easiest way to prime fuel filter?

I'm sure this question has been answered before.... but search is off at the moment.

Last time I changed my fuel filter, I poured as much fuel as I could into the tiny inlet, but I still cranked forever (more than I wanted, anyway) to start the engine.

I read in another post that someone used a Pela Extractor to suck some diesel in.... but I don't have a Pela, and don't really want to get one just for fuel filter changes. Or is the easist method?

I'm due for a fuel filter change in the new year, might well get whatever I need soon...

thanks,
Richard

Do you have a MityVac?..that could also be used to draw fuel thru the lines.

I'll tell ya, I always fill the fuel filter brim-full and NEVER have had any issue with getting the car re-strated. I have never tried the Mityvac technique but can see that would help if you have a lot of air.

If you can get a 2-3 foot piece of aquarium tubing large enough to fit over the filter nipple, and clamp it gently (so it can be pulled off, but still has a seal) - you can suck it through, and the clear tubing gives you plenty of time not to have a diesel fuel cocktail.

Look at the sixth item on this thread: fuel filter approach

I did it with a pela, since I had it handy and it produces a better vacuum than I do. I used a piece of fuel line that fit on the pela tube to seal it to the aquarium tubing.

The aquarium tubing may not be good after this, but it's cheap.

you can suck it through, and the clear tubing gives you plenty of time not to have a diesel fuel cocktail.

Click to expand...

.

I've don't filter changes both ways and haven't had problems with long or multiple cranking either way. Are you plugging or clamping off the fuel lines when you make the filter change???

I got a small plastic bucket and filled it 1/4 full with fuel. I got rubber gloves and dunked the filter until all the bubbles stopped . This guarantees it will be as full as possible.

I've had this vacuum tester for awhile and it pulls the fuel through the filter without having to suck on a peice of fish tank tubing . Also works well for trouble shooting vacuum operated components.

Tim,

Do you have a part number or exact name description for that vaccuum pump/tester from Sears? That was exactly what I was thinking -- something to suck air, besides a pela or mitty vac... Hopefully my local Sears will have it...

(call me a wimp/pussy, but I'm not that keen on sucking diesel through the filter -- I know it "shouldn't" get into my mouth, but.... )

thanks for the multiple replies!

Richard

I did not clamp or plug anything on my 98 jetta. The car sat overnight. The next morning I opened the fuel cap just incase there was any pressure. Took the lines off, maybe 2 drips. I used a small funnel and a small gas can and filled the filter.
When I started the car it did not miss a beat.

You'll notice that I didn't actually do the sucking - I used the Pela. The hose is a cheap way of getting it done, and if you have 2-3 feet of it, you'd have to be totally ignoring what you're doing to get any near your mouth.

Sears

Harbor Freight

Sears

Harbor Freight

Click to expand...

Sigh. You Americans have it soooo good when it comes to online shopping! sears.ca doesn't have it -- I'm doubtful they have the mitty vac at all. I'll check on that other vaccuum pump thingy. (even if I did order from the US, I'll get screwed by Canada Customs)

thanks anyway.

Send a message to Harvieux. He might be willing to buy this and ship it to you.

It is a stock item at any Sears...you know that section in the tool department that only us "widget lovers" buy

grimlock, No need to deal with Customs on this item. Check your local Canadian Tire store for part no. 0256296, "Hand Vacuum Pump & Brake Bleeding Kit". You can also look it up using the part no. on their website, www.canadiantire.ca. I've had one for a couple of years and it's come in handy for stuff like priming fuel filters, sucking out brake reservoirs and checking EGR valve operation. It works very well.

Sweet! Fellow maple leafer saves the day!

$80 CAN.

Gonna check my local Canadian Tire(s) asap.

thanks again!

You can also use your Pela 6000 that you use for your oil changes. (don't you ???)

In Canada for around C$56... (shipped cost from http://ca.binnacle.com/online/find.asp?find_spec=pela )

Yuri.

You can also use your Pela 6000 that you use for your oil changes. (don't you ???)

In Canada for around C$56... (shipped cost from http://ca.binnacle.com/online/find.asp?find_spec=pela )

Yuri.

Click to expand...

I don't have a Pela... I figure that because I have to crawl underneath my car for the friggen belly pan & oil filter (B4 Passat) I might as well do a bottom side oil change. Sure I can take the filter from the top, but messy and such a pain.

If I get the Pela, sure I'll use it for fuel filter priming...

Richard

Hey Grimlock

Hate to disillusion you, but you live in America also. I know that the residents of the United States of America like to think we are the only "Americans", but the whole continent is America.

