DIY Fuel Filter B6 A4

[rowlands57]

A heads-up on Hengst vs. OEM. In my post #61 above I replaced my OEM with a Hengst H199WK. It fit well, had the proper number of ports etc.... however it made a hollow sounding noise every time I started the car. It was all good once up and running but that drumming sound on start-up was annoying to say the least.

So, I ordered the OEM filter 8E0-201-511-J and installed it today. All back to normal. I don't know if it was a faulty pressure regulator on the Hengst but I am pleased that my car now sounds normal on start-up again.

My advise is to stick with OEM filters for this since there is really zero difference in price anyway.

[djs]

Just changed my fuel filter today using this write up. Very easy DIY. The clamps were a bit tricky at first, but with some patience you will figure them out eventually. Feel around for the part of the connection that you can squeeze, push that in and then pull the connection off the filter. BTW I'm a 2002 1.8T Quattro

[Frey7190]

Glad it worked for you!

Some people said there fuel filter only had one in and one out port... Mine had 2 in and 2 out.. what about yours?

[AvantJunkie]

Glad it worked for you!

Some people said there fuel filter only had one in and one out port... Mine had 2 in and 2 out.. what about yours?

My B5 had only one in and one out, but my B6 is two and two.

And thanks for the write-up! Just did this a few weeks ago

[diagnosticator]

Like the "lifetime" ATF fill in tips, the practical meaning of a "lifetime" filter means until it fails. Clearly, replacing before failure is preferred.

[joebleu]

Where can I buy the filter? I can't find one for 1.8T on genuineaudiparts... I have a 03 A4 1.8TQ, which one should I get and where? Thanks!

[TDIaholic]

Did this on my B6 a while back. You should note that the FWD cars have the 1 port filters and quattros have 2 ports because of the 2 part gas tank. This is for the B6. The B7 could have a different filter not sure.

My car is an 02 and I had different clips than the ones pictured on the DIY. They were very simple to remove. Just push the hose toward the filter, press down on the clip and pull the hose off.

[JAYMEN]

Is it possible to drain the line before pulling the filter?
On my old golf I used to let the car run while pulling the fuse for the fuel pump and this way the engine would choke out and there would be minimal fuel in the lines.
Has anyone tried this?

[Peoples-2]

Is it possible to drain the line before pulling the filter?
On my old golf I used to let the car run while pulling the fuse for the fuel pump and this way the engine would choke out and there would be minimal fuel in the lines.
Has anyone tried this?

Yes, but there will still be some (a bit) of fuel that comes out.

[Provistic]

Yo, i did this today, and my car wont start now :(
im pretty sure i put the tubes in the right place. The blue clip goes in the middle of the back part, the black clip on the back goes on the side. and the front where the arrows are pointed towards the motor the grey/clear clip goes in the middle and he black clip goes on teh front side right??

[Synthetik]

Yo, i did this today, and my car wont start now :(
im pretty sure i put the tubes in the right place. The blue clip goes in the middle of the back part, the black clip on the back goes on the side. and the front where the arrows are pointed towards the motor the grey/clear clip goes in the middle and he black clip goes on teh front side right??

You have to let it crank 2-3 times, you did that right? Also, is the fatter end of the fuel filter is facing the front of the car?

[Frey7190]

Well I just changed my fuel pump and filter on my A4 3.0 three weeks ago and have had the worst luck ever. For some reason after installing both those things properly the car wouldn't hold pressure anymore. When you wanted to start it, you would have to crank it 3-5 times and press and release the gas (like a carb car) to get it running.

Ended up having to take it to Audi, they are charging me $350 for new filter and clips

But on a positive note, I walked out with a B8 A4 2.0TQ prestige for the weekend

[Provistic]

You have to let it crank 2-3 times, you did that right? Also, is the fatter end of the fuel filter is facing the front of the car?

yea i let it crank like 20 times lol, and my battery ended up dying (rip). and the fat side? my fllter has 2 holes on each side its the same girth all around. but the hose clips are put in right, right? lol

[Provistic]

Well I just changed my fuel pump and filter on my A4 3.0 three weeks ago and have had the worst luck ever. For some reason after installing both those things properly the car wouldn't hold pressure anymore. When you wanted to start it, you would have to crank it 3-5 times and press and release the gas (like a carb car) to get it running.

Ended up having to take it to Audi, they are charging me $350 for new filter and clips

But on a positive note, I walked out with a B8 A4 2.0TQ prestige for the weekend

Ooo dang i hope i dont have to do all that to mine, oh well theres nothing audizine guide can't fix! did they tell you what was wrong with it? Or did they just change the filter and clips?

[Frey7190]

Ooo dang i hope i dont have to do all that to mine, oh well theres nothing audizine guide can't fix! did they tell you what was wrong with it? Or did they just change the filter and clips?

