DIY Mechanics please… fuel filter on a 56 reg 1.6TDCI fiesta…

evening all..

doing the usual service on the wifes car, havent changed the fuel filter on hers before and notice it’s stlightly differnet to her older 1.4TDCI.

Basically the new one (1.6TDCI) doesnt have a fuel bulb primer thingy.

once the new filter is in place haynes manual (which is cr*p for this job) says “now you need to PRIME the fuel system using the ford pipe kit”

quick gander on a ford forum, got sent a link to a hand primer bulb and two bits of plastic pipe, saying stick one end of the pipe onto filter and the other into a plastic bottle to catch the fuel.

it’s the exact same engine in some peugeots the HDI but again that has a built in primer.

so question is

if i do the above (without sounding stupid)i’d conenct the other end of the pipe onto the outlet fuel filter pipe so it draws the fuel from the tank into the filter (filling it up) im guessing this will take hours of pumping!

a mate said just use a syringe and fill the filter to the brim, then it will start first time.

i was also told it should be a self priming engine, whereby a few turns of the ignition to turn the fuel pump should be enough, but no mention of this in the haynes.

cheers

“i was also told it should be a self priming engine, whereby a few turns of the ignition to turn the fuel pump should be enough, but no mention of this in the haynes.”

This will result in a dead fuel pump.

Ive been known to pull the return pipe off and put a primer bulb in there. And a one way valve in the feed.

Prime with the bulb , the one way valve stops it returning , remove ht bulb from the return line and refit.

I had a similar system on my frontera, hateful as you say much easier with a built in primer, never got the laser primer system that was designed to bleed it to work.

cheers for that, the ford filters are a bit weird, they are not inline.

its one of those jobs that could be a doddle or a fekin nightmare.

im going to defo fill the filter first, i guess if it goes to sh*t, shut the bonnet and ring the RAC 😉

It’s one of these…

the fuel heater is not attached, it slides onto the side of the unit and plugs into the hole.

Our 1.8 focus is the same I got a priming bulb from a motor factor. The technique I use is to use the bulb to fill the filter housing . From a can of fuel pump diesel into the fuel inlet on the filter housing. Undo the bleed nipple and put another hose on it with one end in another container to catch overspill. Squeeze until dieselsquirts out of the bleed nipple , tighten it up replace inlet hose crank engine over it should start pretty quickly. It really is a crap going on you really need another pair of hands plenty of rags and patience . Good luck , took me three attempts the first time.

Had to prime our 55 focus with the same engine, if I remember rightly I took off the fuel return hose which I think has green clips on the top LH of the engine and siphoned it through. Horrible engine.

cheers, so basically fill the filter up first but using the priming bulb.

so to get it right, put a pipe onto the fuel inlet (top pipe in the picture)

then attached priming bulb to pipe, then another length of pipe from bulb into can of fuel.

(wheres the bleed nipple?) all i can see is the water outlet, bottom left when looking at pic 🙂

Bleed nipple is on top with the knurled circumference front top in your pic.

All you have to do is fill the filter with fuel.

You don’t need to get all the air out, but you want as much out as possible. Usual technique is fit filter, connect inlet pipe, then connect primer to outlet and pump until you get fuel out. Remove primer and connect outlet pipe as quick as possible. Getting some air in at this point isn’t a major issue.
The engine may cut out, but should start again with minimal cranking.

If it doesn’t start within 30 seconds of cranking, then you’ll probably need to force fuel through the fuel pump to get it pumping fuel again. Once the lift pump inside the main high pressure pump has run dry, it’ll stop pumping anything, so you need to force fuel through it while cranking to get it to start pumping fuel again.
You do risk reducing the life of the pump by letting it run dry, but I’ve personally never seen any issues, and I’ve had to deal with ones that have been run dry for extended periods due to the workshop idiots trying to change filters 🙄

itstig, that’s not a bleed screw. It’s a water drain screw.
It goes all the way to the bottom of the filter, so when you unscrew it, water/fuel runs out the drain connection.

Definitly not on mine. I have one on the bottom (water drain) and one on the top to let air out.

That’ll be because the 1.8 is a Ford engine, which uses a different fuel system.
1.4/1.6 are PSA engines.

Cheers all, thanks for the tips, just need to grow a pair and get on with it!

All I know is the small bottom pipe is where any water drains out.

What I just thought, also a much bigger filter. Still seems a bit of a backward step. I can change all three on my tractor in half the time it even has an electric pump.