A4 S4 Quattro.. a step by step Fuel Filter swap.. LOTS of Pictures....
 

I have had several people ask me how difficult it is to change a Quattro fuel filter..

Well Today one of my Customers Gopal.. was nice enough to loan me his BRAND NEW digtal camera for some pictures of a change, and Andrew was nice enough to host them for me! Thanks Gopal and Andrew!

The car is a 1999 A4Q with APR Stage III.. It was Nick S old A4. This car has 30,000 miles on it.. and I must say that the filter is VERY plugged.. it was VERY difficult to blow thru it.

The filter has most likely been restricted for 15k miles..

CHANGE YOUR FILTER AT 15k intervals! :)
FUEL SUPPLY IS CRITICAL!!

The fuel filter is located on the passengers side, rear of the car on the front/side of the fuel tank. (see photo)
<img src="http://www.boom.net/~aos/staley/PICT0007.JPG">

*STEP 1*
There are 4 13mm bolts that hold the tank straps to the body.. remove them. no need to remove the straps.

<img src="http://www.boom.net/~aos/staley/PICT0008.JPG">
<img src="http://www.boom.net/~aos/staley/PICT0009.JPG">

*STEP 2*
Disconnect the cable from the front of the tank. There are 2 plastic clips on the tank.
<img src="http://www.boom.net/~aos/staley/PICT0011.JPG">

*STEP 3*
Using a prybar or something like it GENTLY pry the front of the gas tank down enough to slip a 2x4 up and kind of on top of the tank.. this will hold the tank in the downward position.
<img src="http://www.boom.net/~aos/staley/PICT0012.JPG">

*STEP 4*
I use a 8mm 12pt 3/8 drive allen and a 8mm ratcheting gearwrench to remove the bolt that holds the filter strap to the side of the tank.
REMOVE THE BOLT (see photos) IT IS VERY CLOSE. there is not enough room for a ratchet on the end of the socket.
<img src="http://www.boom.net/~aos/staley/PICT0014.JPG">
<img src="http://www.boom.net/~aos/staley/PICT0013.JPG">
<img src="http://www.boom.net/~aos/staley/PICT0016.JPG">


*STEP 5*
Remove the lower banjo bolt attaching the fuel line to the filter.. 19mm socket. CAUTION........THE FUEL SYSTEM MAY BE UNDER PRESSURE AND FUEL WILL SPRAY OUT AND LEAK FOR A MINUTE WHEN YOU LOOSEN THIS BOLT(MAYBE A PINT OF FUEL).. HAVE RAGS HANDY. pull line out of the way
<img src="http://www.boom.net/~aos/staley/PICT0018.JPG">


*STEP 6*
You will now be able to grab and pull the filter down and out.. and be able to disconnect the 17mm banjo attaching the other line to the filter..
There is no way possible to reverse the lines or the filter.. they have one large and one small hole where the lines attach.
<img src="http://www.boom.net/~aos/staley/PICT0019.JPG">

*STEP 7*
Make sure to replace the sealing washers when you replace the filter.. Your local dealer SHOULD have them in stock.. Replace filter in reverse order!

GOOD LUCK!

LASTLY.. if you want to tell just how plugged your filter was.. simply blow thru the new one to get a baseline good reference.. then clean the old filter and blow thru it in the direction of fuel flow.. test this for yourself.. and see how plugged they can be.
<img src="http://www.boom.net/~aos/staley/PICT0020.JPG">

What interval do you recommend for air filter replacement?
 

BTW Thanks for the write-up

Paper.. once a year.. K&N.. whenever it looks bad..

Thanks for taking the time to write this up, Mike. :)

thanks, nice job. can you cut the filter in half and post a pic? should be interesting to see.

Thx Mike. Wish I was closer to Houston. No telling what mods I'd have by now =-)

Good job. Now make a nice clean tech article and submit it.

thanks for the great writeup Mike! how long did it take for the whole project?

Great write up! I am going to order a fuel filter right now..

Great post