How often should I change fuel filter?

skurf

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 7, 2005
Location
Austin, Texas
TDI
06 Golf
I've been using B20 - B50 in the winter and B100 since it warmed up and was wondering how often I should change the fuel filter. I have 11k miles so far and have exclusively used biodiesel since I bought the car new.
 

tditom

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Sep 5, 2001
Location
Jackson, MI
TDI
formerly: 2001 Golf GL, '97 Passat (RIP) '98 NB, '05 B5 sedan
The change interval is every 20k miles. Drain the water separator halfway between each replacement.
 

tditom

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Sep 5, 2001
Location
Jackson, MI
TDI
formerly: 2001 Golf GL, '97 Passat (RIP) '98 NB, '05 B5 sedan
Your maintenance schedule can be found at vw.com. You have to select your model, and then click on "full schedule" at the bottom of the page.

The older fuel filters have a drain valve at the bottom of the filter. I'm not sure about your new Golf. do a search on the A5 forum
 

Fortuna Wolf

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 28, 2006
Location
Wilmington, NC
TDI
2002 Jetta TDI Auto Sedan
pull the filter up, unscrew the white knob and let drain into a container.
Honestly, its not really necessary. I've never noticed water.
 

tditom

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Sep 5, 2001
Location
Jackson, MI
TDI
formerly: 2001 Golf GL, '97 Passat (RIP) '98 NB, '05 B5 sedan
I've never seen water either. That doesn't mean it shouldn't be done.

You also need to disconnect the "T" (keep the lines on it tho) on the A4. Not sure about A5 set up.
 
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RC

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Oct 13, 2000
Location
Maryland`s Eastern Shore
TDI
Two White 96 B4 Wagons
Drain the filter just to see if you have any H2O.... then go ahead and change it out for good measure. It doesn`t cost much and it is good maintance practice. You might wanna disect the old one just to see what it caught.
 

TXBilll

Well-known member
Joined
May 25, 2006
Location
Houston, TX
TDI
2000 Golf GLS TDI
Why would you change the filter before it clogs? It seems to me the longer you leave the filter in, the better it filters. When you have a loss of power, change the filter. Maintenance schedules make $$$ for service departments.
 

Gothmolly

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 3, 2005
Location
Providence, RI
TDI
2002 Golf
Eh, I change all my filters (except oil) once a year in the spring, on the anniversary of buying the car. For me thats about 13k miles. Get the filter pack from tdiparts, and just be done with it.
 

Dr_Duse

Active member
Joined
Jun 8, 2005
Location
Temple, TX
TDI
2005.5 Jetta TDI Platinum Gray Auto/Trans
10k or 20k

VW says 20k but many of the biodiesel folks change it sooner. It will cost you more then the price of a filter if you car stops running on I-35 or Mopac some afternoon.

Doc
 

Gothmolly

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 3, 2005
Location
Providence, RI
TDI
2002 Golf
There's no need to change it sooner just because you run Bio. Dirty fuel, bio or not, will mandate more frequent changes. I've run commercial B20 for a year, and not a drop of water or piece of visible crud came out the drain when I swapped filters.
 

aberson

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Joined
Jan 9, 2006
Location
Hoboken NJ
TDI
2001 Golf TDI 4d Black/Tan
Fortuna Wolf said:
pull the filter up, unscrew the white knob and let drain into a container.
Honestly, its not really necessary. I've never noticed water.
How much are you supposed to let drain?

I drained about 3 ounces out before I decided to stop. Upon examining the bottle, it looked like I had about 2 dropper-drops of water sitting at the bottom, and the rest was just diesel. Am I correct that the drain isn't just for draining water, but will actually drain all the fuel from the filter too?

