Wrenches for 1993 Gen3 5sfe fuel filter change

[fullofzen]

Want to make sure I have adequate tools for a fuel filter change on a 5sfe 1993 Camry. First of all, it has about 144k on it -- 'bout time for a fuel filter change, in your opinion?

To the meat of the question. Referencing the following thread:

noob: fuel filter, 95 2.2 camry, top 'banjo bolt' as jammed as...

Looks like I need the following wrenches/sockets:

-- For the top banjo bolt, 17mm socket.
-- To brace the bottom of the filter to prevent twisting of the fuel line, 19mm open-ended wrench
-- For the flair nut on the bottom of the filter, 14mm flair nut wrench

Sound good?

On the 19mm bracing wrench -- can anyone offer a length recommendation? I own exactly none of these wrenches, so I would be making a trip to Sears or Amazon to buy the appropriate length.

Thanks, guys!

[JohnGD]

Or check your local Harbor Freight:
http://www.harborfreight.com/5-piece...set-99993.html

So one set should help with both. Just be careful with the low flare nut, it can seize and cause a twisted fuel pipe.

[fullofzen]

Originally Posted by JohnGD

Or check your local Harbor Freight:
http://www.harborfreight.com/5-piece...set-99993.html

So one set should help with both. Just be careful with the low flare nut, it can seize and cause a twisted fuel pipe.

Thanks, John. I have already ordered that 5 piece flare nut wrench set -- at $10, it's a steal.

Was hoping for a little more guidance on the exact wrench used to brace the filter to prevent torquing on the fuel line itself, but I read some other threads that suggested a 19mm open ended wrench. I think it may be a 19mm flare nut wrench, but luckily the set above has a 19mm flare nut wrench and the set of open ended wrenches I'm buying from Sears will have a 19mm open-ended wrench, so I should be good either way.

In any case, I read another suggestion that for the few days leading up to the modification, I should consider spraying PB Blaster on the banjo bolt and the flare nut once every night to allow it to penetrate and loosen up these fittings. Hopefully that does the job.

The car spent a couple of years in Minnesota, then some mild winters in Texas, then about 4 years of Colorado winters, then back to Texas, and now we're in San Diego -- not sure what that says about my flare nut rust prognosis...

Anyway, I have a good auto shop about a mile from my house -- if I screw something up, I figure worst case I'm paying a tow truck about $80 for a good learning experience...

[uuuuu]

Changed out the fuel filter some time back, wasn't too difficult. Just don't spin the fuel filter and you should be okay.

[fullofzen]

Originally Posted by uuuuu

Changed out the fuel filter some time back, wasn't too difficult. Just don't spin the fuel filter and you should be okay.

Yeah -- good to know. I think my biggest concern is that my neighbors don't mind me working on the car in the street -- unfortunately no driveway or garage here at my apartment.

[JohnGD]

Should be 19mm on the fuel filter and 14mm on the flare and 17mm on the banjo. Plenty of writeups but double check.

You position the two wrenches in a way that you can squeeze them together like a plier (careful with the direction). Watch the fuel pipe and PB Blast if needed. You should be fine as long as the pipe doesn't twist.

[Jimnist]

I know a lot of people here say to use flare nut spanners, but some times it's a bit hard getting them on as they're thicker and usually have an offset. I personally suggest using an open ender for the 19mm and flare nut or open ender. Go with the open ender if it's too hard to get a good grip on the nut with the flare nut spanner. I went for the open ender as i didn't fully grip the nut with the flare nut spanner and rounded it slightly.

Just make sure you're using well branded tools if you're using open enders. They generally have a tighter manufacturing tolerance and spread less when a load is applied. Craftsman is pretty good if you're on a budget. Wish we got it down here.

I just changed the fuel filter the other day after my 4th attempt and this one was a success. The trick was to get as much working space as possible so that you can position the spanners. For me, that was moving the charcoal canister out of the way. I'm not sure if there canister is located in the same spot on a LHD, but on my RHD it's right behind the filter and against the firewall.

The technique that will help get the nut off is to position the spanners so they make a 'V'. Lets pretend the 19mm spanner is TDC (or on the trailing side of the 'v' if the normal is a clock-wise direction), position the 14mm so that it's before TDC (or leading side of the 'v'). Then squeeze it like a pair of scissors. That's how i got mine off without any penetrant.

[fullofzen]

Originally Posted by Jimnist

I know a lot of people here say to use flare nut spanners, but some times it's a bit hard getting them on as they're thicker and usually have an offset. I personally suggest using an open ender for the 19mm and flare nut or open ender. Go with the open ender if it's too hard to get a good grip on the nut with the flare nut spanner. I went for the open ender as i didn't fully grip the nut with the flare nut spanner and rounded it slightly.

Interesting and disappointing -- I ordered both a set of open-ended wrenches and a set of flare wrenches from Harbor freight. The open-ended set is back-ordered -- who knows when I'll get that.

To do the job right, I'll hold-off until I have both 19mm in both open-ended and flare styles.

