Fuel Filter DIY

[A4 Centaur]

^Yea and considering what can be found in tanks across the country though rare it is a concern:

http://www.radair.com/2012/02/car-ca...ee-the-tanker/

http://www.fuelpumpu.com/news-preven...fuel-tank.aspx

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2...rning-gasoline

[RacerX951]

Pictures are missing?

[The Infiltrator]

Pictures are missing?

I noticed that when I was researching today.

Maybe OP can fix it!?!?!

[sidkneeeeee]

I noticed that when I was researching today.

Maybe OP can fix it!?!?!

Ditto, pics would help out lol


Edited. Here is Russian Tutorial lol https://www.drive2.ru/l/1947699/

[skynetop]

Any luck with those pics?

Who has done this and at what mileage interval?

[jfo]

Any luck with those pics?

Who has done this and at what mileage interval?

The pic's have been missing for some time. It looks like the OP has moved on.

[skynetop]

The pic's have been missing for some time. It looks like the OP has moved on.

Have you changed your filter? How frequently should this be done?

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[jfo]

Have you changed your filter? How frequently should this be done?

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Not yet, but I'll do it in a month or so. There is no official recommended interval. Those who have posted here have been at various mileage points and there are no clear indications about the "best" time to change it. I have about 68k Km after 6 years, so I'm probably due.

[skynetop]

Not yet, but I'll do it in a month or so. There is no official recommended interval. Those who have posted here have been at various mileage points and there are no clear indications about the "best" time to change it. I have about 68k Km after 6 years, so I'm probably due.

I'm at 68k on a 2013 S4. LOVE to drive her

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[Demringstho864]

I changed mine about 2 weeks ago. Its pretty easy for the most part. I hanged mine at 101k miles. Did my car need it , No. But it was more for piece of mind. Removal is pretty straight forward. Remove the 3 screw on the cover. In hook wiring , and fuel line. Keep in mind I those this had a locking clip on the bottom. That you pull out. IT IS NOT A PULL OUT LOCKING CLIP. Pinch IN with a pair of pliers. And get ready for the gas to come gushing out. To get the locking ring off. I used a wide flat blade screw driver. Try to find something old you won't use again. I used my grinder and made it more of a stubby tip.(don't do in car, sparks and gasoline do not mix well) then just just place on locking ring and tap tap tap till it comes loose. There will be a lot of gas spilling. Have a lot of rags. Seriously a lot of rags. Pull everything out. Take pictures of the wiring so you know how it goes back together. Unhook the wiring and remove the filter. The rest is pretty well straight forward. Re install and hopw for the best. When I did mine. I blew thru the inlet to see what kind of nasty sh!t I could get. Black nasty gas. And I only use Shell V power. Do I see a difference in performance slightly ,but not really. Gas mileage ummm not really. Peace of mind yup. Please note your car will smell like like gas. Very strong. Very very strong. I put some baking soda in my car for a few days to help soak up the smell. Also I will suggest checking out chemical guys air freshener, I am in no way affiliated with them. But their stuff is great.

[Jerritt]

Does anyone have photos? I can't seem to get the white plastic ring out. I got the wire clips off and can take the fuel line off but this damn white thing won't budge.

[oshwi]

Yea it takes some force to hammer it out. I would suggest getting one of those fuel filter nut wrench you can get from ebay for $15. Should do the trick. I broke a lot of tabs from hammering mine.

[Jerritt]

Yea it takes some force to hammer it out. I would suggest getting one of those fuel filter nut wrench you can get from ebay for $15. Should do the trick. I broke a lot of tabs from hammering mine.

Does it unscrew to come out? Counterclockwise?

[lettuce]

Does it unscrew to come out? Counterclockwise?

Counterclockwise, yes. If you're hammering it, the ring is plastic and deforms so you have to keep hammering different parts of it. You'll see what I mean once it starts moving. Get a good whack on a tab, then go 180 degree around and give a good whack to the opposite tab. Keep rotating around. If you keep hammering away at one tab you'll get nowhere and you'll just break all your tabs. Then your stock fuel filter will be in your car forever.

