Fit a new fuel filter cinquecento sporting

may apply to the 899 too


Tools Required
two jacks + axle stands, or car ramps
10mm socket and ratchet
side cutters
pliers
screwdriver

New filter
two new clips [14mm]


Here we go then, to replace the fuel filter on a cinquecento sporting, you will of course need a new filter, buy this from ebay or your local motor factor, it would be best to buy two new clips too just in case the old ones are no good for re-use, knowing a bit about cars in general I didnt buy a filter specific to the cinq, instead I bought the cheapest metal bodied fuel injection filter I could find at about the right size, only cost me £3 including postage £ker ching!!, we will look at that later.


First off, you need to be able to have good access underneath the middle of the car, do this via ramps, or jack the car up, I used two jacks and jacked up one side, now I fully trust my jacks, and I wasnt going to be pushing or pulling anything underneath which would potentially make the car fall on me, however the sensible thing to do would be to use axle stands and dont go underneath until you are sure its safe to do so

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Here we have the fuel filter, its on the drivers side of the tunnel next to the exhaust expansion box, the filter has two small flexible fuel pipes fitted to it

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Using a 10mm socket, undo the bolt located at the very top which holds the metal clamp around the filter, this is fiddly to get to and this is where a good amount of access underneath really helps, fully remove the bolt

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Pull the metal bracket from around the filter, it just bends out of the way, dont lose the rubber sleeve


Next, remove the clips holding the flexible fuel pipes to the filter, you can twist a small screwdriver in them to break them, you may have jubilee clips, if so then just undo them, be prepared for the screws to either break, or the clip to be rusted, pull the pipes off the filter and be ready for some petrol leakage

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With the filter removed, compare it to the new one, my "lucky dip" find off ebay was just the same, except slightly longer on the inlet and outlet pipes, spot on that'll do for me.

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Fit the new clips to the two rubber fuel pipes, then fit the filter back to the car noting the fuel flow arrows, the arrow must point forwards to the front of the car, this is the direction of the fuel flow, important.

Now wrap the metal bracket round the filter with its rubber sleeve between the bracket and filter, the next part iss REALLY fiddly, getting the bolt back into the hole - just in case you want to change the filter again at some point, put some copper grease on the thread to stop it siezing, when done, tighten up and adjust the filter position before making the bolt fully tight

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all done, it is recommended to run the engine for a few mins to check for leaks, note that after startup the engine might stall until the fuel comes through properly.


conclusion
I have owned the car since december 06, and have not previously changed the fuel filter, in the latter half of 09 I had a rusted fuel tank, I replaced the tank but still did not replace the filter [I probably forgot, but there was bound to be rust debris in it], quite recently the car would stutter slightly under power especially if the revs were down low, or I changed up too soon, out on the road for a 15 mile drive after replacing the filter it felt like the stutter had gone, and overall there was a feeling that the engine was smoother in its running.

Thanks for looking.