okay, jacked up my car, gave myself plenty of room after having read the FAQ.

first thing's first, i don't see a fuel pump near my fuel filter. i followed the line, and one goes back and up towards the tank, and the other side goes up towards the engine area. am i missing something?

as for the fuel filter itself, i got the read end look and got a nice spray of gas which leaked for a bit, and then subsided. but i could not get the either the front or rear side off. the bolts/nuts look slightly corroded, especially ont he front side.

the rear side looks like it has 3 parts with which i can fit a wrench. the fuel filter itself has a socket like portion, so i'm guessing i use that to hold the filter steady. the fuel line itself has 2 nuts on it, but they appear to be stuck together. are they supposed to be able to spin freely/independently of each other?

as for the front, it's just jammed on. i'm going to get an open ended wrench of the right size tomorrow to go over the front end of the filter 'nut' to hold it steady, and then go at the bolt again, but it seemed pretty jammed on there. is this normal? should i worry about it breaking?

thanks.
--
Kenric Tam
1990 Volvo 740 base sedan (B230F)
My Volvo 'Project'

I hear that man, after spending 6 hours installing a fuel filer in my 740 gle. It's sucked, I got fuel all over the driveway wich ate up the tar that got all over my arms. My bro and I were going at thoes bolts with all our might and that is what it took to get them out. I think the next time I need a new one I am going to give mr volvo mechanic a call. (plus there is one screw that I don't know how it went in there, and I don't know how it comes out)
Eamonn

When my fuel filter connectors would not come apart, I cut the lines on both sides of the filter and put it in a vise. Connectors re-attached easily and the job became a lot easier.
Good luck
--
Richard Montgomery 83-244GL ; '90-780t; '92-940

You are screwed my friend.

As the other gent mentioned, you have a rex system that only has an in-tank pump. This is why you don't see a main pump by the filter... but this isn't why you are screwed.

While I have found filters at the yard that are not impact afixed, it seems it is standard practice for Volvo guys to use an impact wrench to put these things on. The crush washers should make this TOTALLY UNNECESSARY, but I guess they err on the side of tightness and no leaks... whatever.

You WILL NOT BE ABLE TO GET THIS OFF WITH OUT AN IMPACT WRENCH, SO DON'T TRY AND MESS IT UP IN THE PROCESS. I recently (two weeks ago) went through this with my 1985 745t. I shot it with PB blaster repeatedly, cleaned it up, and used two fitted pipe wrenches (yes, big old pipe wrenches snugly fit to the "bolts") moving in oppoisite directions to try and get it off.

In the process the wrench slipped off the corroded materials and cut the line between the filter and main pump. The line is plastic and is a use once thing from Volvo (to be replaced with a new filter) I found out later, so it wasn't horrible, but it was nasty proved problematic later on. The line also isn't relevant with your Rex setup...

I also started seeing holes in my old filter... the metal is so soft that the pressure from my arm and the wrench actually ripped the metal. In the end I was sitting with a car with a patched line that, when on, shot gas all over the place. I ended up having to get it towed to my mechanic to get fixed. The job was about $75 (one hour of work), but the tow was $65.

If you can't get the filter off and don't have an air gun you are screwed, so don't mess it up further by trying. Why they didn't move the filter to the engine compartment or make this easier is beyond me. I had thought, going in, that this would be a simple swap job... negatory good body. If nothing else t would have avoided the undercarriage crud and grime that causes this job to be so damned nasty... I mean, what braniac thought to himself "of course, Let's EXPOSE the main elements of the fuel system right under the car with NO COVER from road crud... BRILLIANT!"

I've done a lot of work on my brick, and I can safely say that this is probably the NASTIEST and most aggravating one I've tackled... Did you start wishing you had a lift right about the moment you were trying to work your elbow and body around for leverage on that stupid nut? God I hat that filter housing.

good luck,
rt

You hit the nail on the head. What a STUPID place for Volvo to deposit the filter. Like the engine compartment would've been such a problem. How many other cars have it there? A LOT. They get to be a real pain after a while. Using an impact wrench to get it off is the magic trick that saves the day, to be sure.

--
Chris Herbst
1992 745, 68k

And others:
93 944, 150k
90 245, 110k
88 744, 160k
87 245, 185k

hah, yes, i wished i had a lift the moment i went under.

this is okay though, i'll jsut have to wait a whiel before replacing it. i was going to do it myself, but i guess i'll have to bring it to my mechanic friend.

in the meantime, i closed the line back up and tightened it up, so no leaks right now.... but boy this really sucks.

won't be able to bring it over to him for another month. but he charges very low rates for me because i frequent him so much and have been going for years and years.
--
Kenric Tam
1990 Volvo 740 base sedan (B230F)
My Volvo 'Project'

You have the RexRegina system that uses only an in tank pump. My experience is they are good for 50-70,000 miles and while they still run as they wear out they are unable to produce enough pressure. Something you might want to keep in mind in the future:-)

Sometimes the easiest way to removing the fittings on the filters is to use an impact wrench. While the filter has a molded in hex shape it is really worthless when trying to hold the filter (it can ruin a brand new filter when the holding wrench slips and cuts the soft aluminum). A very big pair of adjustable pliers (as in 18" long) is useful to hold the filter on the seam where the material is several layers thick.

Use new copper washers if you have them- consider getting them if you don't. You can try to dress the faces up on the old ones using 320 grit paper. Old ones have a tendency to leak.

Randy

hmm, i'll look in the FAQ, but just in case it's not there, i'll ask:
what's symptomatic of a dying in tank pump?

as for the washers, yep, i got them. 4 of them. :)
--
Kenric Tam
1990 Volvo 740 base sedan (B230F)
My Volvo 'Project'

With the RexRegina system it is the only pump you have. If you should experience problems with stalling, hard starts, loss of power, etc. (things normally associated with fuel starvation) you might want to look at the pump as being the problem. It sometimes is difficult to point your finger at the pump when it is still running and delivering fuel to the rail. In my case the pump was only producing 5 lbs of pressure when the car finally died. I didn't have a fuel pressure gauge at the time which would have saved me a lot of time and trouble.

Randy