How to Prime a Fuel Filter

Fuel filters play an essential role in keeping the fuel clean during its journey from the gas station to your vehicle. As it moves between depot, tanker, and pump systems, dirt, dust, and other contaminants may accumulate within its composition.

Impurities that accumulate in your fuel filter can wreak havoc with its operation, including making starting your engine difficult. In this article we’ll look at how priming a fuel filter may help alleviate these issues.

Remove the Fuel Filter

Fuel filters are designed to protect engines from foreign particles such as sand and rust that may enter through either the fuel tank or vehicle itself. They do this by filtering out impurities using fibers that trap impurities while still allowing pure fuel to reach injectors for use.

Before beginning to remove the fuel filter from your vehicle, be sure to consult its owner’s manual for specific steps and warnings related to that model vehicle. It is also wise to have a fire extinguisher handy as handling flammable materials can be risky business.

Once your equipment is prepared, carefully lift your vehicle using a jack and secure it using jack stands in order to avoid falling off of them. Set the parking brake and chock the wheels before taking further steps. Remove whatever is holding the filter in place (clip, banjo bolt etc), twisting loose it until free and being careful as there can often be quite a lot of fuel spray when unhooking it from its location remembering which way was installed before replacing with new filter!

Fill the Fuel Tank

When choosing the fuel you use in your vehicle, it’s essential that it contains an appropriate octane rating. This ensures your engine runs optimally while also helping prevent dirt, silt or carbon build-up in its components and fuel filter.

Most experts advise filling your tank to about a quarter full to maximize fuel efficiency and prevent your pump from running dry and becoming clogged up with debris.

Pre-filling their fuel filter before changing it is not advised, since this could introduce contaminants into the system and harm your injection pump. To test whether the filter has been primed correctly, disconnect from your fuel pump hose and press on the primer pump on front of fuel rail with finger to check if you feel suction – if this is present it means diesel has been pumped through and was successfully primed into filter.

Turn on the Engine

Priming is essential when working on a diesel engine. Air trapped within the fuel system may inhibit ignition, alter pressure or damage the pump itself.

Fuel filters contain fibers that trap impurities from gasoline and allow clean fuel to pass through into your injectors. When you turn on the key and hear a buzzing noise, that means your lift pump is priming your injection system and priming its injectors.

If your truck fails to start after making that noise, trying moving the shifter to neutral may restore electrical contact in the range selector switch and allow the engine to start. If that doesn’t work, then perhaps consulting with a mechanic would be beneficial; they can access their mechanical manual for your specific machine and help explain what’s happening, then help make decisions based on that understanding.

Turn off the Engine

Refueling a diesel vehicle should always be completed without turning on the engine, to prevent fuel from accidentally being poured into its high-pressure side and potentially causing it to malfunction. Furthermore, this allows time for all the new fuel to fully lubricate and pressurize its way through its system before restarting up again.

Many do not take this step, yet it is the easiest and best way to ensure that their diesel system is primed properly. Overpriming can result in air entering injectors, potentially interfering with ignition and potentially damaging fuel pumps. To check priming, remove the bleeder screw from your filter and blow air through it; if you feel suction, priming is working correctly; otherwise you must reprime. Failing this may result in black smoke coming from your exhaust upon starting your diesel vehicle – an indication that unburnt carbon and fuel remains trapped within its system and should be addressed as soon as possible.