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DIY 7th Gen Pre-Facelift Diesel Fuel Filter Change

Update on the fuel filter.

I have been quoted £100 for the filter change plus the cost of the filter.

Just to confirm, my car is 2004 5 speed, one of the first Honda diesel Accords and as mentioned has Bosch written on the filter casting. Does the filter - ending in part number 442 - come as a complete unit or is it a replaceable filter inside the canister as the one pictured above appears to be, unless of course it was simply taken apart to show the interior.

Thanks to all for most useful information.

Best wishes.

T
 
Like I said in post #27, it's a complete canister... it has to be destructively cut open to reveal the filter element.

If you want to see a picture of it, then find it on the Cox Honda website (under service items) but don't buy it from there, you'll get a much better deal at Holdcroft Honda, or from a reliable stockist of genuine Bosch parts.
 
Thanks again Jon.

I now find that the dealer who has just fixed my car ( front roll bar drop links) for the MOT is part of the same group that owns a big Honda dealership about 40 miles away. He phoned them and was talking about having to take various stuff off the car to reach the filter ( true) but then said the battery would have to come out!

I told him that was not the case and directed him to the advice given in these forums.

Whilst they serviced the car they found the suspension lower arm bushes were worn and quoted £563 to replace them! He confirmed they were not an MOT failure.

Years ago we could have cut those bushes out and pressed new ones in; now they want to sell us the whole unit. Progress?

Regards

T
 
With the 'filter10' discount code, that is the cheapest I've ever seen these filters... so you could save around £120 in total by replacing it yourself!
 
Thanks Jon but I don't have the confidence to do that myself.

When I was in my late teens I took a Consul engine apart and fitted Wellworthy oil control rings. Had a lot of trouble turning it over at first but got there. Made my own ring compressor out of a strip of metal and a bolt.

Another time I took a work colleagues minivan home with me one summer evening and took it back the next morning having de-coked it, ground the valves etc.

Now I baulk at taking a wheel off!!

I was even younger when I took a BSA 250 motorbike gearbox apart. I used to ride it around our fields. I made such a good job of it that when I changed from first to second gear the thing locked up and threw me over the bars!! I later found I had missed out a rather thick spacer on one of the shafts.

Ho hum
 
This is a great guide . There is also a video on youtube if that helps anyone. I will use both when I get around to it.
 
Finally got around to doing fuel filter this guide was very helpful.I only removed the airfilter and priming bulb housing and found a t piece screwdriver with an adapter and 10 mm socket the easiest way to get that awkward bolt out at the back of the filter. using this tool allowed me to turn it completely no problems.
 
Hi

Great write up and the pictures are of excellent quality

I'm about to do it for the first time. I started having serious problems with stalling, going into limp mode and EML coming on (with lots of error codes etc) recently after a garage having fitted a non genuine filter (I can see by the markings that it isn't), so that will try that first.

Just ordered the filter from Cox for about £30, so not bad and really hoping that is the problem's solution.

I just noticed that the filter is quite free to move up and down and rotate inside the holder; should it not be fixed??? I mean, the movement could even cause air bubbles inside the filter for example?

Cheers
Estevao
 
The 'hidden' bolt secures the filter in the housing. I doubt it's that critical how tight it is, so long as it doesn't vibrate when you're driving. Given how tricky it can be to access, perhaps your garage didn't tighten it after fitting the filter?
 
I took the cowards way out and had the job done by a dealer.

£100 or so including the proper Bosch filter.

Pay up and save some hassle was my plan.

Hope this helps.

T
 
I was able to do replace the fuel filter with few problems, and re-tighten that bolt - I had to do the bolt with a ratchet while holding a nut on the other side with a round spanner. Took a few minutes but was done.

Easy to prime and bleed and had no problems, so job done.

It made no different to my worries, unfortunately, and Honda Shrewsbury told me after diagnostics that two injectors were busted and also there is an internal fault with my ECU. That amounts to well over £3k, so I guess it the end of the line for my old beloved...after around 199400 miles, which I guess isn't too bad.

