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Checked online, dead easy, unscrew one Torx bolt, lift out old, fit new and new seal, top up with diesel, replace cap and Torx bolt, tighten. Five minutes?
Nope......no Torx bolt on mine, just a knurled cap ring, which is situated deep down inside a sort of cup shaped housing. So no access.
Apparently Vauxhall have a special tool...........
Yeah, of COURSE they do..but fukcing WHY??????????????
Modern cars are the worst and built to ensure no normal mechanic can get at them. My friend has just paid £30 (without the bulb) to get his headlight bulb changed. It's beyond extortionate.
I thought you had a 1.9 cdti.
Fuel filter on my van is inside a plastic canister mounted on the bulkhead in a metal holder. Disconnect the two fuel pipes and the sensor plug, then remove the canister from the housing. The plastic ring-nut can then be removed with a boa-constrictor type oil filter removal tool or can be done in a vice (preferably with plastic jaw inserts) carefully.
Is yours different?
I thought you had a 1.9 cdti.
Fuel filter on my van is inside a plastic canister mounted on the bulkhead in a metal holder. Disconnect the two fuel pipes and the sensor plug, then remove the canister from the housing. The plastic ring-nut can then be removed with a boa-constrictor type oil filter removal tool or can be done in a vice (preferably with plastic jaw inserts) carefully.
Is yours different?
Disconnect the fuel pipes?????? First off, how? Second, won't that p*ss fuel everywhere?
Yes it is like that, but WHY did they do away with the simple bolt and go for something that needs a specialist tool? I don't HAVE an oil filter removal tool
Disconnect the fuel pipes?????? First off, how? Second, won't that p*ss fuel everywhere?
Yes it is like that, but WHY did they do away with the simple bolt and go for something that needs a specialist tool? I don't HAVE an oil filter removal tool
You'll lose a little fuel, but provided the car has not been used for a while you'll be fine. You could use the drain plug on the bottom to drain the canister first.
To release the fuel pipes you push them on slightly and then need to push in the locking tabs on either side at the same time to allow you to then pull the connector off. I usually use clingfilm to wrap them after, to keep them clean as this is very important. When the two pipes are off and the plug is disconnected (might be another sensor plug at the bottom) the canister will lift out from the housing, although a bit fiddly.
The nut-ring is tight so I normally position the canister in a workbench/vice using its casing to stop it spinning (being plastic you can't clamp it tight) and use a 'Boa' to undo it.
Certainly no 5 minute job though, especially if you're as fussy as I am. I wash it all with petrol and dry it off before reassembly with new filter and a little oil on the two sealing rings and the nut thread. When re-tightening there is the usual torque setting you can't use or you are supposed to hand tighten to a point then turn it so many degrees. I just do it by feel with the 'Boa'. Excessive tightening is pointless and might break it. Make sure the sealing rings in the fuel pipes are clean.
Fuel and oil filter are always fun and games on most modern cars. With the exception of Mercedes, it seem all manufacturers like to locate them in the most awkward of places for no real apparent reason (the metal cover over the newer Combo 1.3CDTi oil filter is a prime example...WHY!!! ).
With fuel filters these days, if its possible I just unbolt the entire housing and stick it in a vice and change the filter there; less messy that way as diesel doesn't get spilled in the engine bay.
And when you've changed a fuel filter, don't think that's just it. If it has no lift pump in the fuel tank, it'll air lock. And in some cases they can leak after a few hours when the fuel has heated up and thinned out. So after a service one ends up leaving the engine idling for ages in paranoia so that it has the best chance of being checked for any leaks before being handed back. Volvos with the filter buried in the rear suspension are king for this, I've done these and checked, double checked, triple checked...two weeks later comes back leaking....f**k*ng b*****d.
I did try and check mine the other day but it was greyed out on i-drive; so I think they do need a bit of warming up.
Oh and no oil OR water temperature gauge. On a 320bhp car. DOH!
At least it still has a proper handbrake. I HATE the electronic ones.
Thanks to c maguire and Ali, yes, mines like that.
I'll have a go tomorrow once my lad is home again, I just do not have the grip for stuff like that any more and, sadly, no vice either, nor workbench, boa etc etc.
The damned garage is so small that the Scoob only fits in with the mirrors folded.
On the bit I found after Googling it on a Vauxhall forum, it said to fill the filter housing with injector cleaner before replacing the lid?
Removing the canister from the car is the only sensible way to do yours. I really don't like Ali's option for removing the nut-ring. In your case I would go to a motor factors (even BandQ might have them) and buy a Boa as they are handy for plumbing etc anyway (I have done a Berlingo one myself by hand but it is Grannie's jam jar heaven and you are at the mercy of how tight the last person left it). Then if your son or some one else is around they can hold the body of the canister while you use the Boa on the nut-ring. There's absolutely no need to prime anything. If you turn on the ignition when everything is back together the pump runs for a short time, so when it stops just switch the ignition off then on again. After around 5-10 switch ons you won't hear the canister filling anymore and you should be good to start the engine.