I just changed the fuel filter the other day after my 4th attempt and this one was a success. The trick was to get as much working space as possible so that you can position the spanners. For me, that was moving the charcoal canister out of the way. I'm not sure if there canister is located in the same spot on a LHD, but on my RHD it's right behind the filter and against the firewall.

The technique that will help get the nut off is to position the spanners so they make a 'V'. Lets pretend the 19mm spanner is TDC (or on the trailing side of the 'v' if the normal is a clock-wise direction), position the 14mm so that it's before TDC (or leading side of the 'v'). Then squeeze it like a pair of scissors. That's how i got mine off without any penetrant.

I'd read about the v-technique -- definitely plan to use that in conjunction with a can of PB Blaster to loosen this 20 year-old bolt. I'll keep the charcoal canister removal in mind. The hilarious thing for me is reading postings of people claiming that you don't even have to take off the air cleaner assembly -- I can't see that working.

[Jimnist]

Originally Posted by fullofzen

The hilarious thing for me is reading postings of people claiming that you don't even have to take off the air cleaner assembly -- I can't see that working.

I didn't remove the air filter box. There was enough room for me to get my arm down there.

[fullofzen]

Originally Posted by fullofzen

Interesting and disappointing -- I ordered both a set of open-ended wrenches and a set of flare wrenches from Harbor freight. The open-ended set is back-ordered -- who knows when I'll get that.

To do the job right, I'll hold-off until I have both 19mm in both open-ended and flare styles.

I'd read about the v-technique -- definitely plan to use that in conjunction with a can of PB Blaster to loosen this 20 year-old bolt. I'll keep the charcoal canister removal in mind. The hilarious thing for me is reading postings of people claiming that you don't even have to take off the air cleaner assembly -- I can't see that working.

So it turns out that pulling the old filter off was trivial. Liberal PB Blaster application over a few days coupled with the scissor/v-technique with the 14mm line wrench on the flare nut and a 19mm open ended wrench to brace. The banjo bolt up top was just as easy -- just a 17mm socket and, again, the 19mm wrench to brace the filter from the bottom.

I'm not sure whether it's been replaced or not, but it's definitely an OEM toyota/denso part, so my money is that this is the first time my camry has gotten a new filter.

We'll have to see about putting on the new filter tomorrow -- hopefully I can get it the first time without a leak.

Based on what I've read here, getting the old filter off is more than half the battle. I guess we'll see after a night's rest...

[JohnGD]

Definitely thread the flare nut and banjo back in by hand. Try wiggle the filter a little while hand-tightening the flare nut to help seat things, just in case things tilted a little.

If you have crowfoot wrench and a torque wrench then you can torque it down (IIRC 21 lb/ft??). Otherwise a calibrated elbow will have to do.

[fullofzen]

Well, got it on -- no leaks at all. I did find that both the banjo bolt up top and the flair nut on the bottom benefited from time spent settling after initial fitting. After I let each settle for a few hours, I was able to tighten each a tenth of a turn or so. Job was a lot easier than I thought -- although, like everything else the first time -- took a longer than it will take me next time, now that I know what I'm doing.

One interesting note is that the bolt at the bottom of the new filter is much shallower than that on the old filter. Many more of the flair nut threads are exposed than before. Never-the-less, the flair nut is doing its job making a seal with the filter intake.

Anyway -- thanks for the help. To recap:

17mm socket for the banjo bolt
14mm line/flair-wrench for the flair nut
19mm open-ended wrench to use to use to brace the filter while working with the line wrench on the flair nut

As a follow-up note, closer inspection of the old filter reveals that it must have been replaced sometime in the last 20 years -- there is a "Made in China" marking on it, so definitely not original Toyota.

That said, I'm glad I did the job -- I know for a fact that that filter is definitely pre-2007 vintage.

[camrynoob]

I'm actually making a DIY currently on changing the 97 Fuel Filter, and have done about 10 pages so far, but not finished yet (the job is done though, was a real bitch). I'll be posting it sooner or later. Not sure how different it is though from a 93.

[fullofzen]

Originally Posted by camrynoob

I'm actually making a DIY currently on changing the 97 Fuel Filter, and have done about 10 pages so far, but not finished yet (the job is done though, was a real bitch). I'll be posting it sooner or later. Not sure how different it is though from a 93.

Glad to hear that; looking forward to reading it -- with all the bellyaching about how painful the filter change is, I was surprised to see that no one had posted a how-to. There is a youtube video out there, but the techniques the guy uses are ill advised, to say the least. Notably, it only covers installation -- not deinstallation. And he attaches the filter to the flair nut by spinning the filter body itself. Yikes...

Anyway, nice to have another "lifetime" fuel filter in.

PS -- The filter change process for the Gen4 is identical to that of the Gen3, as I understand it -- so your how-to should be widely applicable.

[camrynoob]

OK good to know. Although my howto is more of a resource than a howto, because I screwed up so bad doing it, I had to tow to the shop and replace the whole gd fuel line. It was a learning experience though.