I would try fixing it but starting to learn that removing injectors is not a job for people like myself.


Cheers guys
 
I had my Accord checked by a main dealer and was told the fault codes indicated an ECU problem with a £2000 cost to fix. I asked the folks here on this forum what the fault codes I was given really meant and was told one was a partially blocked fuel filter and the other was something minor. Problem was fixed for £200.

Have you got the printout with the fault numbers? May be worth asking on this forum what they mean.

I have been wondering about changing my 04 diesel with 84,000 miles before something expensive goes wrong. What to do??

T
 
Thanks for the advice in the guide and within the thread, just thought I'd add to it as I successfully replaced the fuel filter at the weekend.

My only comment would be that the throttle body housing is probably the most vital part to move other than the primer pump bracket, so you can get to the side screw with a 1/4" ratchet. This gave the best access without needing to remove the air filter box.

To give an indication of the difficulty level of this for any unsure about trying it I would say its about as hard technically as changing spark plugs. As long as you have a full day its more a case of patience than mechanical skill or knowledge. Even if you can't get it out and give up you can always put everything back together again with enough time, not a lot to go wrong.

Just a quick query however, as I didn't bleed my filter after connecting it up and pumping the priming bulb. It started fine and I've done 100+ miles since with no issue - but is it possible there is still air trapped?
 
does the accord have another fuel filter in the diesel tank? I changed the general fuel filter to a Bosch one , car started fine for 2 weeks and then went back to same issue with starting problems...
 
Many thanks Matt for documenting this process, incredibly handy!

It took me 1:30, I'm relatively good at following instructions, though fairly unfamiliar with the depths of the Accord engine bay.

Used a mix of 1/4 and 3/8 tools.

I was able to fit my hand in behind the "hidden" bolt on the filter housing, this meant I was able to tell how far the bolt was out as I was removing it. As Matt mentioned, you wouldn't want to drop this.

I had to change the filter as I had received a P1237 error code and the car went into limp mode, after having changed the filter and clearing the error code the car seems to be behaving itself.
 
Give the bulb another good squeezing before you write the car off, 30/40 times until the bulb is real hard, no bleeding required, start and allow to tick over for 3/4 minutes when steady then the job is done. Make sure the pipes and clips are in their original positions, if not they could be allowing air in. Hope this helps and saves another mk7 from the scrap heap.
 
Replaced mine Sunday. (04 cdti)

Quite easy to access the bolts as I had no engine in the car at the time, so could stand in the engine bay.

Had one nut and one bolt missing from the bracket. Whoever serviced it before obviously thought Honda put them there for sh*ts and giggles, and they were too much effort to re-install.

Had a Mahle filter in there, and seemed to run fine on it.
Got a proper Bosch on it now ordered from HH, so taking no chances.
For what it cost from them, it wasn't even worth buying online separately. Fair price, and you have the comfort that it's the real deal and not a knock-off.
 
Matt, thanks for thr pdf, I've just done this. Got the throttle linkage and bulb bracket off. Didnt take airbox off. Grabbed the pipes on top of the filter and pulled forwards to bend bracket slightly, pulled off the pipe on the filter furthest away from you, then uhooked it from both of the nearby clips and moved it out of the way. This gave me just enough room to get my 3/8 ratchet on with no extensions. Loosened that bolt literally 2 clicks at a time.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Just wanted to let Matt and anyone thinking about having a go at the diesel filter replacement that I followed Matt's excellent instructions on how to do it this Wednesday. What a write-up!! It took me 4 hours from start to finish, and worked perfectly! My 54 plate Exec had been going into limp home mode every time I gave it some beans, and the problem had got significantly worse last week. I got a genuine Bosch filter, and made sure I had the tools Matt recommends, and followed the instructions. 4 hours later, the engines running perfectly! So a big thanks to Matt for posting this. It wasn't without a few minor problems; the airbox removal is a pain, and I couldn't get on with using gloves, so took the pain on my hands, but it works!! If you're feeling brave, you'll be very satisfied with the results.

