No_snivelling

It is really easy to replace the in-tank filter once you have the fuel tank removed and "while you are in there" replace the two short rubber hoses that go to the fuel pump. As noted here, better safe than sorry with old fuel lines.

nabfa1

Thank you all for your direction and advice - replaced the fuel filter. Not a bad experience but could not help but think I was going to blowup any second lol ..... As others had noted brown gas/liquid on the non filtered side ( out of the filter ) vs clean fluid on the engine end ..... very exciting getting to do more .

s65e90

Just did mine. Took maybe 15 minutes start to finish. There's not much inside my bay though. Very easy car to work on.

ZG862

For extra manoeuvring space, remove the clamp retaining the power steering lines (5mm hex iirc). This allows the hose to push upwards and gives much more space to get a good fit on the furthest forward connector.
I also loosened the hose clip that secures the fuel filter itself and this allows cracking the connection by putting a ring spanner on the aft of the filter body. Obviously, you'll need to loosen this eventually to remove the old filter; I just didn't expect to do so before disconnecting the lines, and it helped.

Z

HalV

Thanks to nabfa1 for reviving this thread. It inspired me to do a job that I've been putting off for a few years. I tried loosening the front most nut a few years ago and it wouldn't budge so I retightened the rear nut and called it a day. Today, I went out to the garage with more purpose. I didn't have a 17mm flare wrench for the front most fuel hose nut so I tried using a regular wrench and a crescent wrench. Both seemed like there were going to round off the nut. Then I followed BobCampbell's method of using a pipe wrench and successfully broke the stubborn nut free. The rest of the job was drama free. Glad to have that done!

misteralz

I've never even considered using anything other than a pipe spanner on these, and I've never had a problem. There's no way I'd use an adjustable.

s65e90

Yea, surprised this thread is as long as it is. A regular set of wrenches on each side, I think it was a 17 and 19 and it was simple. Mine was old too.

HalV

I'm glad that worked for you. Mine was so tight that a regular 17mm wrench was starting to round the nut (this is a good quality 1980's era craftsman wrench). Since I didn't have a flare wrench, I'm glad I had the pipe wrench in the toolbox.