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DIY 8th Gen iDtec Diesel Fuel Filter Change

deeno1975

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Accord I Dtec
DIY 8th Gen iDtec Diesel Fuel Filter Change

Just changed my diesel fuel filter on my 8th Gen iDtec and below is a description on how I did it. I approached this with a lot of trepidation but in hind sight it was not as difficult as I first feared.

1. Make sure you have at least 5 litres of diesel in the tank to enable proper bleeding once complete.

2. Disconnect positive from battery. Make sure you have access to your security code as you will need this once the system is reconnected.

3. Removed the cross member.

4. Create some room to get at the filter by moving the fuse box to the side. Undo the nut holding the fuse box. Opened the fuse box and removed the 2 input wires thus allowing the fuse box to be put to one side out of the way.
FuseBox.jpg


5. Remove the top bolt holding the fuel pipe to the top of the filter and pull the fuel pipe out. Have a cloth ready to catch any fuel spillage.
FuelFilter.jpg


6. Next unscrew the top of the filter cover. Here you have 2 choices in how to do this.

Option one is to buy the specific Honda tool which is about £60. This would make it very easy.

Option two is to use a chain oil filter wrench, a ratchet and a long extension. Like this one http://www.tooled-up.com/Product.asp?PID=20713 The chain is wrapped carefully around the top of the filter cover and the ratchet is turned until the filter unscrews. It makes it easier to have two people doing this. One to place the chain on the correct position (around the top of the filter cover) and ensure it does not move around and the other to turn the ratchet. We worked carefully to ensure there was no damage done to the filter housing but the filter cover unscrewed easy enough. Be careful when working together not to get any fingers caught as it can lead to an outbreak of swearing!!!!
RatchetChain.jpg

RatchetInUse.jpg

OldFilter.jpg


7. Once the filter is removed the filter housing must be drained. Again two options;

Option one is to drain the filter via the drain plug at the bottom of the filter. This can be accessed by jacking up the car, put on axle stands, remove wheel, put car on left lock on wheel and use a spanner and hose to drain the filter via the drain plug.

Option two (the one we used) is to suck the fuel out of the filter using a pump. Makes the job very easy. Clean inside of fuel filter with a cloth if there is any dirt.
DrainFuel.jpg

OpenedFilter.jpg


8. Got the filter from a Honda dealer, only Honda parts going into my machine. Coat the new O ring in some fuel and replace the old ones. Two O rings come in the kit, one for the filter cover and the other for the drain plug. Replace the old ones with new ones. Pull the old filter out and put the new filter in.

9. Put the filter cover and new filter back into the housing and screw.

10. Using the same technique as 6 above to tighten the cover. An arrow on the filter cover points to a notch on the housing when correctly tightened.

11. Replace the fuel pipe and bolt in.

12. Replace the wires in the fuse box (making sure the correct wires go into the correct slot) and tighten. Replace cover and put fuse box back in position.

13. Replace and bolt on the cross member.

14. Turn on ignition to III (but do not start) and leave the pump prime and bleed the system. I turned the key to III and left for 50 seconds and did this twice. You can hear the pump priming the fuel system.

15. Once primed I started the engine and she started first time. Checked for leaks and took her for a spin. Happy days!!

My initial thought’s was that this was going to be a nightmare (judging from the i-CDTI forums) but it was not too difficult at all. The only real tricky bit was removing the fuel filter cover and with two guys and a bit of patience it worked out fine.
 
good right up, if the new filter is fitted upside down then the car will not start just thought id add.
 
Exccellent write up - attempted this yesterday. Got it all stripped down only to find my filter tool that i used for the oil filter was too small to fit around the Fuel filter. Will have to try again next weekend with some better tools. :mad:
 
Excellent write up and a great addition to the knowledge base. Thank you for sharing!
 
I have an auto I dtec and the fuel filter is located underneath the car near the fuel tank

Changed mine , it took about 30-45 mins as you have to jack up and use stands etc (safety)
 
DJX1Y said:
I have an auto I dtec and the fuel filter is located underneath the car near the fuel tank
Changed mine , it took about 30-45 mins as you have to jack up and use stands etc (safety)
Any tips? Which side of the car, etc?
 