I didn't have the suction device the video shows, and I didn't want to have tooo much air in my system by draining all the fuel out of my filter. The little air that was introduced seems to have worked out of the system after a few miles.
 

torifile

Veteran Member
Joined
May 18, 2006
Location
Durham, NC
TDI
2010 BMW 335D
I believe the 06 Golf is still an "A4". We didn't get the new (much sexier) body that Europe has (I was in Spain for a week and a half last month and thought about asking a dealer to see how much it would cost to import - that's how cool the new Golf looked).
 

skinz2k5TDI

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 8, 2004
Location
Apex, NC
TDI
Jetta, 2005, silver/blk
replying to the message in your footer... i don't know of a good machanic, but you could try the bio diesel co-op in Durham, they may know of someone... or even the TDIers in the area... a few have vagcom's.

skinz
 

torifile

Veteran Member
Joined
May 18, 2006
Location
Durham, NC
TDI
2010 BMW 335D
skinz2k5TDI said:
replying to the message in your footer... i don't know of a good machanic, but you could try the bio diesel co-op in Durham, they may know of someone... or even the TDIers in the area... a few have vagcom's.

skinz
Thanks. I've already joined the co-op. I'm thinking of going out next Tuesday to do a little homebrewing. :) Luckily my car is new (06) so I hope I won't be needing a mechanic for a while.
 

TXBilll

Well-known member
Joined
May 25, 2006
Location
Houston, TX
TDI
2000 Golf GLS TDI
compu_85 said:
Because a plugged filter make the injection pump work harder, and that shortens it's life.

-Jason
Jason, a plugged filter won't allow the car to go down the road, that is when i would change it and not a minute before.:confused:
 

runonbeer

Maintenance EnthusiastVendor
Joined
Apr 15, 2002
Location
Austin, TX/Chapel Hill, NC
TDI
'00 Golf 02M, '10 Golf 02E, '02 UTE 02M
I just changed mine at 50K (using B99). Both of my B99 outlets have 2 micron "CIMTEK microglass" B100 filters installed on the dispensers.
 

runonbeer

Maintenance EnthusiastVendor
Joined
Apr 15, 2002
Location
Austin, TX/Chapel Hill, NC
TDI
'00 Golf 02M, '10 Golf 02E, '02 UTE 02M
I'd like to add that there was absolutely no water present in the 50K mile filter having never drained it. And I generally pump fuel into my car off the back of my delivery truck which has only a standard 30 micron particulate filter.
 

40X40

Experienced
Joined
Feb 12, 2006
Location
Kansas City area, MO
TDI
2013 Passat SEL Premium
skurf said:
So is it 10 or 20?

When your filter clogs and your engine quits, back up one mile and
change your filter, as you will have gone a mile too far!

Seriously, if it concerns you, carry a spare.


Bill
 

RC

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Oct 13, 2000
Location
Maryland`s Eastern Shore
TDI
Two White 96 B4 Wagons
TXBilll said:
Why would you change the filter before it clogs? It seems to me the longer you leave the filter in, the better it filters. When you have a loss of power, change the filter. Maintenance schedules make $$$ for service departments.
For the most part I`m with you Bill, but here`s one reason why I`m going on a date schedule rather than when it actually needs it;

I drive the TDIs (47+MPG Hwy) and the Mrs. drives the 300TD (28MPG Hwy) so when she goes on a trip she takes the VW for mileage reasons. For the last few months I`ve noticed at start up a slight strain for fuel in the TDI and figured I`d get to it soon.

Well I didn`t and the Mrs. w/the Munchkin in tow took a weekend trip to the Big City, and thru some pretty unsavory neighborhoods to boot. On the return trip they luckily got over the Bridge and onto the Shore before the car began to buck. The Mrs., who`s been through this before (angel that she is), took it slow and called me (75 miles away at this point) for instructions. In a matter of minutes she called again after pulling off the road in a rather more convenieint location than the side of the hwy before the inevitable total filter failure.

Although there is a spare fuel filter, appropriate tools, and some B100 for priming in every car, I grabbed another fuel filter just for good measure and headed west for the rescue. In 75 minutes I found my girls in good shape and good spirits, changed out the filter, and we were on our way home.

