Attention: TDR Forum Junkies 
If all of this has been covered, please ignore.
I changed the fuel filter in my truck last night and thought I'd share a couple of tips from the experience.
1. I found it very difficult to get the fuel filter cap removed. I just bought the truck used and the last guy (or dealer) must have really put it on there. I found it helpful to use a 1 1/8 socket with a 10" extension. I was able to get it unscrewed just fine after switching to this tool.
2. The excellent instructions from issue 45 fail to include the step from the factory service manual about lubing the o-ring with a bit of clean fuel or clean engine oil. I forgot this step and am a bit paranoid about leaks (although I probably shouldn't be).
3. I didn't pre-fill, so I used the bump-fill method where you bump the starter 4-5 times to get the lift pump cycling.
Here's the biggest lesson learned so far - when I went to start the engine after bump-filling the canister it fired up and then died. I was then unable to get the engine to fire after several more tries. I called a friend of a friend who is very familiar with these trucks. He indicated that if I had "put my foot into it" on that first successful crank it would have pushed the air through the system and the engine would have most likely kept running.
I had to leave it dead last night because the air bleeding procedure calls for cranking the engine for as much as 30 seconds at a time. All of the sleeping children next door and their parents would have been pretty unhappy with me!
So, the lesson for me is to get my foot into it during that first successful start... it might save you the air bleeding process.
I am a newbie, so if all of this is common knowledge I apologize for posting old news.
Hope it helps someone.
I changed the fuel filter in my truck last night and thought I'd share a couple of tips from the experience.
1. I found it very difficult to get the fuel filter cap removed. I just bought the truck used and the last guy (or dealer) must have really put it on there. I found it helpful to use a 1 1/8 socket with a 10" extension. I was able to get it unscrewed just fine after switching to this tool.
2. The excellent instructions from issue 45 fail to include the step from the factory service manual about lubing the o-ring with a bit of clean fuel or clean engine oil. I forgot this step and am a bit paranoid about leaks (although I probably shouldn't be).
3. I didn't pre-fill, so I used the bump-fill method where you bump the starter 4-5 times to get the lift pump cycling.
Here's the biggest lesson learned so far - when I went to start the engine after bump-filling the canister it fired up and then died. I was then unable to get the engine to fire after several more tries. I called a friend of a friend who is very familiar with these trucks. He indicated that if I had "put my foot into it" on that first successful crank it would have pushed the air through the system and the engine would have most likely kept running.
I had to leave it dead last night because the air bleeding procedure calls for cranking the engine for as much as 30 seconds at a time. All of the sleeping children next door and their parents would have been pretty unhappy with me!
So, the lesson for me is to get my foot into it during that first successful start... it might save you the air bleeding process.
I am a newbie, so if all of this is common knowledge I apologize for posting old news.
Hope it helps someone.
