Fuel Filter Problems

[OriginHacker21]

For awhile my car has been running really badly. It would take 2-3 cranks to start it up and once running it would be very sluggish - especially on takeoff (like lugging the engine). Also noticed that when I hit the gas it would take .5-1 seconds for the RPMs to show I hit the gas.

I tried changing oil, changing air filter, putting in FI injector cleaner (those of you that remember my last UOA I over-did FI injectors), changed sparkplugs to NGK lasers, increased tire pressure, switched to Amsoil XL 5w20, etc... Nothing seemed to work.

Until yesterday. Had my local mechanic change my fuel filter. First thing he said to me when I went to go pick up my car was that it was filled with black thick mud and he was amazed I got any gas to my engine.

Hmm ok... Get into the car - turn the key and like the good ole days car turned on with 1 crank. I noticed I had instant throttle response (hit the gas and instantly RPMs went up). Also noticed a ton more power on takeoff.


Question: How often to replace fuel filter? Mechanic said he'd recommend for my vehicle every 30,000 miles. (It was $27).

Moral of the story: Cheap gas stations off the freeway are a nono.

Any advice to prevent this from happening again? Should I "flush" my gas tank with FI and change the filter soon?


Car: 2004 Sunfire (2.2L Ecotec). 127,000 miles. Religiously changed Amsoil every 5-7.5k miles.

Thanks -Paul

 

[chuckerants]

How often should you replace the FF? Uh, more often than you did the last time?

Seriously, 20,000~30,000 miles sounds about right.

 

[GMBoy]

I'd change it again at 10,000 miles just to see if it is still getting crudy. If not, then go 30,000 miles or whatever you eant to. If it is still nasty, you may have to flush your tank!

 

[mechtech2]

You have an abnormal problem in your gas tank.
This is not usual.
I'd change it again at 10,000 and see how it looks.
One bad tank of fuel did not cause this.

 

[WishIhadatruck]

I had a '94 Grand Prix that I bought when it was less than a year old and drove it for 212,000 miles. I only changed my fuel filter once. It didn't seem to care.

I'd guess there might be a problem here or you consistently get bad gas.

 

[OriginHacker21]

Ok - Am going to start going to different gas stations for the next 10,000 miles then get the filter replaced again ($27 - can't hurt) and take a look. Thanks for the info - both my parents cars are 120,000+ and have never had their fuel filter changed - they do go to different stations though (closer to the freeway but more $$$). I usually go 2-3 blocks to those stations that are almost $.10/gal cheaper.

I've never known someone who had a plugged fuel filter...

 

[ATS-V]

I replace mine every 40k miles. If I have time I like to have a look inside of the media.

 

[Kestas]

There's two schools of thought when it comes to fuel filters.

One is that they should be good for a long time (~100K), unless there's a problem with contaminant introduction.

The other is that they should be changed regularly - at least as often as the manufacturer recommendation - to remove debris that can foul fuel injectors.

Like mechtech says, it seems that you have an abnormal situation with your fuel system. I like GMBoy's advice to revisit the filter after 10K. You don't even have to replace it. You can remove the existing filter, blow through to reverse flush the filter and examine what comes out. I do this regularly when I change the filter to examine the contaminants.

A long time ago our family had a 74 Torino that had serious problems with contaminants in the fuel system when the car was new. We were changing filters way too often, and found water in the tank. The local service station said they steam-cleaned the tank and blew the lines, but the problem returned when they returned the car. The problem only went away when I did the job myself... removed the tank, dried out the insides, blew the lines, and dumped the fuel in the carburator. I mention this because depending on what you find when you revisit the filter, you may have to clean out the fuel system.

 

[punisher]

Originally Posted By: WishIhadatruck
I had a '94 Grand Prix that I bought when it was less than a year old and drove it for 212,000 miles. I only changed my fuel filter once. It didn't seem to care.

I'd guess there might be a problem here or you consistently get bad gas.


Over the years I remember ~3 performance problems caused by clogged fuel filters/bad gas. It happened so infrequently, when it did happen it took me forever to diagnose the condition eventhough it is one of the first things you should check.

 

[MrCritical]

Restriction in the fuel filter puts strain on the fuel pump, which causes premature fuel pump failure. And I don't know any of the pumps that are cheap