I`ve got better things to do than to pull off these rescues and having to turn it into a show so my girls will think I`m a hero..... when I`m actually just being stupid. Imagine if this happened 120 miles away on the other side of the Bridge in one of those unsavory neighborhoods. I`m going to change the filters out before it actually needs it from now on.

And BTW, the filter had 32K on it. Not bad I guess.
 
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TXBilll

Well-known member
Joined
May 25, 2006
Location
Houston, TX
TDI
2000 Golf GLS TDI
RC said:
For the most part I`m with you Bill, but here`s one reason why I`m going on a date schedule rather than when it actually needs it;

I drive the TDIs (47+MPG Hwy) and the Mrs. drives the 300TD (28MPG Hwy) so when she goes on a trip she takes the VW for mileage reasons. For the last few months I`ve noticed at start up a slight strain for fuel in the TDI and figured I`d get to it soon.

Well I didn`t and the Mrs. w/the Munchkin in tow took a weekend trip to the Big City, and thru some pretty unsavory neighborhoods to boot. On the return trip they luckily got over the Bridge and onto the Shore before the car began to buck. The Mrs., who`s been through this before (angel that she is), took it slow and called me (75 miles away at this point) for instructions. In a matter of minutes she called again after pulling off the road in a rather more convenieint location than the side of the hwy before the inevitable total filter failure.

Although there is a spare fuel filter, appropriate tools, and some B100 for priming in every car, I grabbed another fuel filter just for good measure and headed west for the rescue. In 75 minutes I found my girls in good shape and good spirits, changed out the filter, and we were on our way home.

I`ve got better things to do than to pull off these rescues and having to turn it into a show so my girls will think I`m a hero..... when I`m actually just being stupid. Imagine if this happened 120 miles away on the other side of the Bridge in one of those unsavory neighborhoods. I`m going to change the filters out before it actually needs it from now on.

And BTW, the filter had 32K on it. Not bad I guess.

Wow, well, sorry i wasn't thinking of breeders when i gave my opinion about when to change the filter.:p
 

tditom

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Sep 5, 2001
Location
Jackson, MI
TDI
formerly: 2001 Golf GL, '97 Passat (RIP) '98 NB, '05 B5 sedan
It is an extremely poor practice to wait for a filter to plug before changing it. Besides what Jason stated about working the IP harder, the problem with this approach is you never know when it will plug! It's never at a convenient time!! That's why its called "preventive maintenance"

What does it cost? $30? Less if you buy the filter packs already mentioned. Or you can go with the CAT set up- I think its cheaper that way long run.

Bottom line: Do it when its convenient for your schedule, and not Murphy's.
 

TXBilll

Well-known member
Joined
May 25, 2006
Location
Houston, TX
TDI
2000 Golf GLS TDI
tditom said:
It is an extremely poor practice to wait for a filter to plug before changing it. Besides what Jason stated about working the IP harder, the problem with this approach is you never know when it will plug! It's never at a convenient time!! That's why its called "preventive maintenance"

What does it cost? $30? Less if you buy the filter packs already mentioned. Or you can go with the CAT set up- I think its cheaper that way long run.

Bottom line: Do it when its convenient for your schedule, and not Murphy's.
Whatever floats your boat. I don't mind changing a fuel filter on the road. I'm not saying wait till the car stops. The filters give some amount of warning usually. I've done this on all my old MB diesels and it's working on my Golf.:eek: Mine's gone at LEAST 45K miles on the same filter, still going strong. I'll change it when i need to.
 

2002MK4

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 24, 2011
Location
Scarborough
TDI
2002, 2003 Jetta TDI
I was at a dealership one time and the guy at the parts desk said that for older ALH engines it's once every 60,000Km where as for the newer ones [I'm guessing PDs and the latest gen ones] it's more frequent...something like 20,000Km.

My two cents???

If you run your car till it is bone dry, then change the fuel filter MORE often. Also, if you are buying your diesel from "Bob's Fish, Chips and Diesel" vs. Shell/Petro/Esso then - once again - change it more often.

For me, I am doing them every 40,000Km.
 
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