How to: Fuel strainer and fuel filter replacement.
 

So our 2001 Civic has a stumbling / hesitating problem upon acceleration. As noted in this thread.
https://www.civicforums.com/forums/1...tion-help.html
After scouring this forum and the web I decided to change the fuel filter and strainer.

Honda says that these are lifetime but the strainer at the pump itself only blocks out larger particles like sand but smaller stuff makes it way past that and into the upper filter housing. And after 150K miles its bound to be clogged.

These are the 2 parts we bought. right at about $48 sipped.
.
Upper fuel filter
BECK/ARNLEY Part # 0433012, $29.79 @ RockAuto
http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/rafr...&parttype=6208

Fuel strainer.
http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/moreinfo.php?pk=2142578


Here is how I did it.



1. First remove your back seat. Pull up on the front until it unsnaps then remove a 10mm bolt from the back middle portion of the seat.

2. Remove four screw from silver cover plate.
http://i53.tinypic.com/2110ygg.jpg

3. Unplug the electrical connector. Squeeze tab and pull up.
http://i51.tinypic.com/2cem5bo.jpg

4. You need to relieve the fuel pressure. Remove the gas cap. Start the car and rev the engine until it dies ( runs out of fuel since pump is not on )

5. Squeeze the tabs on the fuel line connector and oull the black line outwards. Place a rag around it when you do because there is always a bit of fuel left.
http://i53.tinypic.com/6f0f49.jpg

6. Remove the lockring but turing it counterclokwise. My tools of choice were a chisel and hammer. Don't go apeshiz on it.
http://i51.tinypic.com/293jbiw.jpg

7. Gently start pulling upwards to remove the pump assembly from the car. It's kind of tricky so I didnt get any pics. You have to rotate it around and take into account the fuel level arm at the bottom of the pump. DO NOT FORCE IT OUT OR YOU WILL BREAK SOMETHING!

8. Here is the pump assembly with the gasket that goes under the lock ring.
http://i56.tinypic.com/2qkibu0.jpg

9. I didnt take disassembly pics of the whole unit since its pretty much straight forward. Just unplug all electrical connectors and unsnapp the housings. Again, be super careful with the fuel level arm. Take a picture before you unsnap anything and just put it all together the way it came out. The new strainer and filter comes wtih new o-rings and new lock washer.

10. Here is a pic of the strainer. Super easy to remove and put on. See that nub in the middle? It has a special lock washer on it. Just pry it off with a tiny screwdriver.
http://i56.tinypic.com/29y49r9.jpg

11. The top filter arm assemblies. They come off and on super easy. Just squeeze the tabs that they pivot and hold on to and they pop right off. Dont forget to transfer the lockring gasket over and run your wires the way they were.
http://i53.tinypic.com/zxv147.jpg

12. Here it is all put back together.
http://i55.tinypic.com/2djpgzc.jpg

13. Put it back in the tank and reassemble everything. Transfer the fuel line locking mechanism tab thingy over to the new pump. Be careful taking it out as you may snap it.

14. Turn ignition on and back off 4 or 5 times to build pressure in the fuel lines.

15. Start car and hopefully your hesitation problems went away. As for me, I notice that now the car doesnt need to crank over as much as before in order for it to start.

16. Here is a picture of the filter assembly in the upper housing. Its a cardboard filter and ours had a lot of sediment on it. So much that when you ran your filters across it there was a bit of sludge.
http://i51.tinypic.com/28jh4zn.jpg


Hopefully this helps other folks out. You guys saved me a few times on this board already. Consider this my contribution back.

Re: How to: Fuel strainer and fuel filter replacement.
 

great thread. at 100k im prolly due as well. its interesting that honda does not sell anything except the lock ring separately. might head over and check local stores. im pretty surprised about the cardboard to be honest. i thought it wouldve been some kind of reusable metal mesh or something.

Re: How to: Fuel strainer and fuel filter replacement.
 

Im surprised about the cardboard filter as well. Im guessing Honda calls its "lifetime" about 100K since this one was past due to change. It had a lot of sediment type stuff in there.

There is no way to change that either. You have to buy the whole upper piece. Then you can cut open your old one to check what the filter is looking like. Once you do that is is essentially destroyed.

Re: How to: Fuel strainer and fuel filter replacement.
 

do you have any pics of the upper filter you bought? the link doesnt seem to be working cause the forum shortened it. so you cut the cardboard one out and put in the new one? is it better than cardboard im guessing? or you mean you just cut the cardboard out and left it the way it is with nothing...

ive known about the strainer before and those hardly ever get clogged unless you buy gas from middle of nowhere but the other one seems like they shouldve designed a replacement part for.

Re: How to: Fuel strainer and fuel filter replacement.
 

No cutting anything. You have to replace the whole upper part of the pump assembly. I fixed the link above. The big white looking plastic thing is what you buy. It contains the non serviceable filter inside.

http://info.rockauto.com/getimage/ge...00433012-1.jpg

http://i.ebayimg.com/00/$(KGrHqV,!hE...BL,g~~0_12.JPG

Re: How to: Fuel strainer and fuel filter replacement.
 

ah okay thanks for the pics.

Re: How to: Fuel strainer and fuel filter replacement.
 

thank you for sharing. i replaced it one week ago in UNIVERS motors, because don't have time to do it myself. but it is interesting to know how to do it. may be for the future 80000 km ;)

Re: How to: Fuel strainer and fuel filter replacement.
 

As i told Mel, this is a B to replace in our 7th gens
Notice any fuel efficiency changes after the new filter?

Though I'm only at 70k, I plan to replace mine as well soon.

