Since the garage did my last van service, I've had a slight but increasing smell of diesel. Shortly after it'd been in, I took it to Europe for a 6 month tour. After a few weeks, while checking fluid levels, I noticed the fuel filter housing was glistening, so it was obvious it was leaking and where the smell was coming from. Knowing the housing on the Fiat Ducato x250 can be fragile and I didn't have a spare or the tool, so I left it alone, but kept an eye on it. Shortly after we returned home, it got much worse:
Lift the bonnet and on the right side attached to the firewall at the back is the culprit:
If you are have the physique of Mr Tickle, you might be able to get to it. The rest of us need to spend 10 minutes removing the headlight.
Undo the cross-head screw on the lower plastic trim below the headlight. Gently hinge it outwards, cringing at the graunching noises until the clips pop out on the outside edge:
Next do the same on the upper trim above the headlight, this time with two screws:
Undo the 10mm bolts on the headlight. There are two on the front edge and one at the top:
Then hold the front corner of the light and wiggle it out until the clip and locating pin comes loose at the top:
Clip and pin and the hole:
Next unclip the single headlight cable. The grey retainer just slides outwards to release the connector:
Now put the headlight and two trim pieces somewhere you won't trip over them. Especially when you're in a hurry to find something absorbent.
You're now left with easy access to the fuel filter. First thing to do now is get a whole bunch of paper towels and clear an area that you don't mind getting drenched in diesel. Also have a pan ready. And put some towels under the van, because you will spill loads. Put on some disposable gloves now.
First you should try to remove the electrical connectors on the top and bottom of the filter housing. There are then two fuel hoses on the top and the front. I'm not sure if there's a knack to removing these, but after playing with them for about 10 minutes, it appears to just be a hard pull to detach them. Immediately you're going to get diesel leaking everywhere.
Press your already soaked fingers against the two pipe holes in the housing that diesel is now freely flowing from. The whole housing is just sitting on a clip on the firewall, mostly held in by gravity. Just slide it up and it'll come out, sloshing diesel everywhere.
I'm guessing there's about half a litre of fuel in the filter. I caught about 300ml in a microwave meal container (which was a bad idea because it was a pain to pour out without it spilling everywhere). A bit of diesel was caught in paper towels, but the rest ended up running down my arms and into my cloths, and further saturating the already soaked engine.
I bought a replacement filter housing with filter for £65 on eBay. Apparently a Fiat garage charges about 3x more. If you're just changing just the filter, they are about £10:
The whole housing is secured closed using a threaded collar that seals the whole thing shut. I guess it holds a fair about of pressure in use? Anyway, the thing is just fibre reinforced plastic and the collar has to be tightened down to 30Nm. Apparently the housings tend to fail because they've been tightened down incorrectly without a special tool. The tool consists of a lower cup that holds the housing still in a vice while the upper cage grips the threaded collar and allows you to attach a torque wrench. The official Fiat tool costs a fortune, but for occasional use, you can get a moulded plastic tool for less than £20:
Refitting is just the reverse, but a lot less messy. I suggest you towel down the worst of the spills down the engine. Check inside the wheel arch as I had runs down there (but I disconnected the pipes first then tried to unclip the cables, so maybe you can learn from my mistake).
First time you start the van, turn the key to the ignition point but don't crank the engine. Take the key out and repeat 4 more times. This primes the fuel filter, filling it with fuel. Check that your new/refitted housing isn't leaking. Now start the engine, it should fire up as easily as usual. Again, check for leaks. Now pat yourself on the back and burn all your diesel soaked cloths.
In all honesty, it's a very easy job. Just it's a bit messy, especially if you are a bit clutsy like me.
Lift the bonnet and on the right side attached to the firewall at the back is the culprit:
If you are have the physique of Mr Tickle, you might be able to get to it. The rest of us need to spend 10 minutes removing the headlight.
Undo the cross-head screw on the lower plastic trim below the headlight. Gently hinge it outwards, cringing at the graunching noises until the clips pop out on the outside edge:
Next do the same on the upper trim above the headlight, this time with two screws:
Undo the 10mm bolts on the headlight. There are two on the front edge and one at the top:
Then hold the front corner of the light and wiggle it out until the clip and locating pin comes loose at the top:
Clip and pin and the hole:
Next unclip the single headlight cable. The grey retainer just slides outwards to release the connector:
Now put the headlight and two trim pieces somewhere you won't trip over them. Especially when you're in a hurry to find something absorbent.
You're now left with easy access to the fuel filter. First thing to do now is get a whole bunch of paper towels and clear an area that you don't mind getting drenched in diesel. Also have a pan ready. And put some towels under the van, because you will spill loads. Put on some disposable gloves now.
First you should try to remove the electrical connectors on the top and bottom of the filter housing. There are then two fuel hoses on the top and the front. I'm not sure if there's a knack to removing these, but after playing with them for about 10 minutes, it appears to just be a hard pull to detach them. Immediately you're going to get diesel leaking everywhere.
Press your already soaked fingers against the two pipe holes in the housing that diesel is now freely flowing from. The whole housing is just sitting on a clip on the firewall, mostly held in by gravity. Just slide it up and it'll come out, sloshing diesel everywhere.
I'm guessing there's about half a litre of fuel in the filter. I caught about 300ml in a microwave meal container (which was a bad idea because it was a pain to pour out without it spilling everywhere). A bit of diesel was caught in paper towels, but the rest ended up running down my arms and into my cloths, and further saturating the already soaked engine.
I bought a replacement filter housing with filter for £65 on eBay. Apparently a Fiat garage charges about 3x more. If you're just changing just the filter, they are about £10:
The whole housing is secured closed using a threaded collar that seals the whole thing shut. I guess it holds a fair about of pressure in use? Anyway, the thing is just fibre reinforced plastic and the collar has to be tightened down to 30Nm. Apparently the housings tend to fail because they've been tightened down incorrectly without a special tool. The tool consists of a lower cup that holds the housing still in a vice while the upper cage grips the threaded collar and allows you to attach a torque wrench. The official Fiat tool costs a fortune, but for occasional use, you can get a moulded plastic tool for less than £20:
Refitting is just the reverse, but a lot less messy. I suggest you towel down the worst of the spills down the engine. Check inside the wheel arch as I had runs down there (but I disconnected the pipes first then tried to unclip the cables, so maybe you can learn from my mistake).
First time you start the van, turn the key to the ignition point but don't crank the engine. Take the key out and repeat 4 more times. This primes the fuel filter, filling it with fuel. Check that your new/refitted housing isn't leaking. Now start the engine, it should fire up as easily as usual. Again, check for leaks. Now pat yourself on the back and burn all your diesel soaked cloths.
In all honesty, it's a very easy job. Just it's a bit messy, especially if you are a bit clutsy like me.
