Does anyone have some idiot-proof advise on how to remove this little piece of German engineering?

[old guy]

alright... so I am attempting this for the first time. I am having a lot of trouble with those clamps. I have broken one of the clamps (black) and it still will not slide off the old filter. Does anyone have some idiot-proof advise on how to remove this little piece of German engineering?

Try pushing the fittings in toward the filter before depressing the tab on the side of the fitting. This takes some of the pressure off of the fitting and it will release easier. If you can't depress it with your finger try using the side of a straight blade screwdriver.

Good luck

[LateApex]

[QUOTE=Frey7190;2524640]I was bracing myself for streams of fuel to be gushing out and losing about a gallon of gas in the process, but i only lost about a half of a water bottle.
QUOTE]

So did you only have the water bottle to catch the fuel? Thats baller.
....nice write up btw

[kwimberly]

BTDT... welcome to 2006! here's my original DIY posted on AudiWorld and AudiGeeks, and also linked here many times :)

http://forums.audiworld.com/a4gen2/msgs/917681.phtml

But your pics are gone.

[csondaatje]

Thanks! finally got it off. I was putting the flat end of the screwdriver in the WRONG side of the clamp. I now see that all I needed to do squeeze the back side of the clamp in my fingers and it released. Anyone know if Audi sells those hoses separately? I broke one of the fittings and now it blows off when I try to start my car.

[evola4]

That's exactly what mine looked like last week when I did it. Those little clips that you press down were a pain in the ass for me, eventually the came loose though. Great DIY, could have used it last week though. haha

[04QuattroTurbo]

I agree great Tut/write up! Thanks!

[mattman]

Make sure you didn't get the breather line mixed up with the fuel line. (the line with the Blue connects to the centre "inlet").
I hate to admit it, but when i changed my filter, i thought i payed attention to which lines went where...but for some reason i still reversed them and it didn't start first shot.

I have an 03 A4 1.8T Q Tip, it has a GIAC chip installed I checked the correct part number for the new fuel filter, using this link http://www.audizine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=224783

Now the car won't start, my car is on it's 3rd fuel pump from the recent recall on it. The original one died, was replaced under warranty, then I had it changed again under the recall.

From the instructions it does not sound too difficult, the filter only goes in 1 way and I only transferred fuel line connections one at a time, and made sure they were on securely 3x. Also tried reinstalling the old fuel filter and it still would not start.

When disconnecting the lines the main line marked RL at the rear of the filter has pressure and fuel spilling out of it, and the VL line next to it has a little fuel coming out of it, but the 2 other lines on the filter facing the motor are dry when I disconnected the new filter?

I do not here any humming from my fuel pump when the key is on the on position? Checked the fuse for the fuel pump and it is fine. Could it have died again?

[avantdaddy]

Make sure you didn't get the breather line mixed up with the fuel line. (the line with the Blue connects to the centre "inlet").
I hate to admit it, but when i changed my filter, i thought i payed attention to which lines went where...but for some reason i still reversed them and it didn't start first shot.

Thanks, I did make the same mistake!

[avantdaddy]

THANKS FREY7190 for this helpful DIY!

[Frey7190]

avantdaddy, your welcome! I will be making new ones on other things... If you have ideas on a DIY you would like... Chances is I've already attempted it ( i have taken the whole engine apart) so just name it and ill DIY it for you guys just let me know..

[Pimpovic]

I didn't read the whole thread, but wanted to point 2 things out. The first picture you posted with the arrow pointing to the filter is misleading, it makes it look like the filter is in the back of the car when it's actually under the passenger rear door. You might want to edit your DIY to clarify that, it took me about 5 minutes of searching before I had to pull up this DIY on my laptop and figure it out.
Sencond, capping the end of the new filter is a good idea, but also keep the caps that were removed handy to cap the existing fule line once you pull the 1st set of lines off. While trying to remove the 2nd set of lines the fule will drip from the filter and the caps that were removed from the new filter will stop the dripping while you remove the last 2 lines. I had to do this once I realized the existing filter wouldn't stop dripping, and had soaked my rag that I had placed under the car.
Just thought that would help. Thanks for the instructions otherwise.

[VisionPaintball]

Thanks for this.
I just did my wifes car in about 20 min. My torx size was t-20 not t-25. I didn't have to move the brake line and it was really simple.
My car is next.

Thanks again!

[Maverick]

why is your fuel filter different than mine? we have the exact same car.
i just had my filter changed

[Frey7190]

why is your fuel filter different than mine? we have the exact same car.
i just had my filter changed

What do you mean... How exactly are our filter different??

[illaudiill]

Nice DIY

[AvantinUSP]

Can I get a clarification of how to get the hoses off for both sides? In the "in" hoses there are those little blue and black clips which I had a hard time with and ended up braking the plastic. In the "out" side there is nothing. How do you get these off?

[mattman]

Can I get a clarification of how to get the hoses off for both sides? In the "in" hoses there are those little blue and black clips which I had a hard time with and ended up braking the plastic. In the "out" side there is nothing. How do you get these off?

there are little "buttons" i guess you can call them on each line. you can push them in with your fingers but not very far.... so use a flathead screwdriver to push those 'buttons' in, then pull the line off the filter.

[AvantinUSP]

Ok. But on the other side there are no "buttons" What about them? (on the right side of the filter on the pictures above or front side of car)

[lookaught]

Nice DIY! Isn't there a bleeder on the back of the fuel rail on the 1.8t? Like a Schaeder valve or something that I vaguely rememeber seeing.

[mattman]

Can I get a clarification of how to get the hoses off for both sides? In the "in" hoses there are those little blue and black clips which I had a hard time with and ended up braking the plastic. In the "out" side there is nothing. How do you get these off?

i believe you just squeeze the collar of the connector and pull.

[80CID]

So you just squeeze the blue "button"?


[IMG][/IMG]

[sloweryucf]

So you just squeeze the blue "button"?


[IMG][/IMG]

Yes, squeeze and hold so you can get the hose over the "lip" of the fuel filter nipple.

[SloA4]

So you just squeeze the blue "button"?


[IMG][/IMG]

Whatever you doo. DONT PRESS DA BLU BUTTON.