Hey Grimlock

Hate to disillusion you, but you live in America also. I know that the residents of the United States of America like to think we are the only "Americans", but the whole continent is America.

Click to expand...

How about "I'm not a US Citizen" or live with the United States to benefit from awesome online deals you guys often have....

Proudly Canadian, eh.

Richard

Safety Alert: Suck on Diesel Fuel Lines= Danger!

PLEASE do not suck on diesel lines. Edmond Scientific &/or other surplus catalogs have small cheap plastic hand vac pumps for under $12. Get One!

I serve as a safety engineer among my other engineering roles at work and must back up the strong safety note stated in an eariler thread in this posting, about not sucking on diesel fuel lines or any oil lines.

Just last year a mech-tech on a jobsite I was working at expired from trying to siphon a line clear of air because a few drops of machine oil got in his lungs.

He passed out a few minutes after he primed the line and walked back to the lunchroom. He did not awaken.

Post mortem exam indicated the oil atomized a few minutes after he inhaled the oil/air mix and spread inside his lungs till he could not expel enough CO2 &/or get O2.

about sucking on Gasoline fuel lines: It is light-end enough hydrocarbons that the body can adsorb it fairly quickly. Unpleasant and itself toxic but not as asphyxiating. It can alter your Ph in the body enough to cause major organ misfunction and even quick death if injested quickly.

-------------------
If you wish a perm way to prime your TDI's fuel line I offer this bit of my past car work history as an idea you might consider...


My elderly mother inlaw drove a old diesel Mercedes 190 and was always running out of fuel by mistake. As a gift to her I put a Edmond Scientific 12 volt DC low volume plastic positive displacement pump that rotates a cam and "milks" a section of clear tygon tubing as the pumping mechanism, into her car as a permanent priming pump.

I hooked the suction of this little pump to a tee I put in the discharge side of the injector unit and placed a checkvalve just downstream of the tee in the fuel return line so suction was not pulled back up the return line. I ran a small quarter inch stainless steel line back to the fuel tank and fed it into the fill neck overflow. This was the discharge side from the little primer pump.

Any time she ran out of fuel she could just hold the red button down on the dash, that I installed for the pump, for about 3 minutes and the little pump would suck all the air out of the system and cycle the fuel line system till it started up.

It was a cheap investment of time and money for the assuredness it provided.

Should be easily do-able on a TDI. Your threads reminded me of this mod I did back when in college - its been years. If I can find a similar pump again from Edmond Sci or elsewhere I would put it in my Passat.

The only requirement for the pump is that it is not metal [ rust/fire issues ] and is positive displacement.

Thanks.

Don't Suck on Fuel Lines - Please !

In all honetsy this may sound crazy but it works great. I have had to do this twice already. Make sure you tank is atleast half full this if you have access to a aircompressor, you take a rag and put it around the blowing piece attachment and put it in you fuel door and blow it until you see diesel begin to enter you engine and its done.

way to prime fuel filter: Pressurized Fuel Tank!

Great Idea.

I will use it next time I replace my filter.

Can't see any downside other than maybe a small bit of fuel flooding in the engine.

Ok, no sucking on diesel lines, got it.... I wasn't really planning on doing it -- even it wasn't lethal/fatal etc. I wouldn't be keen on doing it because of the foul taste/smell....

I got a inexpensive vaccuum hand pump, very similar to the picture that dieselt posted. It's a China knock-off from Princess Auto, $50 CAN, but it seems to suck water with great ease. (I was testing...) I will trying it the next time I do a fuel filter change.

thanks for all the feedback.

Richard

Re: Safety Alert: Suck on Diesel Fuel Lines= Danger!

Just last year a mech-tech on a jobsite I was working at expired from trying to siphon a line clear of air because a few drops of machine oil got in his lungs.

Click to expand...

I knew I was on borrowed time, but this really proves it! Wow, had no idea. Knew much of the stuff was dangerous to breath in, but it was part of the job. Just thinking of all the fumes I've breathed in over the years is mind boggling. Top loading some of that stuff use to get me high, like dizzy and that drunk feeling! They always warned me that "tanker-yankers" were a strange bunch and this tells you why!

I think I got my Mity-vac at Walmart. Ought to be easy to find - probably at Autozone, Advance Auto, Pep Boys, or similar.

MCA

I have changed 3 TDI filters. The first 2 were a pain. This last one was a snap. Left all the lines off the top of filter. Poured clean diesel fuel into the big hole with a Lucas oil treatment bottle that has the squirt tip. Took about 1 minute and the air flowed out the open ends of the 90 degree metal hose fittings. Started right up and never missed a beat! Hope this helps. David