Fuel filter fiasco

[superloopy]

Where to start .... my TD workhorse has been stuttering along over recent weeks moreso on deceleration and i 'thought' it could be driveshaft related. But, yesterday on the coldest morning of the year up here she resolutely refused to start and i was relegated to the missus' Hyundai i10 for the day. So ... glowplugs in mind i scouted around the shed and could only find two so gave up on doing that today. It wasn't a hard decision not to do at least two with the others on order alongwith new nuts and a rail. But i did find a fuel filter so decided to whack that in as its not had one for ages! Wrong decision! Old filter bolts were amazingly tight (i did the last change cos i can remember tightening them down in a criss cross order to avoid warping the cover) but came off eventually. The old filter came out but there was only around 1/3rd at the bottom which looked like it was being 'used'. The top of the filter was bone dry even after the short run i'd had before the job. So, was this air in the bowl causing my starting problems or just a blocked filter? In any event the new filter duly went on, new bolts, and primed with the manual pump only to spot a leak [emoji22] . And.... here's where the fun began. The skies opened, torrential rain but i plodded on removing three of the four bolts only for the allen key to snap inside the top of the last bolt, bug@@r [emoji33]. Being non-metallic ?? and some cheap alloy other than steel i then needed to drill it out of the top of bolt before i could extract it. Filter was then removed and the seal was found to have been 'nipped' on reassembly, my cack-handedness obviously. Sorted that episode with a new seal and all good from thereonin. But, the only plus point to come out of this is that my stuuuuuuttttterrrring has now gone. Obvious when you think about it, which i hadn't in enough detail. Engine pulls like a train now but its just started to pour again and i've not checked her for leaks after a long'ish run of 5 miles. Fingers crossed eh. Moral being ... get a decent set of allen keys BEFORE that crap set give up on you in the middle of an important job [emoji1]. Lesson learned.

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[CitroJim]

Oh dear Mike I'm so sorry to hear of all of this but at least it's done the job and you successfully recovered from it...

Good call on tools... Always buy the very best you can afford.. It works out a lot cheaper in the long run... Many of my tools I bought on quality well over 30 years ago now and they're still going strong despite much use and abuse...

[superloopy]

You're right there Jim. This was an el-cheapo set from Lidl. Think i overstressed it when removing the old bolts ... they were tight!! Any observations on the bone dry top 2/3rds of the filter?

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[CitroJim]

YAny observations on the bone dry top 2/3rds of the filter?

Not yet Mike. I'm a bit mystified by that... I shall go for a run right now and think about it...

[dnsey]

The HDi filter housungs are no better.
Even using the correct Facom special socket, it takes a huge pull to unscrew the top, and always feels as though something's going to break.

[superloopy]

Yup ... nothing broke except the one part you need, the allen key [emoji6]

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[mickeymoon]

I've given up using allen keys, I find that a decent set of allen bits in a tool kit is far more useful, and doesn't hurt your hands as you can use them with the extensions and ratchets instead of just about thin piece of metal that's short so you can't get leverage on it, uncomfortable to hold, and often breaks!

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[CitroJim]

I've given up using allen keys, I find that a decent set of allen bits in a tool kit is far more useful, and doesn't hurt your hands as you can use them with the extensions and ratchets instead of just about thin piece of metal that's short so you can't get leverage on it, uncomfortable to hold, and often breaks!

100% agreed... I still use keys on my bikes occasionally but otherwise just like you...