Changed out my fuel filter

[patmac6075]

Just finished changing out my fuel filter on the '98 4.0 OHV. What a PITA!
First off I bought a set of those plastic quick disconnects.....total waste of money! I could not get enough leverage on the plastic "ears" to get them under the locking device, they just bent and then finally broke. I ended up getting the KD Tools metal tool($5.00+)....it's the one that's shaped like an X. Those worked much better.
Although my car had spent much of its life in New Mexico and is very clean underneath, the connectors were very corroded and did not want to release. I sprayed them with SeaFoam's Deep Creep for three days and was finally able to get them to release. I installed the new filter and now I couldn't get those fittings to "click" back on....back to the Deep Creep, I sprayed those fittings to lubricate them and worked the locking mechanism with my KD tool and finally I was able to get the fittings to snap back into place! Initially, I thought this was going to be a 20 minute job....took me 3 days.
Long story short, was well worth the effort, as the engine is running much smoother now.

 

[SoNic67]

I have also four different sets of "fuel line tool". The engineer who called those connectors as being "quick" had a twisted sense of humor.

 

[ccm2001]

Yea there horrible. Get the metal ones much better

 

[beach]

Did mine a few months ago, think I even made a thread as from reading post thought they were going to be almost impossible to get out. Maybe b/c I live in South FL. Even my bolts and lines and underneath looked damn near brand new even after 150k miles. Got the lines out and filter replaced in like 5 min. Metal tools though, those plastic ones are junk especially if you have corrosion I'm sure.

 

[XLTrunner]

I need to do mine before the cold weather hits. Is there a preferred end of the filter to work on first? Do you leave it bolted to the frame while pulling the lines free? Seems to me there is very little flex in those fuel lines to pull them away from the filter?

 

[patmac6075]

I'm not sure about preferred, but I worked on the rear first!
Start spraying with a penetrating oil now....let it work in...try to get a couple days in a row. Also, I like Deep Creep because it's safe to use with fuel so you can spray inside the coupling and not worry about contamination, mine flushed out a ton of rust.
Make sure you use those caps that come with the new filter....there is a lot of fuel in the filter and those plugs keep it in.
Lastly, mine was held in by a large spring clip not bolted on....I choose to work on it while it was clipped to the frame.

 

[koda2000]

I have a set of disconnect tools I got from AutoZone (OEM brand). They were about $20, but they work great. 5/16's size for the fuel filter.

One thing I've learned is that before trying to use the tool you must get the line to press onto the old filter and the filter should easily turn in the lines. If you can't get any movement of the line toward the filter, it's not coming off. This may require spraying parts cleaner or penetrant into the fitting and exercising the line back and forth. Once the line moves, push the tool into the line while pushing the line toward the filter and presto, they come right off. This is a little tuff to do as you only have 2 hands. I leave the filter in it's retainer and press the tool in by levering with a pair of needle nose pliers. It rarely takes be more than a minute or two to change a fuel filter.

 

[wcjeep]

I used part of a sharpie plastic cap. Worked really easy.

 

[gatzdon]

I ended up having to change a fuel line in the beginning. Those are a real PITA.