Changing TD4 fuel filter (later type)

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Pepe

New Member
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26
I have read many questions regarding the later type fuel filter so I thought I would add to it with my findings.

First its located in front of the rear RH wheel (sitting in the seat) its sort of in the wheel arch but under the car.
The filter and pump are mounted to a plastic tray which is bolted to the chassis using 2x 10mm headed bolts. remove these, but to do so its easy to lay on the ground and crawl under the car.
The next trick i learnt was to remove the rear RH wheel this then allows access to the inner wing plastic cover.
Facing you are two plastic push button clips which hold said cover in place I removed these and pulled back plastic cover this allowed room to put my hand in and remove the fuel pipes.
(I removed 2x fuel pipes (1x from tank and 1x out of filter) which have quick release clips and the electrical conection to the fuel pump this then released the whole unit as one lump.
once on the bench the inlet pipe to the filter was easier to reach and filter was a breeze to change.

Pepe tip---- removing fuel pipe clips is easy if you make a tool, 1x pair long nose pliers + masking tape a small piece of wood to each nose, you can then use this end to sqeeze the clips in and release the pipe.

Piece of cake !!:D
 
I seem to recall this was a barwsteward of a job - couldn't get the old filter out for love nor money - ended up resorting to violence - which worked but left me with some broken bits of plastic and a fuel filter that looked like it had just exploded.
 
Nice one Pepe. . . .ming recommends soaking it [filter in plastic ****e cowling] in penetration fluid 24 hours afor you attempt to get it out er that stupid cowell, and on putting back the new filter smear it wiff anti seize paste ,so it ain't such a bitch next time yer replace it. . . .:)
 
I think we should all thank very much the Land Rover design engineer for coming up with that one!!! Damn day release school kids.............. :))
 
if you remove the earth clip first buy pushing out with a flat head screwdriver then the fuel fitter will then fall out. I found this out the hard way............
 
if you remove the earth clip first buy pushing out with a flat head screwdriver then the fuel fitter will then fall out. I found this out the hard way............

Didn't with mine - I found out the even harder way!!
 
if you remove the earth clip first buy pushing out with a flat head screwdriver then the fuel fitter will then fall out. I found this out the hard way............

Your getting a fuel fitter to do your work? no wonder you have had a fall out !:D :D :D :D :D
 
Hi all, Just spent over an hour trying to change my fuel filter on my TD4 04 plate. I removed the 2 10mm bolts and the plastic end cover with ease. What I cant seem to do is drop the filter any further than the suspension bar which goes to the wheel. I can get to the top clip but not the bottom one. I gave up as something would soon have broke if i had carried on. Is there any oter inline filters that I shold look for or is that it.

Help please!!
 
1st have you taken the rear wheel off? its easy to see what to disconect with it removed.
2nd you don't need to remove the bottem fuel pipe until the whole lump is on the bench, looking from the wheel arch you should see 2x fuel hose conectors 1 to the top of the filter and the other which is a straight pipe connector, remove these, also you will see a multi plug (electric to fuel pump) this needs removing and on the side of the fuel filter itself is a spade connector which is an earth, remove this. (this could be what its hanging on)
once this lot has been removed and the 2x 10mm headed bolts are out the whole assembly should drop down.
Then do what you like with it :D :D :D :D :D May I suggest you look up the Land Rover design team and poke it right up his ............................:D :D :D :D :D
 
I didnot take the wheel off just ran it up on to an 18" concrete block which also may be why the suspension bar was still in the way.
A friend has offered his pit "save lying on my back" so I will print all this off and have another go. Its becoming a pig to start. Do I assume there is only one fuel filter
Thanks in advance
Stephen
 
I didnot take the wheel off just ran it up on to an 18" concrete block which also may be why the suspension bar was still in the way.
A friend has offered his pit "save lying on my back" so I will print all this off and have another go. Its becoming a pig to start. Do I assume there is only one fuel filter
Thanks in advance
Stephen
For the time it takes i would get the wheel off !! you dont have to lay on your back to change the filter because you can work from the wheel arch......... or maybe you like the feel of diesel running down your arm :p :p I have been told that the injectors leak into the cylinder, sealed when cold but when the car has been run they dribble fuel into the bore also allowing the fuel pressure to drop.
Anyone else had this problem ????????
 
Pepe,
Taking the wheel of and having it over a pit was a god send. I only managed to break the earth strap off. The filter is a bit of a tight fit though.
Thanks for all the GOOD advice. The car has power again!!
I now need to check if it will start easier when luke warm.

Stephen
 
Hi Guys, just want to log on a say a big thank you to all who have posted here.

I have a problem with my TD4 Freelander, it is surging sometimes, and hesitates when you accelerate. Thought it may be the fuel filter, car has done 112K and the lst time it was done was about 50K ago. Looking for the cheap options first and at 18 quid for a filter it seemed a good idea ! !

How wrong can you be.... that is a pig of a job, the man that designed that should be taken out to the middle of a field and shot, several times. Why could they not put it in the boot area somewhere..... why have it is such a poor location !

Anyway, thanks to all the advice on here... job done. now just got to see if it cures the fault !