To be fair you can run these way beyond the service limit as they are pressure fed and fuel is generally pretty clean now (I can't remember the last time I saw any water when I drain the canisters). Different story on the Berlingo where on some models (Siemens) the pump is after the filter, and not long after the interval it will lose fuel pressure and bubbles can be seen in the fuel line from filter to pump (which is conveniently clear plastic). And welcome to Limp Mode.
With the money spent and all the hassle you've had with this car I think you'd have been better off just using the scoob all the time, where are you with this Astra financially all in? somewhere around the £10k mark excluding fuel.
That's an awful lot of miles worth of fuel even in a 400bhp Subaru and that's before what you've spent on fuel in the Astra, I know it's probably a nicer place to be but all your woes are the reason I still run the Newage WRX, there's not much I don't know about it and I can do just about everything that needs doing myself without too much drama.
It aint fancy but it does the job and can stay with most modern machinery when I've a mind to and bloody reliable too thus far, I don't like drama with my daily and am happy with the 28/36mpg it returns just for the lack of any hassle and what it uses in fuel is made up for by DIY.
I know it doesn't help your current situation but I'd of had a mental by now and smashed it up with an axe or cut my loses and got rid before I did.
Modern machinery eh? Limited lifespan in built, complicated tools required for routine maintenance, access made impossible for diy jobs, mechanical components changed for electrical (more temperamental). Completely puts me off new cars.
ditch: I partly agree.........except that the ****-Stra isn't a replacement for the Scoob, it's the wife's daily driver and the car we go to France in. As her d/d she does about 200 miles per week, sometimes more, never less, so we wanted something economical, quick enough for overtaking if necessary, comfortable etc. We could have done with more reliability, yes.
I did used to go in the Scoob, but what with 98 octane costing 22p per litre more than gasoil over there, and the **** Stra doing nearly 50mpg against the Scoob's 25, the journey was costing me at least an extra £240 per visit...and there are 5 times per year I go....that's £1250 I could spend on the property.
Add to that the French are phasing out 98 octamne "because no-one needs it any more", and it's not worth taking the Scoob, fun though it is.
Oh, and French speeding fines? Ridiculous.
Plus the **** Stra holds about twice what the Scoob will, (I have a full sized spare), and STILL returns 50mpg, and will go all day at 80mph on motorways at 2400rpm.
AND the seats are more comfortable than my STi5 ones, which are a bit thin in the seat squab, although very supportive.
maz: absolutely agree......when cars had carbs, points and such, owt went wrong, yours truly put it right. And usually knew what it was.
Map tweak for normal fuel I only lost 17bhp with dual fuel maps on my Type R with Alcatek ECU, but I wasn't really suggesting you use the scoob was just a bit of an observation, my comparison was more to do with my WRX Wagon than your Scoob. That sticks at a constant 80mph for 1283 miles only stopping for the Ferry and fuel maybe a 2hr break for a quick kip if I'm tired somewhere around the Alps usually and returns 36mpg fully loaded, I usually get about the same on the way back as I tend to go a little faster to make sure I get the ferry.
I suppose it's the 200 miles a week that's the deal breaker to a certain extent but there are decent petrols out there that get pretty close to your 50mpg the old Rover 25 does 43mpg and was seriously reliable over 80k miles, not suggesting you get a Rover but Honda's are quite nice and reliable.
Fair play to you though but I'd have thrown the towel in and cut my losses.
It obviously needed done, and the fluttery feeling I was getting when accelerating off boost is now all but gone, plus the whole car feels livelier and smoother.
Crikey that's bad certainly older than 2years unless you've had a few bad batches of fuel.
It looks more like a filter that came out a VAG PD engine (as the pump-injectors on them tend to put soot from combustion into the fuel return which goes straight back to the filter, hence them going black rather quick....the Astra lumps don't usually do this - well, not that I know of at least).
Usually I expect to see gunky growth, its amazing what grows in diesel. They should have biocides added at the refinery but I still see the odd one. Indeed, the recommendation to use diesel additive is because they usually contain a biocide.
It obviously needed done, and the fluttery feeling I was getting when accelerating off boost is now all but gone, plus the whole car feels livelier and smoother.
Thanks to all who helped.
That is bad! How long was it in the car and what mileage had it done?
Are the so called diesel engine/fuel cleaners any good, and can you recommend one?
Please also see separate thread on DPF delete.
I put some of the Millers Ecomax in my V70 D5 when I got it, the mpg has gone from 31.5 to 36, so I reckon it's done a good job of cleaning out the injectors, also seems to run smoother on it. Not everyone finds it as good though.
As for modern cars, my wife has a 18 month old 207 hdi and it's one of the most annoying vehicles I've ever been in. Everything beeps at you, the doors auto lock as soon as you go faster than about 2mph, the power steering is massively over assisted, everything just feels too light, and I can't get the seat into a comfortable position. The only good things are it's cheap for tax and does about 50mpg. I still hate it. Would rather pay more for fuel and take my car.
06 June 2015, 01:29 PM
I HATE modern cars.........
). 
)....you have to do it that same way on a Scudo...I hate them too 
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