DIY Fuel Filter 5th Gen

Anyone have a link to DIY instructions for replacing the fuel filter in a 2018? Thanks.

 

Out of curiosity why are you changing it so soon?

 

Precaution due to some trash gasoline

 

Not sure I would really mess with it 220k on my Tacoma and no filter change and I’m sure it’s had some questionable fuel. If you really want to the only info I could find referred to an in tank filter which would most likely require dropping the tank.

 

I'm pretty sure all fuel filters are inside the tank now.

 

I wouldn't F with it personally, on a 2018 bring it to the dealer. One tank of gas isn't going to do anything.

 

Like others have said, the filter is in the tank now, gone are the days of an in-line filter.

 

And sad days they are....

 

Just bought a 2012 4runner. Shocking news re. location of the fuel filter - are they insane. On my Ford Superduty I have two fuel filters: water separator/filter 10µm and a 5µm filter just before the fuel injection pump, both accessible without removing body parts. So far the DIY experience between the two vehicles is not in favor of Toyota.

 

Sounds like your Super Douchey was a diesel. Apples to oranges.

 

This wasn't personal, as a DIY person I couldn't care less what the logo is or fuel type. Plenty of shit Ford models out there. If I need something done I need: access, parts and instructions, that's all. Superduty is an equivalent of an open-source product.

 

As a DIY person it sounds like you don’t know much about cars. The fuel absolutely matters and my point is fuel filters are a frequent routine maintenance item on diesels because the fuel itself is the lubricant for the high pressure pump internals. Diesels are extremely prone to the high pressure pumps eating themselves from the inside and distributing metal shrapnel thought out the fuel system when water or debris is in the fuel. That’s not a thing on gasoline engines. There’s a reason gasoline fuel filter changes are, for the most part, a thing of the past. It’s just not necessary anymore, the fuel system isn’t that fragile. If you have a problem that requires the filter to be changed it’s typically outside influence/vandalism. Your tank would filled with shit anyway so you’d need to drop it and clean it out regardless which is where your access the internal filter. They have found an internal filter before the pump on gasoline engines to be a much more permanent solution than the pump eating debris and pushing it out to an external filter. So again, apples to oranges.

It’s like complaining that Toyota doesn’t give you a way to adjust hydraulic lifters that don’t need to be adjusted, in the extremely rare event of a failure, they are replaced.

 

Pretty much all gas vehicles are this way now, it has nothing to do with the brand.

 

https://www.redlineoil.com/si-1-complete-fuel-system-cleaner
A bottle of Red Line SI-1 every few thousand miles will keep the truck running without problem, I usually put a bottle through last gas tank before oil change, been doing that for about 20 years and 500K miles on various vehicles and never had a fuel or injector related problem. I have had rough idle on a couple of vehicles which may have been dirty injectors but SI-1 cleared the problem in less than a day, always carry a bottle in the tool box when we leave town. Locking fuel cap goes a long way to keeping unwanted crap out the tank.

 

Curious, how much do your SD filters cost?

 

@ChloeF, welcome to the forum.

This thread has been fairly typical for this board. OP asks “How do I do X?” And the the replies start coming in.

“No no. You don’t want to do X.”
“Don’t do X. Do Y.”
“Do a search.”
“They did X better on the Tacoma.”
“Only an idiot would do X.”
“My buddy did X and then [enter catastrophe here].”
​

— and finally on the second page someone will say —

“Here’s how you do X.”​

This thread is different than most because in this particular case you really don’t want to do X. My advice is to diilute the bad gas with good gas when you can.

 

If you traveled outside of your "town" once in a while - like South America - without EPA overlooking quality of the fuel you'd know a thing of being able to resolve fuel system issues on your own. Experience gives perspective, big mouth.

 

Are most gasoline vehicles' fuel filters located outside of the tank on vehicles in South America? Or, are most of them in the tank, like the 4Runner's?

 

For pickups, Suzuki is a popular brand with a filter outside the tank up to yr ~2012. Nissans were holding up going the in-tank route for a long too. While the high pressure pump (cp4) of a Powerstroke is particularly vulnerable to foreign elements, it's a fallacy that gas engines can tolerate bad gasoline; nether type can. 3yrs/30k km in preventive maintenance is a must outside 1st World countries. Combining a fuel pump (which can take more abuse) with a filter and embedding both in the tank implies most people cannot swap it while strangled in rural areas. I'm not against combining parts - if a sealed unit provides clear advantages - but easy access should be provided to resume voyage.

 

It just seems that it is an overall trend making things harder to service. I don't think it is specific to Toyota. In fact, in my experience, Toyotas are usually easier to work on than other brands I have dealt with.

I think the point being made earlier was that it wasn't a Toyota versus Ford situation , but rather a gasoline versus diesel situation. I would think that most of Ford's gasoline vehicles have the filter and pump located in the tank just like most manufacturers.

 

My experience is 12 years as a dual brand mast tech and shop Forman for Audi and VW, and then 6.5 doing quality testing and development and validation testing on prototype vehicles from Audi Porsche and Lamborghini. I can guarantee that I’ve professionally delt with more vehicles with bad fuel, that have been misfueled, or have been vandalized with stuff in the tank over the years than a DIY’er will see in 50 lifetimes. I have lots of experience and perspective on the subject.

 

Also keep in mind that most gasoline engines today have returnless fuel systems. Meaning what ever gets pushed out the fuel tank must pass thru a fuel injector junk and all. One of the advantages of the 4Runner is an old school return type fuel system. It's always circulating and has a smaller chance of plugging injectors and is more tolerant of contaminants. The 4Runner's simplistic fuel system is one of reasons I bought one. That being no GDI with carbon buildup issues and a time proven port injected return style fuel system. What do you mean by "trash gasoline"? If it's just poor quality dumb it down with good gas and drive it. No worries.

 

But that doesn't answer his question, which I think was trying to lead you to the issue at hand.

Also, being an asshole by insulting others will not endear you to the rest of the forum. But maybe you don't care about that...

 

Nope, don't do it

 

Are you sure you gonna DIY to this?