Great DIY though

Re: How to: Fuel strainer and fuel filter replacement.
 

i am more worried about breathing the gas fumes personally (which contain cancer causing benzene). i guess get a paint respirator when removing it and then work outside.

Re: How to: Fuel strainer and fuel filter replacement.
 

This is my mother-in-laws car now. I drove it this past weekend and didnt notice any hesitation problems with it. She stated the same. They seemed to have cleared up. The problem could be reproduced before right when the car was first started and after it was warmed up waiting at a red light or so.

Re: How to: Fuel strainer and fuel filter replacement.
 

Update:


Car was driven this past weekend for over 3 hours going from Austin to Corpus Christi. No hesitation and it drove smoothly the entire time.

I'd say issue is fixed. Thanks to all those that helped me figure this out.

Re: How to: Fuel strainer and fuel filter replacement.
 

wow.great DIY.just changed the whole assembly on my car.followed every step that you showed.actual job didn't take even an hour.and I was doing it on parking lot of my appartmens.one thing:we have to make sure that is no spark anywere.i used a lot of rugs.

Re: How to: Fuel strainer and fuel filter replacement.
 

i wanted to do this as im around 120k miles on my car. thing is the link you posted is to an 01 civic, and mine is an 05 vp civic. rockauto doesnt have the upper filter listed under air/fuel stuff for the 05. should i order the one in the link, or is it a different part# for the 05? im confused...

Re: How to: Fuel strainer and fuel filter replacement.
 

I'm staring at a factory parts catalog and I don't see any reference to the filter (I know I have seen it before, but maybe not for a Civic...)
BUT the service info has procedures for replacing the filter section of the pump module. Strange.

Re: How to: Fuel strainer and fuel filter replacement.
 

last sumer i tryed changing the fuel filter...canadian tire gave me the wrong part. that f'ing lock ring took me a half hour to get free... i used the same technique as th OP, when i put it back on i made sure to grease it for next time. the messed thing is i never even got to change the filter, lol

Re: How to: Fuel strainer and fuel filter replacement.
 

ah i just searched for a 04 civic and it has the filter listed. im 99% positive theres no difference from 04-05, so i will order the one for the 04 and let you all know whether or not its right. maybe make a note so if anyone with an 05 tries to order the pump filter that rockauto doesnt have it listed for the 05...could just be a mistake on thier part???

Re: How to: Fuel strainer and fuel filter replacement.
 

Those are just the strainers. You want that and the filter I believe.

Re: How to: Fuel strainer and fuel filter replacement.
 

A follow up on this: A call was made to Honda parts special people, and I found out that Honda does NOT sell the filter section by itself for these Civics, even though there are service manual instructions for replacing it.

Re: How to: Fuel strainer and fuel filter replacement.
 

After a little research I figured it out. My EM2 has 110K on it and def lags a bit when taking off.... I will be doing this in the next couple of weeks when the parts come in... Im excited I found this as a buddy of mine said that I may need to change it.... :tup:

Re: How to: Fuel strainer and fuel filter replacement.
 

Thanks for this! Just saved me a ton of money this weekend :D Quick tip since I took way longer than it should have taken me to figure this out: be sure to move over the old rubber grommets or use the new rubber grommets on both hoses on the new filter. Otherwise it won't start when you put it back together ;D

Thanks again!!!

Re: How to: Fuel strainer and fuel filter replacement.
 

just had a chance to do this on my 04 ex. I noticed a big difference in throttle response and no "lag". Awesome DIY

very easy and the results were quite noticeable.

Re: How to: Fuel strainer and fuel filter replacement.
 

Glad my " How To " was able to help a few folks. I am not sure about what parts cover the 04-05 models but the link I provided for sure cover 01-03's.


One thing I do recommend to do is to lube the new O-Rings with oil to get them to fit correctly since they go on tight. This is really easy to do. Just take your time and follow my pictures.

Re: How to: Fuel strainer and fuel filter replacement.
 

explain? i have problem after starting? it just doesnt last long enough?

Re: How to: Fuel strainer and fuel filter replacement.
 

I thought we never have to change the fuel filter. Sounds like a major job jsut to get this done.

Re: How to: Fuel strainer and fuel filter replacement.
 

every 100k or when fuel pressure drops below spec. i personally would never replace unless you have problems related to low fuel pressure.

Re: How to: Fuel strainer and fuel filter replacement.
 

Awesome post! Armed with this I will absolutely take on this project in the next week or so. I have some hesitation right when the car turns on after being warmed up already from a previous drive. Hopefully this helps the problem; if not then at least this is great maintenance! Thanks again for an awesome post.

Re: How to: Fuel strainer and fuel filter replacement.
 

Thanks to jackoncruzpr for the great DIY guide. I did this job this past weekend. I described where I had problems at https://sites.google.com/site/hondal...er-replacement. Note especially the great tool Autozone has available to lend to get off that nasty locking collar that jackoncruzpr used a hammer and chisel on. The tool is from Autozone's OEM #27160 lender "Fuel Pump Replacement Kit." Click on the photo below to see a little more detail. After replacing the filter and strainer sock, my 2003 Honda Civic seems to run even better than before.

Re: How to: Fuel strainer and fuel filter replacement.
 

hey did it work for your 05? i'm about to do this

edit: it works for the 05 models.

Re: How to: Fuel strainer and fuel filter replacement.
 

although the civic i did this on is gone ( gave to MIL ) it still runs great. Has 180K on it with original pump.

Re: How to: Fuel strainer and fuel filter replacement.
 

Hard to say without seeing what you did. Did you make sure all the o-rings slid in nice and easy or did you force any of them? Electrical connector on? Fuel pump makes the whirring sound when you turn key?