How many fuel filters is too many fuel filters?

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WSUTARD

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I have three. Not sure why the previous owner has three. How many do I need?

I just installed a new tank, FYI.
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I would remove them all and replace them with one new WIX metal fuel filter.
 
Absolutely. Use clear plastic or glass so you can watch your gas like a window lickin Chevy guy.

Just remember, in a crash, that plastic filter will break and the glass one will shatter spewing gas everywhere and burn your **** to the ground.

Run a metal filter. Don't be stupid. Let other people be stupid.
 
If you have an old tank or lines you can run one upstream of the fuel pump so you don't get any trash missing up the fuel pump.
 
Agree, metal filter. Run it a few weeks and change it. Tip it and let the gas run out inlet down into a clean container. You will see if the gas is clean yet. You may need to replace the fuel line also.
 
If a crash is violent enough to move enough metal in the engine compartment to crush the plastic filter it will crush the metal filter too, which will still rupture and leak. And in either case if there's that much moving around the rubber and hard lines usually get separated anyway. The hard lines get damaged more than anything, they get pinched off, kinked so the leak and torn open pretty frequently because they don't deal with the frame, engine and body moving around independently of each other.

Aftermarket, owner added electric fuel pumps are way scarier in a crash. They get installed without rollover switches, power pulled so they keep running after an accident even if the engine stalls, etc. That's far worse than a plastic fuel filter connected between a couple sections of rubber fuel line. And the VAST majority of accidents don't result in fire, even though fuel gets spilled/leaked pretty frequently. You guys are watching too many movies.
 
May seem petty but you might want to keep any rubber fuel line after the filter as short as possible. Minimize possible internal breakdown of the hose.
Holley carb? Inlet filter?
 
Plastic and glass filters can not only crack in a crash. Heat, vibration, chafing, overtightened clamps etc can all cause them to leak. They are just not, IMO, good practice. If they were a good idea why has no auto (or industrial) manufacturer ever used them?
 
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There's always one that argues against common sense. Somehow, I didn't visualize it being you. Run what you want. I'm stickin with metal.

72bluNblu said:
If a crash is violent enough to move enough metal in the engine compartment to crush the plastic filter it will crush the metal filter too, which will still rupture and leak. And in either case if there's that much moving around the rubber and hard lines usually get separated anyway. The hard lines get damaged more than anything, they get pinched off, kinked so the leak and torn open pretty frequently because they don't deal with the frame, engine and body moving around independently of each other.

Aftermarket, owner added electric fuel pumps are way scarier in a crash. They get installed without rollover switches, power pulled so they keep running after an accident even if the engine stalls, etc. That's far worse than a plastic fuel filter connected between a couple sections of rubber fuel line. And the VAST majority of accidents don't result in fire, even though fuel gets spilled/leaked pretty frequently. You guys are watching too many movies.
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I have seen plastic and glass both fail for various reasons over the years, but NOT ONE metal one has EVER failed that I have seen.
I'm not talking a few filters over a few years either, but hundreds and hundres of filters over decades.
Guess what I run.
 
RustyRatRod said:
There's always one that argues against common sense. Somehow, I didn't visualize it being you. Run what you want. I'm stickin with metal.
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Common sense?

Your argument about fuel filters getting crushed in a car accident is BS. It's just a bad argument without evidence.

I've been in or around the fire service for over 20 years. Starting from volunteer all the way to paid professional, running around a thousand calls a year for over ten years now. I've seen hundreds and hundreds of car accidents. I've never seen an accident where a crushed fuel filter was the only fuel leak. And I've seen crushed metal filters leak. Cars with enough damage to crush the filter have leaks all over the place because the lines fail all over. Get stripped right off the frame in some cases. And in all that time I have yet to respond to a car fire of any kind caused by a fuel filter failure.

So, run a metal filter, run a plastic filter, I don't care. But if that was your reasoning, it's wrong. You don't like em, awesome. Say that. Because your argument about accident safety is false.

I run a filter with a replaceable element so I can open it up and see what's in there. Best of both worlds. And after you've thrown away a few of those cheap auto parts store filters that aren't flow rated it's paid for itself too.
 
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