I am trying to do what I thought was a simple fuel filter change. However, I am having suprising difficulty determining the fuel pressure relief procedure on a 97 GMC Sonoma with the 2.2L engine. I have two manuals which have conflicting methods on this dangerous work.
The Haynes manual says to loosen the fuel line outlet fitting at the fuel filter with rags catching the spray. This seems OK, but not very desirable or safe.
My Chilton manual has four different procedures for the 2.2L alone! The 1997 has its own method, which says to raise the vehicle, unplug the fuel pump electrical connection, start the engine and let it run until it stalls, and try restarting to make sure fuel has been depleted. This seems far better, except how do you access the fuel pump electrical connector? There is no access to it since it is right on top of the fuel pump, which is on top of the fuel tank. With everything so tightly packaged, I can't see it, let alone unplug it. It seems unreasonable that to change the filter I would have to drop the tank. What should I do?
I don't think I can use another procedure, since the Chilton manual is so specific. Some people say to pull the fuel pump fuse, pull the fuel pump relay, or even bleed the fuel rail service port valve. If I pulled the fuse, I would think it would stop the engine before the residual fuel was depleted, since it also controls the PCM. Pulling the relay possibly might be detected by the PCM. Finally, I don't believe I have a test port on my fuel rail, since the fuel pressure check requires removing the fuel filter and installing a T-fiting with the fuel pressure gauge. Models other than mine do have a Schrader valve.
Any ideas? Thanks for your input.