Fuel filter canister leaking

Hi all,
Last weekend I changed the fuel filter in my 2010 TDI as per the procedure outlined here. It started right up, ran perfect, and my girlfriend drove it to work all week without complaint.

Last night, I start the car and leave it running for a few minutes. Coming back to the car, I find probably 2 gallons of diesel fuel under the engine bay and after the *** moment passed, I pop the hood and see it shooting out of the fuel filter canister directly in front of the car. AH!

So, after opening the canister and re-aligning the o-rings twice and double checking the filter is the correct one (it is, I kept the old one) it seems to be okay.... except I can still smell diesel when I drive. I'm guessing this is just from it being built up in places in the engine bay which I'll clean out later today.

I've got a new filter on the way to replace both seals anyway, but does anyone have any thoughts? My only thought is that I may have put the "olympic" seal in backwards.

Thoughts? i'd get that fuel out of there ASAP...don't wait till later today!

My question: How does one clean these engines? I doubt if you have 2 gallons sitting there, but regardless of the quantity, I imagine this will make a real mess in one's driveway, correct? Any way to clean this w/o making the neighbors phone the EPA?

As for gasket sealing, you're not the first to post this here. Defective gasket? Possible. Improper installation? More likely. Again, you're not the first, and won't be the last (hmmm...hope I'm not posting a similar message in a few days, when I swap my FF out!!)

Good luck with the clean-up!

Well, unfortunately for the fuel it was parked on the side of the street for 5 minutes before I found it so it's now all frozen in a snowbank. All this happened at 11 last night which hampered any cleanup.

Not sure of the best way to clean the engine.

i've used simple green mixed 50/50 with water, I have a small sparyer that holds probably 2-3 oz of fluid, I used that and sprayed everywhere I could from the top. I then rinsed with really really low pressure from the carwash gun.

Caution: many people here will claim simple green will rot your engine/components in matter of minutes, but a good rinse will do it good.

Check your serpentine belt as similar situation happened on my '06 BRM. It was only leaking (or noticed the leak) for two days and the diesel fuel rapidly degraded the belt which had to be replaced. I would just advise to check your belt as the wear was easily visible.

Thanks for the tip! I'll wash everything tomorrow and check it all ASAP. My only hope is all the rain has helped wash some of the things away. Hopefully the mouse building a nest in the oil filler cap will be gone too :/