That's my usual question to newbies.

Your comments, as a well experienced 240 owner, are the best affirmation I've seen of my dozen-plus posts suggesting owners leave that filter alone if not ready to rust through or actually causing fuel-filter symptoms such as starving on long hills. It isn't a "level two" job, as is underlined by so many, turning a $20 task into a $200 mess.

As you've noticed, the filter is downstream of the pump, and larger than the one that used to be on the firewall, and no longer considered the weekend mechanic's easy maintenance item, attached to nylon lines with banjo fittings. There might have been some home-mechanic related fires due to poor work changing under-hood filters once high pressure fuel injection became the dominant technology, but perhaps some pro with other-marque experience can supply a non-safety reason for moving the filter.
--
Art Benstein near Baltimore

Doing a thing wrong for a long period of time gives it the superficial appearance of being right.