Gasoline filter: where it is, the frequency of replacement, the quality of gasoline at gas stations

2024 Author: Erin Ralphs | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-19 11:42

The power system is one of the most important in any car. It includes various pipes, lines, pumps, a fine fuel filter, a coarse one, and so on. In today's article, we will consider in detail the device of one of the nodes of the system, namely the filter. How does it work and where is it located? We will answer these and many other questions in our today's article.

Destination

The gasoline filter is used to clean the fuel from various impurities.

They can be dust, rust, water. It literally "absorbs" all this into itself, preventing clogging of further elements - injectors or carburetor (depending on the type of car design). These elements have a small diameter of the passage holes, even small particles can cause blockage. Because of this, the mixture stops flowing into one of the cylinders and the engine starts to triple, work unevenly.

Degree of cleaning

The power supply system of a modern carincludes several degrees of filtration. The first one is rough. All large particles that previously got into the tank remain on the grid during the passage of fuel. The next degree is fine processing. It is performed by a fine fuel filter. The location of its installation depends on the specific make and model of the car (we will discuss this later).

There are currently three types of fuel systems:

• Carburetor. At the moment, cars with such a system are no longer produced. It is believed that this design is less reliable and requires frequent maintenance (tuning the carburetor, cleaning, jets, etc.).
• Injector. It is a more advanced system. Now injection cars are produced by all world automakers. For Russian automakers, they became mandatory almost 10 years ago.
• Diesel. Its design has remained virtually unchanged since its development. The only thing that should be noted “from new” is the Common Rail direct injection system. But since our article is about a gasoline filter, we will not consider this system in detail.

Carburettors

In this fuel system, the principle of operation is as follows. Fuel is sucked from the tank by means of a pump (usually mechanical, which is very often heated on the “classic”). Further along the highways, it undergoes a cleaning procedure, passing through a gasoline filter. VAZ with a carburetor power system is designed to consume fuel with a degree of pollution up to 20 microns. Already purified fuel boldly enterscarburetor, where the mixture is prepared with its further combustion in the cylinder chamber. The filter itself for carbureted cars is made of a nylon (transparent) body, which is a big plus.

After all, it is possible to control the degree of its contamination visually, without removal and analysis.

Injector

Unlike a carburetor, this type of system is more demanding on fuel cleanliness. On injection vehicles, the throughput is up to 10 microns. And if the required degree of cleaning is not provided in the power system, this threatens to quickly clog the nozzles, namely their nozzles. Because of this, the fuel spray jet deteriorates, which leads to unstable operation of the engine on the go and idle.

Features

The injector works under high pressure. This indicator in the fuel wires can reach 4 bar. Therefore, fuel filters for gasoline engines with fuel injection cannot be made of nylon - it will simply break under pressure. All cleaning elements for such cars are made of a durable metal case. In extreme cases, the use of thick high-quality plastic is allowed. The item consists of two parts. This is the housing and the filter element itself. The latter can be made of porous paper.

How to determine wear?

Each part in the car has its own lifetime, laid down by the manufacturer. Most often, this figure is 100 thousand kilometers. But since the quality of gasoline at gas stations in the CISleaves much to be desired, this value can be safely divided by 2. If this is an injection car, then it is impossible to determine the blockage of the element simply by looking at it. Even polyurethane hulls are always painted.

The tell-tale sign that the petrol filter is clogged is the behavior of the car. Power and acceleration dynamics drops noticeably. At the same time, fuel consumption increases. When driving, the car may twitch - this means that the fuel enters the pump in jerks. Its free passage is hindered by dirt particles that the filter has retained on its walls. Unstable idling also indicates its blockage. It is not recommended to ride on such a filter. Under pressure, these particles can penetrate the paper cleaning element and clog the nozzle.

Where is he?

It is impossible to answer this question unambiguously. On cars with an injection and carburetor power system, where 80 gasoline is poured, the element can be installed in different ways. But in any case, it will be between the tank and the engine. In carbureted cars, the gasoline filter is located under the hood, namely in front of the carburetor. This is a very convenient location.

