Fuel Filter Removal - 1997 Escort

All,

Found the location of the fuel filter on said car. Knowing this, how is a grown man supposed to get his hand down in front of the firewall on the driver's side to remove it?

From the top, I barely can get my hand down to remove the fuel filter from the clamp. Would I be better off attempting this removal from beneath the car? It seems awfully high to be reaching from the bottom?

Lastly, after reading several posts here... it seems that I should head back to my local auto parts store to buy the special tool before attempting to remove the fuel lines from the fuel filter.

I miss the days of when fuel filters were easily accessible from beneath the car clamped along the frame rail. :-)

Regards,

Greg remove "rider" to respond directly

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Greg
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Or, better yet, when they were screwed into the carb, or were in-line under the hood with 2 hose clamps. Now THOSE were easily accessible!

SC Tom

Reply to
SC Tom

If you disconnect the two hoses running over/near the brake booster, you should have enough room to get your hand in to loosen the clamp and remove/break the plastic clip that holds the fuel line to the filter.

You don't need any special tools to remove the clips, just a thin screwdriver or needle nose pliers. Make sure your replacement filter has new plastic clips. Motorcraft fuel filters have them.

Your hands will get scratched up a bit, but you should be able to change the filter in under 30 minutes. After installing the new filter and hooking everything back together, turn the key to ON for 3 seconds, then to OFF. Repeat 5 times to pressurize the fuel system so you don't kill your battery cranking the engine waiting for it to pressurize. The engine will then start on the first try.

Bob

Reply to
Bob Bailin

Thanks Bob for the tip about removing the hoses. I was in the process of doing that but I felt there still wasn't enough of room for my hand and arm. I'll take a closer look.

Greg remove "rider" to respond directly

Reply to
Greg

I always changed my wife's through the bottom. It's always a hassle. Hank

Reply to
Hank

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