Thanks again!
 
Just done my fuel filter, it took just under 2h from getting the tools out to putting the kettle on at the end. A lot better than the 3h it took last time. I might claim it as 90 mins though as I spent a while under the car trying to find one of the bolts that I'd dropped!
 
Nice one. Yep once you get the hang of it, it's not such a bad job
 
good folks I need help please

I changed my fuel filter today (you'd think I'd learn after last time)

anyway got in and replaced easy enough however in my haste to finish the job I did 2 silly things
a. forgot to do the clip in the MAF sensor and b. forgot to leave the outlet pipe off whilst priming, I primed the car and she wouldn't crank remembered sensor clip put it back in still wouldn't crank.
ran battery flat as you would called my breakdown he couldn't get it going he didn't do much but use a battery booster pack and primed whilst cranking no go.
charged my battery up and took filter back apart jubilee clip was loose on outlet hose diesel was leaking a bit, I replaced both jubilees primed with pipes off as (I should of done originally) off etc still won't start.
tried starting by a tow start, with jump leads attached nothing. battery on charge again for the night.

anyone any ideas how I can get it started please?
 
The mechanic who did the last filter change on my (post facelift) car didn't bother bolting the filter back in place. It's just sitting there holding on to surrounding hoses with a few cable ties.

It doesn't seem to affect the running of the car and I suppose it makes the filter change an easier job.
 
patrickc2013 said:
good folks I need help please

I changed my fuel filter today (you'd think I'd learn after last time)

anyway got in and replaced easy enough however in my haste to finish the job I did 2 silly things
a. forgot to do the clip in the MAF sensor and b. forgot to leave the outlet pipe off whilst priming, I primed the car and she wouldn't crank remembered sensor clip put it back in still wouldn't crank.
ran battery flat as you would called my breakdown he couldn't get it going he didn't do much but use a battery booster pack and primed whilst cranking no go.
charged my battery up and took filter back apart jubilee clip was loose on outlet hose diesel was leaking a bit, I replaced both jubilees primed with pipes off as (I should of done originally) off etc still won't start.
tried starting by a tow start, with jump leads attached nothing. battery on charge again for the night.

anyone any ideas how I can get it started please?
With everything connected, you'll need to pump the bulb till it goes hard, and use the 10mm bolt on the top of the filter to get the air bled from the filter too.

Then with a fully charged battery, just crank the guts out of it till it fires.
 
patrickc2013 said:
good folks I need help please

I changed my fuel filter today (you'd think I'd learn after last time)

anyway got in and replaced easy enough however in my haste to finish the job I did 2 silly things
a. forgot to do the clip in the MAF sensor and b. forgot to leave the outlet pipe off whilst priming, I primed the car and she wouldn't crank remembered sensor clip put it back in still wouldn't crank.
ran battery flat as you would called my breakdown he couldn't get it going he didn't do much but use a battery booster pack and primed whilst cranking no go.
charged my battery up and took filter back apart jubilee clip was loose on outlet hose diesel was leaking a bit, I replaced both jubilees primed with pipes off as (I should of done originally) off etc still won't start.
tried starting by a tow start, with jump leads attached nothing. battery on charge again for the night.

anyone any ideas how I can get it started please?
With everything connected, you'll need to pump the bulb till it goes hard, and use the 10mm bolt on the top of the filter to get the air bled from the filter too.

Then with a fully charged battery, just crank the guts out of it till it fires.
 
Goodluckmonkey said:
With everything connected, you'll need to pump the bulb till it goes hard, and use the 10mm bolt on the top of the filter to get the air bled from the filter too.

Then with a fully charged battery, just crank the guts out of it till it fires.
I unfortunately did some damage allowing air into the system and the fuel pressure regulator had to be replaced today.
 
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