S70: S70 Fuel filter

[capt jack]

The S70 had developed a bit of a random misfire of late. I fitted a new dissy cap and rotors, cleaned and re-gapped the plugs, and had a close look at the plug leads, all of which seemed fine. There were no fault codes (it's the Fenix system and I have a flash code reader), and although things improved a little, the misfire was still evident, so I turned my thoughts to the fuel filter.

Inspired by Robert's YouTube video I bought a new filter and set about removing the old. Then things went a bit pear-shaped. The clamping ring around the old filter literally fell into rusty pieces when I tried to undo the retaining bolt, and from a quick visual inspection there was no doubt that the filter itself is very badly rusted.

I managed to remove the rusty bracket, and make a new one out of a strip of perforated steel. But I could not, and still absolutely cannot persuade the connectors to slide off the filter inlet and outlet spigots. They will rotate a little, but they will not slide off, and I'm reluctant to force things. The fuel pipes are 23 years old after all.

To add insult to injury the filter casing itself is now leaking fuel. It's OK with the ignition switched off, but the minute the fuel pump starts up, petrol starts to come through the (very rusty) wall of the filter.

So I am really stuck. I've re-secured the old filter, left the battery disconnected and pushed the car back into the garage. But there's no way the engine can be started now, nor the car driven.

It being the holiday the two local garages we use are both shut, so there's nothing I can do about getting the car towed into either until next week.

I'm tempted to have another go, but there seems little point in only trying what I've done before.

I guess it's a good thing that this has happened at home, and at a time when the car isn't urgently needed. The strap and filter were so badly corroded that I could envisage that a buildup of snow or slush, or even splashing through a deep puddle could just as easily have dislodged the filter, and at a far more inconvenient time. I did have this happen once to one of our 70's, on a snowy day, a buildup of snow and ice did indeed force a rusty filter to start leaking.

Does anyone have any trick for removing the fuel pipes from the old filter? I've tried the Haynes method of pushing with a 17mm open spanner, but neither will budge.

Or do I just accept that this has beaten me and leave it to the professionals? I'm more than a little nervous given that it's petrol, and that all I've done so far is to make things worse!

Cheers

Jack

[ITSv40]

Try cleaning the connector and retaining ring with a wire brush - a brass suede brush is ideal - that will ensure any road dirt is cleaned from the retaining ring as best as can. Then try pushing the pipe onto the filter pipe whilst trying to free the retaining ring as per Haynes. It may take a bit of wriggling to free everything but once the retaining ring has released the pipe will pull straight off.

[volvo again]

https://www.pelicanparts.com/techart...eplacement.htm

Probably much the same as Haynes say, and probably exactly what been trying, but may be worth a look for you

[capt jack]

Thanks both.

The mistake I was making was in not pushing the fuel pipe back towards the filter in order to get the collar to release.

I'll have another try tomorrow. The colour photos in the Pelican Parts link are excellent and make it much clearer than the Haynes description.

Even Robert's video doesn't show how the release collar actually works. I've always found his videos to be great but this one is a bit short on detail.

Thanks again for taking the trouble to post replies - I'll drop a note on here once I've given it another go, which will be either tomorrow or Saturday.

Cheers

Jack

[capt jack]

Well it's done. In the vent the outlet connector proved to be a bit of a challenge as the metal tube was really heavily rusted along its full length. The inlet tube was clean and shiny and the connector slid off very easily.

I made a new clamping ring from a length of perforated steel strip (from Halfords), and a gasket for this from a scrap piece of vinyl.

Engine started first pull, and was treated to a spirited 5 miles along the local bypass, which revealed no leaks and no misfires.

So thanks to this forum the whole job cost around £20 and took all told a couple of hours.

If I'd taken the car to a garage I'd hazard a guess that I'd have been charged that much at least for the filter, around £100 for the labour, and very probably quite a bit more for a new clamping ring. Would I have had much change from £150 or even £200? I doubt it.

Thanks

Cheers

Jack

[volvo again]

Glad you have it sorted, that's why we have such good and knowledgable forum members willing to share advice.
I find pelican parts guides quite good...

https://www.pelicanparts.com/techart...o_V70_Tech.htm

[ITSv40]

Originally Posted by volvo again

Glad you have it sorted, that's why we have such good and knowledgable forum members willing to share advice.
I find pelican parts guides quite good...

https://www.pelicanparts.com/techart...o_V70_Tech.htm

The guide was exactly what I was trying to explain. As always a photo is better than a thousand incoherent words 😀