He drives a taxi all week down in the Gatwick area, I doubt he has much time to check on the forum these days. Drop him a PM
 
Thank you, have done that as well, do you have any idea where the fuel filter on the tourer idtec is located? he mentioned under the car near the fuel tank. I cannot find it under the bonnet/fuse box.
 
I never realised it was any different on a tourer but on a saloon it's in a similar location to the 7th gen diesel.

Try getting a diagram for your car off lings honda parts, you may need to register first
 
Hi guys. Sorry not been here for a while
The fuel filter on my saloon is located underneath the car near the fuel tank
The filter is hidden behind a black protective cover

Mines an auto by the way
I rang holdcroft for filter location
They are very helpful
 
This must be an auto vs manual thing then. On the manual saloon it's in the engine bay against the bulkhead.
 
Thanks for that, I am unable to find one under the bonnet, so it's got to be at the back, and as you say there's an under-tray going to be fun? Mines an auto too.
 
Just out of interest: I've a drawing that shows the automatic having a 'fuel sub strainer' in roughly the same place the manual has the fuel filter. Does this need any attention?
 
Ive just done a Filter change using these instructions - perfect, thank you!. Using the right tool (Laser6612 88 mm 14 flat) this a straightforward job. Just one little thing to add though. Don't let your years of experience fool you and automatically fit the new 'O' ring up snug against the lid, you'll never get the lid to line up correctly, because it gets too tight. it fits in the large groove, about 5 mm down from the lid. Take a look at the bottom foto in Step 6.
 
I have just attempted this but the fuel filter cover won't budge. Was using a 15 flute 90mm oil filter wrench which fitted well but kept slipping off at full torque, way more than 35nm that the cover is only supposed to be. Any more I thought something might snap. Maybe it's a tad too shallow with the fuel pipe lump poking out the top.
Do they seize if a long time between changes?
Had to abandon for the moment.
 
Really you need to use the proper tool from Honda. It’s about £55 from memory. Worth buying and keeping if you plan to keep the car.
 
Perfect! That’s a good find
 
I ended up with one of these:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Laser-Oil-Filter-Wrench-88mm-15-Flutes-6612A/182853065981?epid=2087936705&hash=item2a92e45cfd:g:t2kAAOSwaSZZ71BV

Looks the same as the more expensive one and it did the job. It is deeper than the normal oil filter wrenches. I think the previous owner had over tightened the filter cover. When I torqued it back up to 35nm it was still 12mm short of the original line up mark.

I didn't disconnect the battery, just removed the strut brace and moved the fuse box back a little. The housing was pretty clean inside so didn't drain it.

I've noticed a 3mpg improvement over 30 miles so far, all short journeys.
Thanks for recommending the replacement.
 
That’s an excellent find, thanks for sharing!
 
Well, spoke too soon. Done 200+ miles now and the average is back down at 37mpg so fuel filter replacement has made no difference.
Brakes are not binding either. Any other things to check?
 
What sort of mileage is that, motorway or local? It’s not ridiculously low if it’s a mix or mostly local, especially if it’s in the very cold temperatures we are having at the moment.
 
Short journeys giving it some, I'm not a careful driver. I have tried driving carefully though and it doesn't seem to help. You really have to drive slow to make a difference.
 
Ignore the computer read out, just drive it, 37 is not too shabby, do not compare with the 7th gen they are much better on fuel consumption.
 
I got 44.1 calculated on my last fill 2013 ATS Tourer, not caning it but not hanging about either.
DPF makes the engine a lot less efficient IMO.
 
Bounder said:
I got 44.1 calculated on my last fill 2013 ATS Tourer, not caning it but not hanging about either.
DPF makes the engine a lot less efficient IMO.
I dream of 44 mpg from this car , had a few 1.9 tdi passats doing @ +47mpg.
No dpf on the car at the moment.
 
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