Well it was odd, because I was the one to make the fuel filter change DIY, and then when i went to do it again (30k later) and replaced the pump too, I found myself stuck with a car that wouldn't want to start. I tried everything, reinstalled the pump, filter, and checked all my lines. Everything was the way its supposed to be.

Audi is going to charge me for a new filter and new clips all around, because according to them they are broken... thats bs though cuz all the clips worked when I installed the filter.

[mgentry84]

it took me like 30 mins to do. it had a lil bit of pressure, and mine cranked with like three tries. and it stumbled a lil bit for like 5 mins. now it purrs.......

[infernocl]

dual in/out is for returnless 1.8t, single in/out is return system 1.8t and v6

[KOTO]

i'm doing the filter tomorrow! wish me luck!

[Scrwedtxboy31]

i'm doing the filter tomorrow! wish me luck!

Just remember on those blue clips, squeeze and push forward before trying to pull it out... it wont budge and you'll just break it if you dont push forward before you pull on it!

[KOTO]

Just remember on those blue clips, squeeze and push forward before trying tp pull it out... it wont budge and you'll just break it if you dont push forward before you pull on it!

thanks! god dammit i love AZ and the fellow forums! you guys are awesome! i printed out this whole thread and a few like it. we'll see what happens tomorrow.

thanks again!

[Scrwedtxboy31]

thanks! god dammit i love AZ and the fellow forums! you guys are awesome! i printed out this whole thread and a few like it. we'll see what happens tomorrow.

thanks again!

Definitely... make sure you post quesitons here if you run into problems... its a piece of cake really... I did mine as like a brand new, never done a DIY before NOOB! hahaha and I got it done properly... with of course a shit load or fuel all over me in the end. Nevertheless I got it done and so will you! Good luck!

[subversion]

Great DIY. Tackled this in probably 45 minutes. No fuel in the face, either.

[zanadu]

Just did this, took me awhile with all the preparation and whatnot... having a lift would also have made it alot easier.

Ended up using these little vice grips to get the connectors off the fuel filter, probably wouln't have been able to do it by hand. Car starts up and everything seems to be fine. Thanks for the DIY!

Oh also had alot of trouble with the flat plastic expander thing that holds the plastic cover, eventually I broke it. Doesn't seem like it's really necessary though, whatever.

[kwimberly]

success. great writeup. Took about 20 minutes from backing onto jacks to cranking it up.

The old filter had "G" at the end of the part number, and it had "29.1.2003" stamped on it. New filter has a "J" at the end. I have an '03, so I'm guessing the old one was the original filter. I have 85,245 miles.

EDIT: changing the filter also cured a weird, hollow, choking type of sound I would get sometimes right before she turned all the way over on startup. Always sounded like it was coming from the rear underneath the car.

[Audi-ence]

I'm planning on changing my fuel filter in the next few days....especially after seeing the gunk that can build up over time in that last pic. of the DIY.

This also made me wonder why the fuel isn't filtered better prior to pumping it into your tank....I guess the gas companies just don't have the money to offer such filtration at their pumps....oh the poor gas companies! In this day and age of "going green" and most people trying to get the maximum mileage out of each and every tank of gas, it's surprising that the federal government does not order these companies to filter their products to much higher standards and deliver the purest gasoline possible to the consumer.

[achilleas101]

Those filters are for different model years. The one you are noting as OEM with the four ports was used from 8E-3-500000 in 2003 up to Vin 8E-5-065000 in 2005. The split is in the 2005 model year. After the split the three port filter was used.

this seems to be accurate. My vin is before this (8E-3-3xxxxx) and i have the 1 inlet/1outlet type (part# 1J0201511A), which is just the filter, not the one with a pressure regulator. Which also means that mine is about $10.

edit: oh, i have a 2003 3.0 quattro

[Sunny4]

Just finished this today on my B6 S4. Could someone please update the DIY regarding two things.

1) When taking off the fuel lines on the rear facing side of the filter (blue and black tab) you should push the lines in towards the filter to loosen the clip/tabs and then pull the line back out to take it out. Pushing them in gives you a small idea of how the tabs work. It was very easy to take off when done this way as apposed to pushing the tabs in with a flat head and risking breaking the tab.
2) The DIY does not make a reference on how to take off the lines facing the front of the car. This took the longest to figure out cause I was looking all around of a tab, there are NO TABS on these lines. Pulling them out by hand can be hard due to limited space to work in and it being snapped in tight. By using a vice grip or pliers and applying a SMALL amount of pressure and pulling the tabs out you can free them with no effort.

OP please update the DIY to reflect these very important point for an easier guide.

