Kennykid2002

iTrader: (1)

Being that our cars are 10+ years old now. Most of you (Myself included) will probably not have ever changed your fuel pump and/or filter.
Our cars are known to develop a hesitation problem, which most likely, the cause is a bad filter. Another issue is long cranking before starting the car, which could be caused by a weak or failing pump. But most likely the cause is again, the filter.
Most auto stores will not sell our filters as they consider ours "non serviceable", however, it is indeed serviceable and quite easy to do.

Time required: 45min-2 hour depending on experience
Difficulty level: 3/10

Equipment:
Phillips screwdriver
Flathead screwdriver
Hammer
Safety glasses
Gloves
Nose mask
A few towels and/or rags
Vacuum - optional

Parts:
Fuel Filter: Beck/Arnley 043-3012
Fuel Pump/Strainer combo: Denso 950-0114 (Not sure what brand OEM is, but I felt most comfortable with this brand)

Notes:
You'll want to work on the pump with less than half a tank of gas.

Strainers don't seem to get clogged, only the filter.
So if your car is hesitating, and don't want to spend the extra money, just replace the filter. My pump was whining and I've been having to prime my fuel pump several times before starting the car. You can replace the strainer and filter if you don't want to buy the pump, but I advise replacing all of it while you're in there, it isn't much more work.

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Attachment 91311

Step 1:
The fuel pump assembly is located under the back seat, so prepare your work area. Make sure you have a good amount of space and nothing you want gasoline spilled on.
Attachment 91312

Step 2:
Pull the bottom portion of the backseat out, it's simply held on by 2 clips in the front. Give it a good tug and it should pop out nicely.
Attachment 91313

Step 3:
Locate the protective plate above the fuel pump assembly and remove the 4 phillip screws holding it in. Be careful removing this plate, as there is a electrical clip underneath that you'll need to remove to move the plate away.
Attachment 91314

Step 4:
After the clip under the protective plate is removed, this is the time you want to depressurize the gas line and tank. Do so by starting the car until the car stalls, which should take about 5-10 seconds. Once the car stalls, or doesn't start anymore, you'll want to remove the gas cap. (You don't want gas spraying at you when the fuel assembly leaves the tank)

This is a very good time to vacuum the area around the pump assembly and possibly backseats if it's never been done. You don't want extra debris falling into the gas tank.

Step 5:
Once the fuel tank and lines are depressurized, and the protective plate is out of the way, you're going to start removing the locking ring holding the fuel pump assembly. The locking ring is pretty tight in there, so I advise using a flat head screwdriver and a hammer to bang on the nubs at an angle counterclockwise. The screwdriver will dig into the plastic, so don't go hulk on it. Bang all around a few nubs to get it to loosen about half a turn and it should be loose enough to remove by hand.
Attachment 91315

Step 6:
Once the locking ring is loose, you're going to want to remove the fuel delivery line. Do this by holding the white clip and pulling on the black fuel connector. Be careful not to break this white clip, as you'll be needing this again later. Some residual fuel may leak out of this line.
Attachment 91316

Step 7:
Now that the fuel delivery line and locking ring has been removed, the fuel pump assembly should pop up and be ready to be removed.
Place a rag next to the area, and pull the assembly up SLOWLY.
Hold the pump assembly upright for a few seconds while some of the fuel from the assembly drains away. (You may notice some dirty gas making it's way down back into the tank)
Once it's drained a bit, you'll want to maneuver it around to get the whole assembly out. Be careful not to pull hard, as you may break the fuel level arm. Simply wiggle it out slowly.
When you get the whole assembly out, you'll want to cover up the tank so that you don't soak your car in gas fumes and that no additional debris gets into the tank.
Attachment 91317
Attachment 91318
Attachment 91319

Step 8:
Now that you have your fuel pump assembly removed and gas tank covered, it's time to work on the assembly outside of the car, where you're not sniffing gas fumes. Work in an open area, or open garage. Lay the assembly on a rag or towel. Now would be a good time to take pictures of the assembly so that you know how everything goes back together. But in case you're too lazy to do so, here are my photos.
Attachment 91320
Attachment 91321
Attachment 91322

Step 9:
Now would be a good time to bring your new fuel filter over to compare and see if you got the correct item. This will also help you to see what will be needed to be transferred over. As you can see right away, the top seal, and white fuel delivery line clip at the top will be needed to transfer over to the new filter.
Attachment 91323

Step 10:
Next thing you need to do is to remove all the electrical clips. Two of these are just push clips which are easily removed, the black one is a copper clip wire which you'll need a small screwdriver or pin to push into the clip to remove the wire. (You can pull the whole black clip, but as the new filter has the black clip as well, it'd be easier to just pull the wire)
Attachment 91324
Attachment 91325
Attachment 91326
Attachment 91327

Step 11:
Once the electrical clips are removed, time to remove the fuel lines.
There's one at the front where you need to push down on the housing to remove the clip. Then there's one in the back where you'll have to push the clips apart to pull the connector out. NOTE THE O-RING SEALS AT THESE CONNECTORS. THEY WILL BE REPLACED BY THE ONES THAT CAME WITH THE FUEL FILTER.
Attachment 91328
Attachment 91329
Attachment 91330

Step 12:
Now that the hoses and connectors have been removed, it's time to pull the filter off the assembly. It's held on by the two clips on either side. Just give the filter a tug and it should pop off.
Now compare the two filters and put the new o-ring seals on the places where the old o-rings were.
Attachment 91331
Attachment 91332
Attachment 91333

Step 13:
IF YOU ARE ONLY REPLACING THE FUEL FILTER, YOU CAN SKIP TO STEP 17
If you plan to replace the strainer or pump, continue on...

