Micra K11 Fuel Filter Guide - done less than half price

The fuel filter is one of those service items that often gets overlooked. Recently I had a misfire which miraculously cured itself, it was attributed to a blocked or partially blocked injector so several of the forum members suggested a new fuel filter. I had never replaced it myself so as far as I was concerned it could have been 98,500 miles or 17 years old!

Searching for K11 fuel filter on ebay turned up a choice of fuel filters but all of them were over a £fiver and I wondered why this was the case when, for some cars, they were in the region of £2. This lead me to go on the hunt for a filter for one of those cars that would also properly fit on the K11. I measured up the one already fitted an set off listing all fuel filters by price order and looking for the first one that satisfied the following dimensional criteria. A laborious task which you now won't have to undertake!

Diameter - 60mm
Inlet - 8mm
Outlet - 8mm
Flow direction - bottom to top

Anyhow, I found it. Here it is
Item no 281123641568
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/281123641568?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

So for the sum total of £2.48 and two days later this arrived


Off to the engine bay to remove the old one. In my case it was a simple matter of two Phillips screws. Remove the top one first. ONLY DO THIS WITH A COLD ENGINE Give the rubber hose a twist with pliers before pulling off the rubber hose. This is where your hands first get wet with petrol - wear rubber gloves and put your fag out before opening up the fuel system. My engine hadn't run for a day so there wasn't much residual pressure in there. Next remove the bottom hose and get ready because this is the time you lose a filter full of fuel. Quickly put your finger over the bottom of the filter and retire to a safe place to empty it - Don't lay it on the ground somewhere and play a game of throwing lit matches at it.


The old and the new -


How does it go? Replacement is a reversal of removal.
 
That's a diesel filter isn't it? I'm sure that it will be fine, but it might be made from materials that are adversely effected by petrol.
 
If you pull the fuel pump fuse and then run the engine until it dies, it'll remove the pressure from your fuel system and stop you losing fuel everywhere.
 
Yes, just cost.

BTW,
There are actually some bike fuel filters and the like which can be purchased for about £1 but they are tiny and don't fit in the existing clamp. They are often encased in clear plastic so you can actually keep an eye on the condition of the filtration media! I'm sure they would work just fine but it makes sense to presume you'd be replacing them more frequently. I might try using one sometime though.
 
Back
Top