Thanks

[achilleas101]

me and a friend just did both our 3.0's filters (his is 02, mine 03) on Saturday. Took less than an hour to do both from getting the first car on ramps to getting the 2nd car off the ramps. We both have the 1 inlet/1 outlet type, and it was pretty simple. The only thing that took a couple minutes to figure out was the inlet clip- the little tab you have to push is the same color as the clip, all black. While the tab on the outlet is white/clear. Once we saw that, then we were able to locate the same tab on the inlet.

anyway, thanks to the OP for this DIY, made it really easy!

[ThreePointOhh]

Just finished this today on my B6 S4. Could someone please update the DIY regarding two things.

1) When taking off the fuel lines on the rear facing side of the filter (blue and black tab) you should push the lines in towards the filter to loosen the clip/tabs and then pull the line back out to take it out. Pushing them in gives you a small idea of how the tabs work. It was very easy to take off when done this way as apposed to pushing the tabs in with a flat head and risking breaking the tab.
2) The DIY does not make a reference on how to take off the lines facing the front of the car. This took the longest to figure out cause I was looking all around of a tab, there are NO TABS on these lines. Pulling them out by hand can be hard due to limited space to work in and it being snapped in tight. By using a vice grip or pliers and applying a SMALL amount of pressure and pulling the tabs out you can free them with no effort.

OP please update the DIY to reflect these very important point for an easier guide.

Thanks

2) there is absolutely NOOOOO need to use a pliers here. there is a rubbery clip that you have to push down with a screw driver. it's been a while since i've done this but it's is much easier than the blue and purple clips which face the rear. the diy definitely should not be updated with what you said.

[Sunny4]

Im in Chicago, and my garage is detached, its 22 degrees outside...i guess i was a bit bias as to using the pliers but I did specify very little pressure. The only hole I found was very small and I stuck a small screw driver into it and it did nothing. Using the pliers and pulling them out in a slow fashion got them rite out. Any helpful mention of the front lines is clearly left out and should be added.

[h_curtis]

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

The pictures on yours don't work for me. Glad a new one was done. Thanks to the OP, I need to do this tomorrow.

[ajf725]

this was a great walkthrough it worked great for me. although today my car was sputtering a little at a stop light and there is now a different noise coming from the filter. any suggestion?

[jackitorslamit]

Changed my fiter this morning. Pretty much step by step as this DIY. Side note that the clips at the back are different from those on the front. The back clips have two tabs that need to be depressed. So do as everyone says, push clip towards filter, depress tabs and pull. They will take a few trys, especially if the filter has never been changed. So push in and out a bit, but be patient, they will come off. The front clips came off a bit easier, just depressed the raised piece and you will see it move. So push in, depress raised area and pull. The motor side is where I had the most fuel spill out of, but just be ready for it and don't have your face underneath.

From ramps up to ramps down maybe 45 mins that is with me taking my time not to break the clips. Once all plugged in, just turn it over and it will take a try or two before it kicks over. Let it run and check for any leaks. Good luck. My car runs so much better after the change.

[reggaemylitis]

Hey guys, about to do this. Can anyone tell me a good location to find a description of all the fuses so I know which fuse to pull to disable the low pressure fuel pump and depressurize the system as some have mentioned?

[Myst420]

Hey guys, about to do this. Can anyone tell me a good location to find a description of all the fuses so I know which fuse to pull to disable the low pressure fuel pump and depressurize the system as some have mentioned?

I've changed my filter a few times now, and have never pulled any fuses. You get a little fuel spraying out, but if you have the new filter ready and switch the lines quick enough, you don't really loose that much fuel. just my opinion tho...

[Myst420]

Hey guys, about to do this. Can anyone tell me a good location to find a description of all the fuses so I know which fuse to pull to disable the low pressure fuel pump and depressurize the system as some have mentioned?

I've changed my filter a few times now, and have never pulled any fuses. You get a little fuel spraying out, but if you have the new filter ready and switch the lines quick enough, you don't really loose that much fuel. just my opinion tho...

[seattlematt]

Anyone remember which lines go where on the outlet towards the from of the car? There are no labels on the lines bunone is larger diameter.

[seattlematt]

Never mind I got it

[pape]

Hey guys, about to do this. Can anyone tell me a good location to find a description of all the fuses so I know which fuse to pull to disable the low pressure fuel pump and depressurize the system as some have mentioned?

If you take the fuse lid of the drivers side there is a pic of the fuse box and all the fuses. I "think" off the top of my head its fuse #22 but I could be wrong so dont quote me on it.

[pape]

If you take the fuse lid of the drivers side there is a pic of the fuse box and all the fuses. I "think" off the top of my head its fuse #22 but I could be wrong so dont quote me on it.

fuse #28 20amp checked today.