So last night I attempted to replace the fuel filter. Apparently this has never been done on my vehicle, or was so many years ago that the bolts & hoses had melded together in a marriage unbreakable. But hey, I'm a good strong girl, I can do this!! Yeah RIGHT.

THIS is what happened:



Yup. I got the top banjo bolt off just fine, but didn't read the instructions thoroughly and removed the bracket before attempting to remove the bottom bolt. Apparently I am strong enough to twist steel. I am woman hear me ROAR!! And smell the gas all over me at this point.

Anyhoo, after having hysterics I ran down two doors to my neighbor the mechanic, who calmed me down and said he had all the tools to fix it. Thank the gods he did. Cut the above piece off the fuel line, then re-flared the end (with a double flare like a brake line) and got the fuel filter replaced. Had to Macgyver it a bit, but it works just fine. He did give me an ego boost, however, by telling me that there was no way I (or anyone else) could have removed the bottom bolt in the first place. He first tried to get it out by putting it in the vise and hammering the living f*ck out of it, finally wound up having to drill it out. Wonder what would have happened if I had taken it to a shop?

Moral of the story: READ THE INSTRUCTIONS. TWICE BEFORE STARTING AND KEEP THEM WITH YOU WHILE REPAIRING. AND IF YOU CAN'T DO IT, STOP IMMEDIATELY BEFORE YOU BREAK SOMETHING. Thanks for listening/reading my rant, finally posted a pic of my ride, let me know what you think!!!

 

At least you finally changed the fuel filter on it.. i bet it needed it lol
And civic is looking nice!
but what happened to your front license plate lol

 

Ah. Been smacked into a couple of times, also I've caught it on my pants leg at least three times going around the front. Yeah, when we finally got the bottom bolt off a bunch of black crap came out of it. Due for a change!

 

Well hey at least you won't make that mistake again! Gotta learn somehow and sadly it's always by breaking something.

 

aint that the truth. Next purchase is going to be a metric set of flare end wrenches! Going to flush the coolant out tomorrow and change the ECT--next step in the overheating issue. Still not the head gasket. Also going to save my pennies and get a new exhaust header with cat before it's due for emissions. I'm tired of throwing parts at it in hopes that one little thing will fix everything--get it all done right and not worry about it anymore. At least that's something I can do myself (provided I can get the damn bolts out!!!!)

 

Well hey throw the money into it now so the car can be fixed and run good and also pass inspection. You should just take it to a mechanic and see what the problem is with the overheating.

 

I would do that, but I have a mortal fear of mechanics. I have a running bet with my husband, that if HE takes it to a mechanic they will tell him one thing, if I take it in they will tell me MANY things are wrong with the car. I hate to admit it in this advanced age, but I'm old enough to have seen it happen with my own eyes that when women bring cars in, 6 times out of 10 they get charged a hell of lot more than a man will. Also the pride thing, I want to get it done MYSELF and not rely on someone else (most notably a MAN). Pretty feminist thing to say, but I don't care. And then of course there's the financial issue, it SHOULD be a lot cheaper in the long run to take care of everything myself (unless I totally f*ck something up, god forbid). Anyhoo, the overheating situation seems to have rectified itself with the new rad cap, driven it two days in a row without the temp gauge moving at all. Only going to do the rad flush now, and still going to do the exhaust manifold when I can get the money. In the meanwhile, enjoying the hell out of my ride, as I should. Civics ROCK!!!!!

 

OH MY GOD. I just did a similar thing. I got the lower bolt off but I stripped the threads putting the new one on. I had to cut the old end off to get the stripped bolt off. My fix included a junkyard run and a compression fitting.

 

Stupid effing bolts...can't take a pic of mine right now cause it's raining (Seattle..who knew?) but enough had to be cut off of the fuel line that the filter is just hanging in the breeze---doesn't seem to bother it though.

 

It needs to be secured to the firewall. If possible, I would move the bracket and use some self tapping screws to secure it to the metal.