[asfastas63]

Alright Folks, I jumped in and tackled this today so I thought I'd take some new pictures and update a few descriptions while I was at it. Maybe a mod can copy it into the first post so it's easier to find. Another resource I found but didn't really use too much once I got going was the following videos. Unfortunately they start with the entire assembly already out.

https://www.drive2.ru/l/1947699/

One thing to add right up front (which I noticed after taking the seats out) is make sure you have less than 1/4 tank of fuel - I timed it so I had 10 miles left per the MMI which was probably overkill.

Fuel Filter DIY

Parts needed

o Grommet for the seats 4L0886373 (x2) They can be reusable but I broke both of them.
o Fuel Filter 8K0201511A
o Union Nut 4F0201375 Edit: Don't try without a new one on hand. I couldn't even get the old one started without breaking it in half.
o Pump Seal 4F0919133B
o ****Disposable Rags****

**Notes**
Rags Rags Rags Rags Rags. Lots of fuel will escape the filter while you mess with it as well as the pump it self as you twist it out of the tank.
The whole task not knowing what I was doing only took me about 45 minutes that was going slowly and figuring things out.
Also be sure to cover the tank access hole once you have the assy pulled out.
Lay rags all around the tank acces hole to catch the escaping fuel.
Open the garage door.

Edit: If you're careful this doesn't need to be a messy job. You will use a fair amount of paper towels/rags but with proper placement during disassembly it will be a quick cleanup.


1. Remove the bottom portion of the rear seat. I didn't take any pictures of this portion but there are plenty of guides to do this. Remove the four rear anchor points then work your hand under the front to feel where the two front clips are and give a tug directly at each point straight up. This is the guide I used HERE

2. Remove the three fuel tank cap screws (GREEN)
3. Remove the two connectors (RED)
4. Remove the fuel line on top (PINK) This is a bit tricky since it will spit fuel out. Push paper towels up all around it, push the connector DOWN, squeeze the connector sides (can be a bit tough), and then SLOWLY pull up. Once you get it past the locking point release a bit of pressure (and gas spray) until your towels soak up then push back down (not all the way to re-engage the lock) so you can replace the towels with dry ones. It may take 4-5 tries but eventually the pressure will be gone and you can pull the connector away. It will drip more fuel so put a rag around it.


5. Stuff the hole where the fuel line just came off with a rag or gas will shoot up while knocking the union nut. (RED)
6. Remove the union nut. I tried whacking it with a screwdriver and a hammer and couldn't get it to budge after breaking off three tabs, so ended up literally breaking it in half by doing the same thing with a chisel. In theory it just twists off.


7. Pull the assembly upward. This is a good picture to refer to while putting it back together because it shows how the bottom fuel line must be oriented. You'll get to this step and think you're in for an impossible job but the two rails will pull completely out of the bottom portion which will fall back into the tank. This makes your life a lot easier, don't worry it will go right back together later.


8. Disconnect ground wire. (RED) Pulls right off with a bit of force.


9. Disconnect bottom fuel line to filter. This is another squeeze fitting but much easier than the one on top. Let the fuel filter drain out into the tank.


10. Your new fuel filter (hopefully) came with three white shims to remove the old one. Slide them in to release each of the clips and the old fuel filter will pull right out of the assembly. Keep note of the orientation (regarding which way the bottom hose points) and be careful because it's full of fuel. While pulling it out keep an eye out for the old o-ring, mine stayed with the assembly and almost fell into the tank.


11. Replace the O-ring on the filter with the new one that came with the new filter.


12. Slide the new filter in and make sure the clips on secure.

13. Replace the tank seal even though the old one looks perfect because you bought one when reading this guide for the first time and you have it anyway.


14. Same picture as before, but reassemble keeping note that the fuel line bends like this so the bobber works correctly. Slide the two rails back into the bottom assembly and make sure the bobber slides back and forth freely.


15. Reinstall your fresh new junction nut and reinstall the two connectors and top fuel line. Screw the lid back on and liberally douse your back seat with febreeze.

16. Start your car up and take it for a spin! Tell yourself that you can feel a difference.

[BlownOne]

Thanks guys this how to worked perfectly for my s4!
I opted to not break my union nut off and tried several methods to remove it before buying this $30 tool off amazon. Make life easier for this job... https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

In case anyone wants it, here is the part number for the authentic audi/vw snap-on tool...
https://vw.snapon.com/SpecialToolsDe...temId=29240026

[BlownOne]

One more thing...if you open the gas cap and leave it open while you do the work, it will relieve the pressure so it won't spray when you remove the fuel line from the assembly.

