Its 28,000 miles since my diesel filter was allegedly changed at the 2nd year service on my MY13 so with a genuine LR replacement today I had a go myself. Could have been made a lot easier to get at on manufacture but nothing new there. You will note the small pump to prime the new filter.



First job was to remove the engine cover just the 2 small bolts you remove at the front but I found it easier to remove the air pipe as well. I found the small pipe to the rear was full of oil. This would explain others saying that air filters have had oil in. Was there a fix for this ?





Once the cover is off you can see the filter and you remove the electrical connection, 3 screws and 4 fuel pipes but of course you find it does not want to come out.



So on to removing the crash plate that also releases a further shaped plate behind that I assume is there to stop spilt fuel heading off towards the alternator. Only issue is once the four nuts have been removed you have to flick out a cable clip that sits through a hole in the crash plate, easier getting off than on !



Now you think you are home and dry but alas not as underneath the fuel filter is the drain pipe (as allegedly used to drain any water out at A services) and with a stupidly short loom a further electrical connection that is pig to get at. Once those are off you are able to get the little sod out.

Rebuild is a reverse and I chose to fill with clean fuel first, giving a further top up once solidly fitted before refitting the pipes.

Thought I would cut the old one open to see how black it was and below are the pictures.








 FL2 MY10 TD4 GS traded in at 2 years
FL2 MY13 TD4 GS Current

That's a good write up Bob - cheers
The oil you refer to comes via the crankcase breather - supposed to help with emissions by re-circulating air with particulates back into the burn cycle - people have got round it building up by fitting a variety of commercial and DIY catch tanks. There was a good write up about one on here a couple of weeks ago. as usual can't find it when you look  No Longer the owner of a 2013MY Fuji White GS

"Fiat Lux" a philosophy not a car

A bit of history.

We did conversions to BMC engines 45 years ago adding crankcase breathers to cars like the Morris Oxford. Fitted to relieve crankcase pressure and reduce oil leaks.  FL2 MY10 TD4 GS traded in at 2 years
FL2 MY13 TD4 GS Current

Nice write up. Where did you get the pump from, did it come with connectors that fit ?

I did a write up recently on using a catch tank. Haven't used the car enough to gauge its effectiveness yet.

http://www.freel2.com/forum/topic28638.html 
Hung like Einstein, smart as a horse.

http://www.freel2.com/forum/topic28638.html?highlight=catch

g

Yorky Bob
Looking at the state of the fuel filter I would suggest buying a bottle of one shot bacteria treatment.
It would appear you have a black slime over the paper which is a bacteria.
Very common with supermarket diesel and low turnover fuel sites

Bacteria can grow at an alarming rate and really start to cause issues. It's fixable with treatment but I would crack on and get some treatment in that tank. Jaguar x-type sport gone
Jaguar x-type 2.2d sport one of my best cars ever sadly gone
Freelander 2 GS auto 2008 most unreliable ever ! gladly gone
Freelander 2 GS manual 2013 only time will tell !

Last edited by oldgeezer on 18th Feb 2017 3:09 pm. Edited 1 time in total

OldGeezer: You make some interesting comments about bacterial growth in diesel

Do you have a source for your claims that

Quote:

"Very common with supermarket diesel and in particular morrisons."

As my wife has a shed load of ASDA / Walmart shares its ASDA fuel That said some of the muck will be from cutting the plastic to check it giving it a slightly dirtier look of slime.

Won't harm I guess to giver her a blow out with some cleaner after 50K. I need some most nights, it seems to be made in Scotland. FL2 MY10 TD4 GS traded in at 2 years
FL2 MY13 TD4 GS Current

shiggsy wrote:

Nice write up. Where did you get the pump from, did it come with connectors that fit ?

I did a write up recently on using a catch tank. Haven't used the car enough to gauge its effectiveness yet.

http://www.freel2.com/forum/topic28638.html

Fleabay purchase and would be better with a greater selection of connectors, filled it over a plastic bucket drawinfg fresh derv from a plastic fuel can (very clean one) as not a perfect fit but I think its better than using alternative methods that may introduce dirt.