Now, onto the pump.
Move all the wiring out of the way, and pull the 4 clips holding the bottom container together to expose the pump and strainer. Be CAREFUL as you know, it is PLASTIC. and as you can see, the whole pump is held in place by 4 plastic clips.
Attachment 91334
Attachment 91335


Step 14:
Carefully remove the pump out of it's housing and compare it to your new part. (The Denso comes with a lot of extras that we won't be needing.)
Pull the electrical clip at the top of the fuel pump to make it easier to work.
You are going to CAREFULLY remove the 3 PLASTIC clips at the bottom of the cage to pull the pump and strainer out from the cage. NOTE THE BLACK O-RING AND WHITE PLASTIC RING, AS YOU'LL BE NEEDING THESE ON THE NEW PUMP
Attachment 91336
Attachment 91337
Attachment 91338

Step 15:
If you are only replacing the strainer, you'll need to remove the retaining ring under the pump and remove the strainer to replace it.
Now, transfer the o ring and white plastic ring over to the new pump and reassemble. Make sure everything is clipped back together.
Attachment 91339
Attachment 91340

Step 16:
Now place the pump and it's cage back into the bottom housing, making sure the cage is clipped into position and reattach the electrical clip.
Then close up the bottom housing and put the wires back where they belong.
Attachment 91341
Attachment 91342

Step 17:
Make sure you've moved the white plastic clip and seal onto the new fuel filter.
Snap the fuel filter back onto the bottom housing and reattach the hoses .(making sure new o rings are installed)
A good advice here, is to manually rotate the connectors at the end of the hoses to put less strain on the hoses. The whole assembly will have a backwards lean regardless, but you don't want to be straining these hoses.
(The bottom housing will lay flat against the bottom of the fuel tank, so don't worry about it not sitting straight)
Then attach the two electrical clips and black copper clip back into place.
Attachment 91343

Step 18:
Now we're going to take the assembly back out into the car.
Remove your rag and carefully push the assembly back in with the fuel arm going in first.
Attachment 91344

Step 19:
Once you've wiggled the bottom portion into the tank, you're going to want to put the seal around the tank hole first. After that, you'll want to push down on the top of the fuel filter and attach the locking ring. Lock it down as much as you can by hand then take the flathead and hammer and bang the nubs the clockwise until the locking ring is completely tightened.
Attach the electrical clip and fuel delivery lines. (Don't close the protective plate yet until you have checked for leaks.
Attachment 91345
Attachment 91346

Step 20:
Once the locking ring, fuel line, and electrical clip is reconnected, go put the gas cap back on. Now that everything is tight and sealed, go ahead and put the key in the ignition and prime the pump about 4-5 times by switching it to ON, without cranking the engine. You should be hearing the new (or old) pump starting up and pushing fuel into the lines.
Once the pump has been primed, go ahead and start the car and check for leaks.
If there are no leaks, turn off the car, close up the protective plate, put the rear seats back, and air out the car for about 10 minutes.

Congratulations, you've successfully replaced the fuel pump and filter!
Enjoy your better running car!

FYI, at 86K, the cardboard filter was really dirty.
I don't understand how Honda can claim this lasts the life of the car.

GolNat

iTrader: (7)

Another great Kenny write up!!

cja3455

good detailed DIY. I think Honda assumes that clean gas is used and a fuel system cleaner is used periodically (at honda dealership, they sell BG fuel system cleaner). so with that it is fair to state that the filter will last the life of the car

ezone

The lifetime filter is good for the lifetime of the filter.
Your mileage may vary.



I have a cookie sheet I use for doing work like that, it works pretty well to avoid fuel soaking the interior items.

Kennykid2002

iTrader: (1)

Thanks, car runs amazing now. No more searching through gears. There used to be moments where the car used to think "hmmmm, I wonder which gear to take......oh right, second"
It almost felt like a transmission issue.

Don't think so. Most fuel system cleaners aren't recommended. I know some dealerships sell performance aftermarket parts, but don't warrant your car with the aftermarket parts installed.


Nice wording. I guess the limitation is that the filter's lifetime is severely misjudged.

AlexFromCali

Sorry for the bump. My strainer didn't come attached to the rubber/plastic piece with the retaining clip.

I put the strainer onto the existing rubber/plastic assembly

The big question is

HOW DO I GET A RETAINER CLIP BACK ON. IT's SUPER HARD.
The strainer came with a replacement one but whats the trick to make it catch onto the few mm that the strainer stud sticks out?

ezone

Make sure the little teeth aren't bent the wrong way and aren't damaged, make sure it is facing the right direction

Use a small socket and hammer to tap in onto the stub?

AlexFromCali

Small socket sounds like the best bet. I kinda ****ed around with the older one but the new one should be fine since it's tight enough to not fit on, but as soon as it's pressed on the teeth will hold on fine. It's quite sketch because of all the plastic pieces.

I mean a minor plastic crack could end up costing 240$ for the new pump assembly because other than pick n pull that **** is not good.

Thanks for the ****ING rapid response. Repped.

Oh and it seems like a two person job since any type of clamp wouldn't be good. I have to press the rubbery part further onto the clips for the strainer stud to stick out far enough. So one person holding and the other tryna hammer.

AlexFromCali

It worked. I took a little extension thingy

But instead I had to pull off the plastic white cover for the strainer, and put the clip on with only one rubber piece on. If that makes sense. Lol.

So Clip on first, then the white surrounding clip that clips onto the retaining part.