[BlownOne]

Here is my 49,000 mile fuel filter cut in half. It doesn't look too dirty (aside from the black plastic housing pieces) but I've run an e85 blend for the last 10k miles. You can see some darkness in the creases of the paper, but not too bad imo. I would suggest changing it every 50k miles depending on location and fuel used.






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[mecg]

That doesn't look bad at all.

[A4BGP]

This is how bad they can get: Inside Your Fuel Filter

[Lambda13]

Helpful tip to avoid gas spillage.

Unplug the fuel pump and run it until it stalls. Also open the gas cap. I had almost zero spillage doing this.

[BlownOne]

This is how bad they can get: Inside Your Fuel Filter

Shit that's super dirty! That is why I stated I've been running e85 which would clean that black stuff out of the filter.

[BlownOne]

That doesn't look bad at all.

No it doesn't, but the e85 has something to do with it being so clean for sure.

[mecg]

This is how bad they can get: Inside Your Fuel Filter

That looks like a cat lived in that gas tank......

[cuda2000]

Lifetime to Audi means 3 years, at that point warranty/lease is up. Just like the timing chain tensioner.

[jfo]

I just completed mine, with thanks to asfastas63 for the great photos. It was straightforward but I did run into a small issue that became a major PITA. After it was done , the car stalled when pulling out of the garage, on my way to top up the tank. It would start again for a few seconds then stall out. I hadn't put the seat back in yet as I wanted to check for any leaks around the union nut first. I opened up the pump again and found that the flex hose to the filter had popped off. I pushed it back and felt it click on, and the car started up again as usual. I then drove a few km's, topped up the tank, checked for a good seal and put the seat back in. The next morning the car stalls out at the bottom of my street...same symptoms. Now I have a full tank and need to syphon about half out to avoid serious spillage inside. This was a big hassle, but I finally managed to get a hose where it needed to be to remove enough fuel. This is on the road side, in the rain. Sure enough, the hose was off again. After several attempts, it would not stay in place with a small amount of pulling on the hose, even though it felt like it had clicked on properly. After playing with the release tabs on the coupler, I got it to stay in place with a strong pull on the fitting.
So, my recommendation is to click this hose on and then pull back firmly to ensure it's fully engaged...don't just rely on the feeling that it's on there. I killed most of the day screwing around with this due to a sticky $2.00 connector!

[b8tamaster]

Notice any difference now that she's running?

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[jfo]

Notice any difference now that she's running?

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No, not really. But then I didn't expect to see a difference. it's just routine maintenance, like an air filter. I can't say that I've ever noticed a "difference" with any filter change on any of my cars over the last 30 years, but I will still do them.

[hlgladiator]

Potentially stupid question: how low do I need to be in fuel to do this? Or is it just flat-out better the closer to empty I get?

[jfo]

Potentially stupid question: how low do I need to be in fuel to do this? Or is it just flat-out better the closer to empty I get?

I found that about 1/4 tank or lower is good.

[jdyeah]

I was wanting to do this, but all of the photos are down due to photobuckets change in policy (no longer shares/links pictures to third party sites without premium fee)

[sriyegna]

I was wanting to do this, but all of the photos are down due to photobuckets change in policy (no longer shares/links pictures to third party sites without premium fee)

Look at the next page. User asfastas63 posted it

[Audi 4 Life]

thanks about to use this

[Dub_prime]

Just an FYI if it's not covered but autozone has the union nut tool or at least one that works on their loan a tool deal.

[jdyeah]

Audi parts seems to think this is your part #.
http://www.parts.audiusa.com/parts/2...7207&siteid=16

http://www.audiusaparts.com/audi/all...omponents-scat

$30 here
http://www.rmeuropean.com/Products/8...1A-MFG114.aspx

Your shop probably saw part 8K0201511TA, which looks like the filter with the flange on it.
.

First, thank you everyone for your contributions on this DYI. I tackled it today and its not hard with the help in this thread.

Just a heads up for anyone looking to do this on a B8.5 S4:

1. those links above and part #8K0201511A is not the correct part for your car.

2. 8K0201511TA is correct (replaces A2C80027900Z), but includes a plastic flange and is a LOT more money. UPDATE: Best price I've been able to locate is $89.59 at europa parts and includes flange. Its a VPO part, OEM. Still 2-3x what it should cost filter only, but not the $175-220 I find everywhere else.

