Borrowed a mates pit last night to change the fuel filter and an exhaust hanger. Took plenty of photos so may aswell do a DIY while I'm here!

Old filter:

The stainless Norma clip was a complete nightmare to remove, due to the screw not being made from stainless so it was rusted solid! I attacked it for a good 30mins to get it free, and ended up cutting it off! Using a clip like this was a terrible idea by Skoda.

Filter removed, showing empty cradle:

The fuel line clips have a little tab on them that needs pressing to release them, nice and easy. No fuel ran out of the hoses, the only fuel that came out was the fuel in the filter. Note the cradle is plastic, and is part of the tank.

New filter fitted up:

Ideally I would have used one big chunky zip tie, but four small ones had to do at the time! It's nice and secure, and the central zip ties run through the cradle. The fuel lines just pushed and clipped on.

Before starting the car, I primed the system three times to move the bubble past the fuel rail, and then she fired up and ran perfectly. To prime the system you need to open and close the drivers door, and turn the ignition on, and repeat this process. Just turning the ignition on and off only works the first time. That's it really, the only annoying bit was the stupid old hose clip!

Here's the old vs. new backbox front hanger:

The old one was causing the tailpipe to sit up at a slight angle and it bothered me. New hanger was £2.50+vat and only takes 2mins to change. Plus my exhaust sits dead straight now!

Here's where it goes:

I discovered that the backbox, and twin pipes are stainless, and so is the resonator. But the main pipe over the axle is not stainless, and is not looking too well! Not sure how long it will last. Good excuse to get a catback when it does start blowing though!

How often should the fuel filter be changed?

i would change the fuel filter once a year it only costs a few quid and is a 10 minute job

Great pics

often wondered where the filter was, can you see if there is any trapped cr** in the filter???.

How often should the fuel filter be changed?

I don't think Skoda even mention it in the service schedule. But like Clive said there's no harm in doing it to maintain a good fuel flow rate, since it should only take 10 mins and the filter was about £6.70+vat.

I don't think mine had ever been changed before. So after 8 years and 114k miles, it must have gathered some impurities.

I'd imagine it would be even more important if you were running a HPFP, 4 Bar FPR and bigger injectors.

Great pics

often wondered where the filter was, can you see if there is any trapped cr** in the filter???.

To be honest I forgot to investigate that! You obviously can't see through the filter, and the spigots are so small you can't see down them. But I guess I could have poured the fuel out from the upstream side to see what came out, but I didn't! The new filter comes with plugs for the spigots, and I fitted these to the old fuel filled filter as I took it off, so I didn't have too much loose petrol to dispose of. The petrol that did come out was green though!

The fuel filter (for diesels) is covered in the service schedule I think......

I'll have to check as mine said 700miles before it is due its next service on the dash last night (will be approx 168k), which means I am only about 12k from another cambelt change too :'(

Been meaning to change my fuel filter since last year but keep avoiding the job... will try and get round to it soon! And might as well do that exhaust bracket at the same time, my exhaust is a little bit wonky, hangs a bit lower on the left than the right

I take it for fuel filter change you pull the fuse and depressurise the system first but did you lose much fuel from the connectors when you took them off? Thats the only thing that puts me off a bit, that it will p*ss fuel everywhere.

P.s. Fatty could you put a copy of this in the General Guides section?

Edited 2 July, 201015 yr by chicken_eyebrow

Ace DIY again mate,

I am not surprised the hangers go on the std back boxes lol, they are huge and heavy. get a system on there lol, oh n Bodge, you need a RARB!

lol

billy

Been meaning to change my fuel filter since last year but keep avoiding the job... will try and get round to it soon! And might as well do that exhaust bracket at the same time, my exhaust is a little bit wonky, hangs a bit lower on the left than the right

I take it for fuel filter change you pull the fuse and depressurise the system first but did you lose much fuel from the connectors when you took them off? Thats the only thing that puts me off a bit, that it will p*ss fuel everywhere.

P.s. Fatty could you put a copy of this in the General Guides section?

Looks like it's your backbox rear hanger that's sagged on yours, I did that one a year or two ago and it's just as easy. Wish I'd done both backbox hangers at the same time, but got there in the end. Both cheap and easy, and makes it look so much better being up close to the bumper and straight.

I didn't pull any fuses or do anything special. I removed and replaced the filler cap thinking it might relieve some pressure, but it did nothing when I poked open the one way valve in the filler neck. My fuel light was on before though, and the level had just hit the red, so not much in there to start with. I read about people removing the pump fuse and running the engine dry, but didn't bother with that. When I removed the hoses, literally zero fuel came out of the lines, as you can see from the photos. The only fuel that spilled out was from the filter itself. I'm guessing no fuel came out of the lines due to surface tension or because it's a closed system or something. Handy to know though! The filter holds alot of fuel though, so it still ran down my arm when I was pulling it out! Hence the latex gloves!

I know what you mean about putting it off! It's been at the bottom of my list for ages!

Ace DIY again mate,

I am not surprised the hangers go on the std back boxes lol, they are huge and heavy. get a system on there lol, oh n Bodge, you need a RARB!

lol

billy

Yes yes I know Billy! Gosh you're as bad as Jay! He even sends me links to RARB's on ebay! Haha, I might be getting a Whiteline adjustable 22mm this month if finances allow it.

You lot bullied me into getting a remap, and I must admit you were right on that!

Yeah the standard backbox is insane, it's the size of a bloody great sheep. Must weigh a load. Piper catback is on the list, but I'm still waiting for Janspeed to make me one too! I like the stealth-ness of the standard exhaust (looks and sound), but sometimes I do get a craving for having a loud as hell car again!

Cheers for the response

Yes yes I know Billy! Gosh you're as bad as Jay! He even sends me links to RARB's on ebay! Haha, I might be getting a Whiteline adjustable 22mm this month if finances allow it.

You lot bullied me into getting a remap, and I must admit you were right on that!

Yeah the standard backbox is insane, it's the size of a bloody great sheep. Must weigh a load. Piper catback is on the list, but I'm still waiting for Janspeed to make me one too! I like the stealth-ness of the standard exhaust (looks and sound), but sometimes I do get a craving for having a loud as hell car again!

Cheers for the response

lol

sorry no preasure mate, just the remap n the ARB is the 2 best things you can do.

When I had my zorst made up I felt the std box and its heavy for what it is. I know what you mean tho about the box fitting right. thats why I had a custom one made. bit more money I think (Been quoted £325 for PRO Speed to make me up another one) but it is covered for life. and you can get the silencers made to suite the noise you want. mine is dead in a cruise even at speed and worbles nice on tickover, boot it and you can hear it, even get the od muffled pop too and the back box is tucked up so you cant see it. unlike the Miltec, Piper, and others. you can see the box. but they are made to a jig so they are a good easy fit and dont catch.

is that part of the fuel system under preasure? it is a big filter tho. might do mine on the next service I do. thanks to a lot of your guides I can do most the stuff on the car myself now. (Timing belt is a NO NO tho)

billy

Great guide

Billy

Yes the fuel filter is under pressure, so its best to change it when the engine has been stopped for a few hours and is cold (when I service mine I leave the fuel filter to the last job and have never had any problems).

If for some reason you could'nt wait for the fuel pressure to drain away, then pull the fuel pump relay or fuel pump fuse out and start the engine....when the engine stops you can safely change the filter.

HTH

Bill.