Fuel Filter Replacement
What is Fuel Filter Replacement?
Gasoline and diesel fuel makes a long journey from refinery to exhaust pipe. Along the way, it picks up contaminants that could affect how your engine runs. Transport trucks are flushed regularly, but fuel station holding tanks aren’t, and this is where contaminants are typically found, such as dust, silt, and rust. Fortunately, fuel filters feature big in most parts of the refining and delivery process, but there’s on more fuel filter in your vehicle, the last line of defense. If you’re experiencing performance problems, caused by low fuel pressure or flow, fuel filter replacement may be recommended.
Why is Fuel Filter Replacement Important?
Cruising at 60 mph, if your engine is rolling over at 3,000 rpm, the engine control module (ECM) pulses each fuel injector about 1,500 times per minute. The fuel injector spray orifices range from 50 µm to 200 µm, or about the thickness of a human hair. Considering that fuel injectors have a useful lifespan of 250,000 miles or more, over 375 million injector pulses, delivering over 12,500 gallons of clean fuel to the injectors is an absolute necessity.
The fuel filter is usually located in or near the fuel tank, and can filter our contaminants from 10 µm to 75 µm in size, preventing particles from getting into the rest of the fuel system, such as the gasoline direct injection (GDI) high-pressure pump or the fuel injectors.
If the fuel filter gets clogged after filtering out many contaminants, not enough fuel will get to the engine, resulting in fuel starvation, hard starting, and poor performance. Fuel filter replacement is not a typical maintenance item – some manufacturers don’t even recommend a fuel filter replacement interval. Still, fuel filter replacement may be beneficial every 60,000 miles to 90,000 miles.
What can Dobbs Tire & Auto Centers Do for You?
For over 40 years, Dobbs Tire & Auto Centers has served the St. Louis, MO, area. Our ASE-Certified auto repair technicians use the latest equipment to maintain, diagnose, and repair your vehicle, from regular engine oil changes to fuel system diagnosis and fuel filter replacement. If your vehicle is closing in on 60,000 miles or 90,000 miles, or you are experiencing performance problems, stop in one of our 45 locations to get an honest assessment of your fuel system performance and an explanation of fuel filter replacement benefits.
“You Can Depend on Dobbs” – Dobbs Tire & Auto Centers, Home of the Fixed Forever Service Warranty. Locally and Family Owned Since 1976
