It was starting to hesitate. I off road a lot and the fuel gets mixed so the sediments get stirred up. It was the color of coffee.

I used to race Nissans and these plastic tanks in modern cars tend to get cracked from off track excursions so I have replaced a few fuel tanks in my day. You would not believe the crud that builds in there.

 

Good job and great write-up Jerry! It should be reprinted and made a sticky starter here. I've never seen gas that dirty and it makes me want to change my '05 FEH gas filter with 71,000 miles. I now think the way I drain my gas tank to as much as 55 miles past 0 Miles To Empty every tank fill, it keeps the gas cleaner in my tank and may be one reason I'm now getting over 60mpg in my '09 FEH. Of course that doesn't mean the filter is clean but I don't kept a lot of crap in the tank because I drain it to a few ounces of E10 each time.

When I changed the outboard on my '86 boat this summer, I drained the gas tank completely and put a new racor filter and water separator back on it. Clean fresh gas is important for a good running engine and the old gas in my 63 gallon tank didn't even smell like gas. The Honda Marina that rigged my boat uses fresh clean gas from a small tank to do new engine start-ups, so I never ran any bad gas in the new engine. From now on, when my tank gets low and the yearly filter needs changing, I'm draining the tank also.

I think I'll drain my '05 tank on the present tank, add fresh gas, change the oil and put a new gas filter on it. I'll just carry a gallon can of gas when it gets low in case I can't get to a gas station in EV.

GaryG

 

Did you have to raise the car any to do this?

 

No Lift, I did it on the ground. The fuel filter is really easy to get at, just tucked up near the frame rail. The fuel pump driver module connector is a little difficult to access due to it's location since it is tucked up behind the fuel tank. I have small hands so it wasn't too bad.

Let me know if/when you are going to change it and I'll try to be around to help you out.

 

I think your ENVIRONMENT plays a more significant role. In a dusty/dirty/dry area, both your car, and the service station where you pump gas are more prone to wind-blown dirt.

I've got 125,000 miles and 5.5 years on my original filter. Car drives just as good as new. I also add high % of ethanol from time to time. Maybe this cleans some stuff out?

I'm not going to change it unless the FEH drives poorly.
Now that I think of it, I never ever changed the fuel filter in my 1988 Dodge Dakota with 133,000 miles either!

Based on Jerry's photos, I think it was good for him to change it.
However, mine may look as bad, but my FEH still drives fine.

 

Yes I believe environment does in fact play a major role in change intervals. I live in the high desert of the Uintah Mountains. We have lots of red rock dust, it gets everywhere. I have never changed a filter and seen this much sediment, ever.

If I still own it then, I plan on a tank flush when the snow melts.

 

Jerry&Natalie, what type and brand of gasoline do you use in your FEH before the filter change?

I use regular grade and try to go at least 6000 miles on 1 consistent brand. Then I go another 6000ish on another brand (again consistently). I go between Chevron and Shell (convenient to my work commute route). My car's in the shop now for it's 50K inspection and the mechanic just told me he's going to change out my fuel filter. I'll try to get a good description from him regarding the condition of the fuel when I go pick it up.

 

A follow up...for all the members. I did some Googling around the interwebs about fuel filters. I was wondering how a used fuel filter should look and what the fuel quality should be after normal usage. Jerry's pictures were great and showed how the red dust in the environment affected the fuel condition, but I don't live in a dusty region and I don't go off-roading. There's no snow or high humidity here and I try to use good gasoline. So I was wondering what I should expect to see in my fuel (after 50K miles).

I found a few links with good pictures, but they're not FEH's.

Link 1 - a VW after 40K miles
Link 2 - a motorcycle with moisture in the gas tank
Link 3 - an RV after 57K miles

I was wondering if anyone here has some first hand experience with FEH fuel? It would be great to see an example. Thanks guys!

 

if you don't live where it's dusty or dirty, go 50K. but as cheap as the filter is and time invested, about 30 minutes, it;s cheap insurance at 25-30K.

 

I finally got around to opening up my old fuel filter (really hard), and I took a picture of the inside parts (really really hard). Here it is, not sure how much this will help. Sorry about the blurry pic. This filter has been in use for about 20k miles. So, not a lot. I don't see any dark particles or anything dirty in there. I think next time I'll stick to changing it out every 50k miles.