Thanks to the transparent case, you can easily see whether this element is clogged or not, without dismantling the cabin floor or going down into the pit. Where is the fuel filter on injection units? Here, due to the use of nozzles, this element is located under the bottom. Most often it is located atrear passenger door. You can immediately see it on several fuel lines that stretch along the bottom through the entire car.

Replacing the petrol filter

First, consider carbureted cars. The filter device for them is the simplest, so you will not have any difficulties with the replacement. To do this, just disconnect the two tubes going to the inlet and outlet. But the replacement procedure on injection cars is more complicated.

To do this, you will need pliers, a screwdriver and a set of sockets or wrenches. After we find the location of the element, it is necessary to unscrew the fitting clamp. Next, remove the incoming and outgoing fuel tube. In some cases, they can be attached using plastic "chips" (quick releases). To separate them, we need a minus screwdriver. Gently pressing on the chip, we remove the element to the side. Be careful - a small part of gasoline will spill out of the tubes. Use rubber gloves and do not remove the fitting forcibly - fuel splashes may get on your face.

If the design of the car involves the location of the cleaner in the tank, it is necessary to partially disassemble the interior. Where is the fuel filter located? Often it is in the tank, along with the fuel pump. The fuel, before entering the pump, passes through a mesh element, where large particles of dirt remain. Over time, this detail blackens. So, for this we need to disassemble the rearseat. Here we need a head for 12. So, we tilt the back of the back row as far forward as possible so that a small gap forms between it and the bottom pillow. It will contain the seat bolt. Using an extension cord and a ratchet for 12, unscrew it from the right and left sides. Next, we remove the passenger seat belt locks from the slots and raise the lower part of the seat by pressing the latches. The filter element is attached to the right side of the seat - it is very easy to notice it by the existing plastic hatch. Open it and disconnect the terminals going to the fuel pump. Then we remove the hoses and take out the entire fuel station. The mesh has no fasteners, so it can be replaced without tools. After that, we put the fuel station in place and assemble in the reverse order. If the pump stops beeping when the ignition is turned on (3-5 seconds while it pumps fuel), check the correct connection of the terminals.

Producers

Which fuel filter is better to choose? Reviews of motorists call the following manufacturers:

• SCT.
• Bosch.
• BIG.
• Fram.

Nevsky filter is excellent for domestic cars. If you do not have a foreign car, in no case do not buy "German type" filters from Bosch and SCT. Think purely logically: will the Germans develop and establish mass production of filters for your "eight" or "tens"? Even if they are, the cost of such elements due to customs and other duties will be comparable to the "Mercedes".

Advice from experienced motorists: if you need a filter for a domestic car, choose only Russian manufacturers. Everything else is outright China.

How to independently determine the quality of gasoline at gas stations?

In order for the filter to last for a long time, and the system itself does not get dirty, you need to monitor the quality of the fuel. It is not always possible to refuel at our own, proven gas stations. So, let's look at how to determine the quality of gasoline yourself:

• The first factor is the price of fuel. Each car owner knows approximately what its cost is in the region. Therefore, when driving through a new unfamiliar gas station, think about why its owner has reduced the price so much. Good fuel will never be sold cheap.
• The second sign is the smell. If it has a smell, with hints of oil and household chemicals, such gasoline is clearly “body-made”. And it's good if it's just additives to increase the octane number. But there were times when 80 gasoline was diluted with plain water. Even an old carbureted engine won't pull that mixture.

Alternative ways

You can check it with another method. To do this, you will need a piece of clean paper. Dip one end into the tank and pull it out. After evaporation, quality gasoline should not leave yellow oily or acidic marks. This is a sign that the oil product was mixed with additives. If it is high-quality gasoline, the paper should remain perfectly white. By the way, greasy spots indicate a large amount of oils in the composition."burners". In addition, the quality of gasoline can be checked with potassium permanganate. It will not dissolve in pure gasoline. If the fuel has acquired a pale pink tint, it clearly contains a certain percentage of water.

So, we found out which fuel filter is better and what its device is.