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CylonRed
MVM
join:2000-07-06
Bloom County
·Metronet

CylonRed to Bob4

MVM

to Bob4

Re: Symptomps of a failing fuel pump...

I never changed the fuel filter when I had my Civic HB (the '89). I got it with 46K miles - 99.999999% sure it was not changed before then. I got rid of it with 214K miles on the clock...

Doctor Olds
I Need A Remedy For What's Ailing Me.
Premium Member
join:2001-04-19
1970 442 W30

Doctor Olds

Premium Member

said by CylonRed:

I never changed the fuel filter when I had my Civic HB (the '89). I got it with 46K miles - 99.999999% sure it was not changed before then. I got rid of it with 214K miles on the clock...

All that means is you lived in an area where gas contamination is low or is different in type, but not all areas of the US have that or the contaminants your area has stay in the tank (are too heavy or too big) and are not picked up by the pump to get into the fuel filter.

It just shows how people can ignore a vehicle's maintenance and that vehicle will sometimes not suffer from the neglect. However that is not the norm.
Bob4
Account deleted
join:2012-07-22
New Jersey

Bob4

Member

said by Doctor Olds:

It just shows how people can ignore a vehicle's maintenance and that vehicle will sometimes not suffer from the neglect. However that is not the norm.

I'll say it again: With my Civic, replacing the fuel filter was not part of normal maintenance. It was not on the maintenance schedule. The fuel filter was designed to last the lifetime of the vehicle.

mattmag

join:2000-04-09
NW Illinois

1 recommendation

mattmag to Doctor Olds

to Doctor Olds
said by Doctor Olds:

It just shows how people can ignore a vehicle's maintenance and that vehicle will sometimes not suffer from the neglect. However that is not the norm.

Actually, it is becoming quite the norm. Many vehicles now have "non-serviceable" fuel filters that are an integral part of the fuel pump module. They do not require replacement, and during my tenure with those particular versions I never encountered a case where they caused any problems.

That's not to say I was in favor of the change, but it does seem to be a more common scenario these days.
fartness (banned)
Donald Trump 2016
join:2003-03-25
Look Outside

fartness (banned)

Member

I remember on an older vehicle of mine, changing the fuel filter made a night and day difference. With a lot of these new cars that are "life" filters, will that cause a problem if they needed to be changed on older cars?

mattmag

join:2000-04-09
NW Illinois

mattmag

said by fartness:

I remember on an older vehicle of mine, changing the fuel filter made a night and day difference. With a lot of these new cars that are "life" filters, will that cause a problem if they needed to be changed on older cars?

Well that was part of my reservation, but the new "system filters" as some are now called are made strictly to protect the pumps from what I would call "debris" rather than the fine particulates that the older filters, like the paper ones would catch.

Engineers claim that the pumps today are robust enough to pass such particulates and they will flow through the injection system. Of course this ultimately leads to a need to keep the injectors clean, but fuel additives are such that this is becoming less and less of an issue than the days when I started, and so far they seem to be right... As hard as that is for me to admit.