The only really akward bit was when i found the 10mm bolt at the rear of the carrier had got so corroded that it was now round and there was no way to get a grip of it. Thanks to postings here i knew that the wheel and inner arch had to come of, and i discovered that the bracket that bolt screws into is held on by two bolts inside the plastic housing. You can just get to them with some funky extension tools. Once out the filter was a bugger to remove, and the earth tab broke, but it was pretty well corroded anyway, made a new one from a bit of scrap, and put to whole lot back in again...... primed it up, and away it went.... lets hope that cures it !

Anyway else had this problem with surging ? and if so, did you find out what it was ?

Thanks

Andrew
 
In close proximity to the fuel pump and filter behind the wheelarch liner is a vertically mounted black plastic cylinder which has a drain plug in the base. Can anyone tell me what is this?

Thanks
Allan
:eek: :eek:
Sorry guys think I've found the answer. It's a sedimentor. As well as trapping sediment I wonder if it also acts as a water trap ? Any ideas as to how often the plug in the bootom should be opened to drain ?
 
Hi Guys, just want to log on a say a big thank you to all who have posted here.

I have a problem with my TD4 Freelander, it is surging sometimes, and hesitates when you accelerate. Thought it may be the fuel filter, car has done 112K and the lst time it was done was about 50K ago. Looking for the cheap options first and at 18 quid for a filter it seemed a good idea ! !

How wrong can you be.... that is a pig of a job, the man that designed that should be taken out to the middle of a field and shot, several times. Why could they not put it in the boot area somewhere..... why have it is such a poor location !

Anyway, thanks to all the advice on here... job done. now just got to see if it cures the fault !

The only really akward bit was when i found the 10mm bolt at the rear of the carrier had got so corroded that it was now round and there was no way to get a grip of it. Thanks to postings here i knew that the wheel and inner arch had to come of, and i discovered that the bracket that bolt screws into is held on by two bolts inside the plastic housing. You can just get to them with some funky extension tools. Once out the filter was a bugger to remove, and the earth tab broke, but it was pretty well corroded anyway, made a new one from a bit of scrap, and put to whole lot back in again...... primed it up, and away it went.... lets hope that cures it !

Anyway else had this problem with surging ? and if so, did you find out what it was ?

Thanks

Andrew


There's probably some safety regulation which wouldn't allow a fuel filter & it's pipes in the boot area, but you're right it's really the worst design I've ever seen.
My old filter wouldn't budge till I drilled a hole at the other end & used a hammer & drift to force it out. I fully greased up the new filter but really had to work it in, so more fun next time. I think I'll cut a line right down the length of the housing & see if I can't someho fit in a large jubilee clip to clamp the now loose housing to the filter. Another point is that my assembly was held on with three 10mm bolts, two at the side & one underneath. One of the side ones was a real swine to get at & has been left out of the reassembly.
 
Changed the fuel filter today using Pepe's tips with a few amendments. The electrical connector was a pig to disconnect and I ended up with the retainer clip snapped. I don't think this will matter. The earth wire broke as it was removed. When the assembly was on the the bench some further dismantling of the plastic tray was possible (see pics) so as to be able to knock the filter out of it's mounting tube, it was a tight fit. There is a lot of fuel in the various components and I think it would have been better to have emptied the sedimentor at the start. There is also a lot of dirt on the tray and this needs cleaning up to keep it out of the assembly connections. There is a strange spring cliup in the plastic tube for the filter which I cannot figure out its purpose. Hope the photos help with the explanation, the first one shows the unit as removed looking from the rh side of the vehicle, the second show the further dismantling of the plastic tray and the filter is partway out of the housing. The replacement filter I purchased was branded Mahle and this the same manufacturer of the Land Rover badged item that was fitted. For a service item this is a very poor location.
 

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Yesterday my FL TD4 (70,000 miles) started to make a loud buzzing noise from the rear wheel-arch area - guessed fuel pump was playing up. Sure enough, about 10 miles later, zero engine power :doh: (but no more noise from the pump :)either).
Thanks to Pepe's instructions and AllanI's useful pics managed to extract the tray with all the components: (a) put car up on axle stands and remove wheel; (b) remove enough plastic studs to peel back wheel arch liner halfway; (c) loosen filler cap to relieve pressure and undo two fuel connectors (not difficult); (d) remove multi-plug from pump; (e) remove plastic shield at rear of tray; (f) undo two 10mm bolts (one was rusted fast, and difficult to get at with socket set but yielded to WD40 and a ring spanner). Empty diesel out - very messy.
Fuel pump came out easily enough with its rubber sleeve. Checked with 12V power supply, no signs of life.
Fuel filter is comletely jammed in its sleeve: removed earth tag as suggested, squirted WD40 everywhere and left to marinate overnight. Hopefully by the time the new pump and filter arrive I'll be able to get the old filter out.
I'm hoping replacing both the pump and the filter will also solve the loss of power when climbing hills which I've had for a while.
 
Have you separated the sedimentor from the rest of the assembly and removed the spring clip? If not this could be why the filter is tight in its housing and you certainly will not get the new one in with the clip still in place. You need to refit it after the new filter is in and then re-attach the sedimentor.
 
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