Fuel Filter Problem, These things are ridiculous Options

[94GT]

Hey guys I was reading bulldog's post on his filter troubles and it reminded me of mine. I changed my stock fuel filter (the original one that came on the car from the factory) at 160,000 miles. It was a huge pain to remove, just like everyone else, and I replaced it with an Advanced Auto filter (purolator, I think?) instead of one from the dealer (big mistake). Well, when I rolled over 250,000 miles last year I tried to swap it again, only this time the purolator one I bought wouldn't fit. The threads on the bottom were too tight. So I put the old one back on, went to Toyota and ordered a new one. I also broke the mounting bracket (don't ask) and when the Toyota one showed up it came with a new bracket, too, which was nice. However this time when I put this one on (it went on just fine) fuel was leaking from the bottom no matter how tight I got it. I used a mirror and had one of the guys in the garage I was using check it for me and it was definitely coming straight down the fuel line. I pulled it off and stared at the bottoms of both filters side by side, and the mating surface (the nipple inside the filter past the threads where the flared part of the line mates up) from the purolator one was bigger than the Toyota one. I put the purolator back on, and no leaking. This leads me to believe that the first time I switched it, the purolator filter reformed the flared end of my fuel line and enlarged it so that when I went back to a Toyota filter the flared part of the line couldn't get a good fit because it had been stretched by the old filter and wasn't mating up right. Anyways, now I need to know how bad it's going to be to fix it because I'll either need the flared part of the fuel line repaired (is that even possible?) or have a new fuel line run. Anyone have experience with this? I'd love to ignore it, but this filter has got over 100k on it now which scares me a little bit.

[blu94gt]

mine came with some threadlock stuff to put on the bottom because yeah, they were a little different on thread sizes and stuff. at first mine leaked out the bottom but i took it off and put it back on really tight and has been fine ever since

[94GT]

The problem was that mine wasn't leaking through the threads. It was leaking between the line and the bolt. Plus, given how hard it was to take the stock one off and it didn't have any threadlock, I don't think there's any way I'd try to use that stuff. I guess my real question is how hard is changing the fuel line and how much would that cost?

[RocketScott]

I haven't changed mine yet (I need to buy one this week) so I don't know too many specifics. Would it be possible to re-flare the end of the line?

[94GT]

Hmmm, good question. I guess that would still involve removing it so I could get the fuel out of the line, but that might be less than buying a part.

[operative]

I guess the lesson of the tread is "buy toyota fuel filters."

[RocketScott]

Hmmm, good question. I guess that would still involve removing it so I could get the fuel out of the line, but that might be less than buying a part.

You can buy a cheapo tool at Harbor Freight and possibly do it in the car. It's not a very big tool.

A little off topic:
What's the price difference between the toyota and aftermarket filters. The autozone and schuck's here don't carry them in stock, I will have to order them.

[blu94gt]

Hmmm, good question. I guess that would still involve removing it so I could get the fuel out of the line, but that might be less than buying a part.

You can buy a cheapo tool at Harbor Freight and possibly do it in the car. It's not a very big tool.

A little off topic:
What's the price difference between the toyota and aftermarket filters. The autozone and schuck's here don't carry them in stock, I will have to order them.

if I remember right I got my generic brand for $16, free overnight shipped to O'Reilly's Auto in town here, and Toyota wanted $29 and couldn't get it for like a month. I didn't really have any problems though, was the exact same thing as what came out of the car

[94GT]

It took Toyota two days to get mine and it came with a new bracket. If it's your first time taking it off, you'll probably abuse the heck out of the bracket so it's nice to have a new one. Plus it's super easy to crossthread that tiny screw that clamps it together.

[celicaGT96]

I am one who was having the filter problem, but I just got the toyota one in today, and its the same freakin thing. It only goes in about a quarter of the way, and no more. The ones I got from autozone or oreillys was the same exact thing, but its funny cuz the old one goes on so easy without a wrench or anything, it just screws on by hand. Now Im really frustrated because I waited all this time for the oem filter and it doesnt even want to go in . Has anybody found a solution for the fuel line fixing, replacing, or re-flaring?

This post has been edited by celicaGT96: Jan 4, 2006 - 4:46 PM