DIY: 2006 BMW X5 3.0i Fuel Filter

[Clockwork]

I'd say every 60k miles

[Clockwork]

After working on my filter replAcement Tonight, I have to say what a pain in the butt. It took sooooo long to remove the plastic parts that cover the filter. I am so glad I did tho because I got to see the build up of white corrosion on the metal brake lines and connections. Cleaned up and ready for another 10 years. So is the filter (once I figure out how to reconnect the vacuum line that I had to cut off cause it was stuck to the metal nipple).

[Clockwork]

thats overkill unless you live in an area where the fuel is potentially not that clean.
sputtering or loss of power are give aways to a failing filter. I just did 180k kms on my original filter using only premium fuels and I had no reason to replace it. Just did for maintenance and honestly I was going to check out the brake lines for corrosion so may as well go balls deep in the job, and it WAS a good practise to do since I was in there fixing up stuff anyhow. peace of mind I guess.
30k kms is wayyyyyy too often in Canada... Not sure about Bulgaria tho.

[bestvaluestore]

Originally Posted by Clockwork

thats overkill unless you live in an area where the fuel is potentially not that clean.
sputtering or loss of power are give aways to a failing filter. I just did 180k kms on my original filter using only premium fuels and I had no reason to replace it. Just did for maintenance and honestly I was going to check out the brake lines for corrosion so may as well go balls deep in the job, and it WAS a good practise to do since I was in there fixing up stuff anyhow. peace of mind I guess.
30k kms is wayyyyyy too often in Canada... Not sure about Bulgaria tho.

That is what I've been told and what I remembered.Will talk to more people prior to replacing it.

[oldskewel]

I did this on my 2001 3.0i today. Bought the Dorman clips so I'd be ready, but this one did not use any clips. Just fuel hose, so I used new hose clamps. I replaced the 3" section of vacuum hose. Mahle KL96 filter matched the original that came out. 170k miles with no issues beforehand.

[Clockwork]

Oldskewl, what did u use to replace the 3" hose you had to cut out?

[oldskewel]

Originally Posted by Clockwork

Oldskewl, what did u use to replace the 3" hose you had to cut out?

For my car, it was just regular vacuum hose. So I found some that I already had that matched the inner diameter. Mine was actually a thicker wall than the stuff I removed, but it fit like a glove.
If you don't have a selection to choose from in hand already, you could buy your new filter and then buy some hose to match the diameter of the air connector on there. For me (Mahle KL96 filter), I'll guess it was about 1/8" inner diameter on the hose.

[Clockwork]

But the OD of the plastic hose is smaller thaan the OD of the metal end of the fuel filter. Is it not?

[oldskewel]

Originally Posted by Clockwork

But the OD of the plastic hose is smaller thaan the OD of the metal end of the fuel filter. Is it not?

Sorry - I missed this when you first asked.

First, our cars are different. The 2001 3.0i uses the Mahle KL96, no special clips are needed, and I don't know what other things are different. So what worked for me may be different for you.

But regarding the vacuum hose, it was just plain vacuum hose connecting the metal barb on the filter (pressure regulator) to the vaccum supply connection (that leads to the engine). Same OD of those fittings on both ends, so normal rubber vacuum line with a matching ID did the job. Nothing hard about that, other than selecting the right diameter hose. At this point, I don't remember details about the car-end of the vacuum line other than that. But ...

More details (from fading memory) on the fuel connections, in case anyone cares: The fuel lines are hard blue plastic. Where they interface with the filter, there is an Aluminum fitting that transitions the blue plastic line to a standard black flexible rubber fuel hose that is attached to the filter (at 3 points) with single-use crimp hose clamps. In my case, the hose looked in good shape, so I did not change it. I don't remember, but I would not be surprised if I trimmed off the last 1/2" so the clamping surface would be fresh. I used new worm-drive hose clamps. The Aluminum fitting did not look familiar and I don't know if it can easily be separated and reconnected. So I did not even touch that.

[ScottJ]

Does the 2003 3.0L X5 use the same exact fuel-filter part, and replacement process? Fuel filter installed in the same location?


--Scott