I once filled a tractor and the drum was contaminated I found out later, kept cutting out and the tank filter was a bit of a mess.

The new filter came in a sealed box but only the main feed connector with the red plastic cap was sealed off, leaving 3 unsealed, I was quite surprised about that.  FL2 MY10 TD4 GS traded in at 2 years
FL2 MY13 TD4 GS Current

[quote="westville"]OldGeezer: You make some interesting comments about bacterial growth in diesel

with over 40 = years in the trade and specialize in diesel & petrol injection and diagnostics there has always been a trend towards more issues with vehicles run on supermarket fuels.
Most diesel specialist will also support this.
Normal garages dont even seem to be aware of the bacteria issue
I myself have fallen victim to bacteria a few years back and the vehicle has always only been filled up at one site. Injection problems can often be seen in area's of the country.
I have also spent time with a major oil research center seeing fuels and oils tested in running engines over extended periods that was an education.
I also owned three garage sites for 20 years and always asked customers what there fuel purchasing habits were. There was always a pattern and a link to issue's.

Some years ago when ultrasonically cleaning petrol injectors a certain fuel company were using a particular additive to reduce the gum forming and one of my customers had traveled some 200 miles to us for the service. On our advice he then purchased the said fuel but returned a year later with the same problem !
I accused him of not sticking to a certain brand of fuel and he produced all the receipts to prove he had.
I sent this information back to the oil company and they investigated , denying it was possible at first and then they discovered one of there depots was on a fuel swap dea in the particular area where my customer had come froml. Different fuel under their own brand.
they were actually astounded and investigated very thoroughly, refunded my customer for all their costs and changed there depot oil swops. Jaguar x-type sport gone
Jaguar x-type 2.2d sport one of my best cars ever sadly gone
Freelander 2 GS auto 2008 most unreliable ever ! gladly gone
Freelander 2 GS manual 2013 only time will tell !

As I understand it Fuel Bug is a growth which occurs when there is a batch of fuel contaminated with water. The bug grows at the interface of the water and the fuel. A boat moored near mine had the problem even though he used a fuel set treatment in his tank. He had to get a company in to "polish" the fuel, change all his filters and generally clean the system. Tends to occur more in boats as the fuel turnover is much less than in a car (and much harder to get someone to sort out) which gives the bacteria plenty of time to multiply and cause problems. His problem was not down to contaminated fuel but to water ingress into the tank, however the bug must have originated from somewhere so maybe some old fuel had been used in the past. Then again boat diesels tend to be much more agricultural and the bug has to be really bad to block them up. What I am trying to say is that given the rate our cars use diesel, it is probably not too bad a problem as long as the filters get changed at the intended service intervals. FL2 Metropolis, Loire Blue, ebony/ivory

28,000 miles (45,000 km) are quite a lot for a diesel filter.... I, for one, in this period of time, I am changing about 3 filters.
Think about it, the price for a new filter is just under the price of a half tank of diesel.... So better be safe than sorry.

"it is probably not too bad a problem as long as the filters get changed at the intended service intervals."

Wrong. The bacteria grows in the tank. water is just one of the many causes.
changing fuel filters wont cure the bacteria. once it starts its rampant.
i was on fleet for two years with 45000 vans and trucks on fleet.
once the bacteria gets a hold you can start changing filters as little as 1800 miles just to keep a vehicle running !
Once a filter is removed if it has a black slime the tank needs treatment. Jaguar x-type sport gone
Jaguar x-type 2.2d sport one of my best cars ever sadly gone
Freelander 2 GS auto 2008 most unreliable ever ! gladly gone
Freelander 2 GS manual 2013 only time will tell !

I stand corrected regarding filters. FL2 Metropolis, Loire Blue, ebony/ivory