I am researching to see if the filter and only the filter can be purchased. The filter is removable from the flange, so I don't see why not. You have to push 3 plastic clips off the flange to release the filter. However I was rather aggravated at this point and didn't get the filter only out. I guess if I get the actual filter out and see if there is a part # on it, maybe I can look it up that way.

3. Thanks autobahnaudi and asfastas63 for putting up recent pics that work!

4. Anyone doing this on an S4 B8.5 (or other?), watch for the spring that is on one of the rod fittings attached to the upper piece. That little guy could slide right off into your gas tank. Have a magnetic antenna type retrieval tool ready in case it does. It will float and not sink. I know from experience ;)

[quietcropduster]

I am researching to see if the filter and only the filter can be purchased. The filter is removable from the flange, so I don't see why not. You have to push 3 plastic clips off the flange to release the filter. However I was rather aggravated at this point and didn't get the filter only out. I guess if I get the actual filter out and see if there is a part # on it, maybe I can look it up that way.

3. Thanks autobahnaudi and asfastas63 for putting up recent pics that work!

4. Anyone doing this on an S4 B8.5 (or other?), watch for the spring that is on one of the rod fittings attached to the upper piece. That little guy could slide right off into your gas tank. Have a magnetic antenna type retrieval tool ready in case it does. It will float and not sink. I know from experience ;)[/QUOTE]


Did you ever figure out if you could get just the filter alone ?

[svt]

I just completed my replacement and I thought I'd post some feedback + pictures of my job.




Notes:
- It took me 3-hours to do it, and that includes me having to manually release the trunk because I closed it with a disconnected battery, plus running the car for a few minutes until the "choke" disengaged and the RPMs settled to idle. Initial test was successful.
- I ran the car down to "0 miles" remaining and had very minimal fuel spillage. I also opened the fuel cap before disconnecting the fuel line to help release pressure, which definitely helped. Nothing squirted out.
- Audi, or somebody else, marked the union ring with green paint when they originally tightened it. I HIGHLY recommend marking yours before you take it out. I couldn't tighten mine all the way back, but I came close.
- Remember to ensure your old o-ring doesn't fall into the tank. Mine fell off of the old fuel filter as I was taking it out, but stayed in the housing, so I was able to grab it.
- I bought a Bosch fuel filter on Amazon with part number 8K0 201 511 A. It fit perfectly and came with a new o-ring and 3 plastic shims for removing the old filter from the housing.
- I rented a fuel pump replacement kit from AutoZone, https://www.autozone.com/loan-a-tool...ack/605758_0_0 and used the tool inside to remove the union nut so I didn't destroy it. The tool isn't the best but it got the job done. I used a 1/2" socket wrench for leverage when using the tool.. definitely helped.

I haven't driven the car yet, but it ran great when I first started it. I'll report back tomorrow with results.

[Smac770]

B8.0 = Bosch fuel pump = fuel filter 8K0 201 511 A
https://www.ecstuning.com/b-genuine-...er/8k0201511a/ , $63 Audi OE or $43 Bosch OEM

B8.5 = VDO fuel pump = fuel "filter" 8K0 201 511 TA
https://www.ecstuning.com/b-genuine-...r/8k0201511ta/ , $234 Audi OE or $203 VDO OEM

That's progress for you.

But seems the price is all over the map, so look around.
https://www.europaparts.com/fuel-fil...0201511ta.html , $150
https://www.autohausaz.com/pn/CV-8K0201511TA , $139
https://www.eeuroparts.com/Parts/183...-A2C80027900Z/ , $122

[svt]

After finishing the job yesterday, I had success taking the car around the block and getting it up to 45 without problems. I also put 3 gallons of fuel in, just in case i have to siphon it out. Zero problems thus far!

Question for the forum: with the seat and black plastic cover removed, did you hear a sucking sound while the motor was on? Mine is noticeable.. almost like Morse code: ----..----..-----, in a consistent pattern. Car runs fine, but I thought I'd ask before I finish putting the seat back together, hoping it isn't an air pressure thing.

[CZA4]

Quick note. I replaced my low pressure fuel pump and on the replacement pump the fuel line heater connection was open. The one that came from factory was sealed off. I filled up my tank and gas was leaking from this valve. You need to cap this unless you have an aux heat line.