So I have a 8 months new to me '02 Jag S-type with a 3.0L engine. whiteSTR wrote a great step by step in the STR section on how to change out the fuel filter on the R. whiteSTR's write up is in this thread: https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/s...ht=fuel+filter

So since the 3.0L S-type is relatively new to me and I am having problems with 'stuttering' in my engine when hot and an occasional P0420 code, I am trying to change out anything and everything that is somewhat cheap before I actually plop down the big bucks for 2 new catalytic converters.

I asked a few months back if the fuel filter on the 3.0L was in the same place as on the R and did not get a response. So tonight I decided to dig in and find it. Some in that previous thread said they were afraid to try and change it. So I took some pics to post here. It is really not hard at all. It is probably the easiest fuel filter I have ever replaced (with the exception of having to remove the wheel well skirt. Not hard, but I have never had to dig in there before to get to the filter. I'll show you how to do it with some pics.)

I am going to use whiteSTRs step-by-step and edit it a bit adding a few steps here and there. There may be a difference between the 3.0L and the R. This is what I found when I went in.

1. Remove the (-) terminal from the battery. (It is in the trunk under the 'floor board' if you never had to look for it before). The (-) terminal is closest to the rear of the car. (The positive terminal is covered with a plastic cover on the stock Jaguar battery. The (-) terminal is the one exposed - check to make certain by reading the battery. It is a bit difficult to reach and takes an 8mm wrench. I used a boxed end wrench. Removing the (-) cable and placing the loose end far from the battery terminal ensures that the there will be no shorting to ground. (DO NOT remove the positive cable first. There is a serious risk of shorting to the frame which can cause sparks or even explosion of the battery. Edit to correct this. See the subsequent posts below.)

2. Remove your front driver side wheel. Be careful of those lug nuts. They are $20-25 each from Jag and the outer cover will spin loose if you do not get the deep-welled socket on completely. (I would not use the lug wrench in the trunk. My original Jag lug wrench trashes the lug nuts every time. I asked Jag about it and they said "that is a perpetual problem!") Ok. You need to put it up on a jack to do this. I did not use a jack stand this time, but normally I would, just to be certain.

3. Unscrew the inner fender splash guard on the rear side of the wheel well completely and peel it back to expose the area behind the shield.

OK. I want to go into a little detail here. It may not be necessary, but it is always easier if I have all the tools I need out when I get going so I do not have to find more once I am half way in. First, here is a picture of the "inner fender splash guard" removed.

The pics I am posting are 'thumbnails'. If you want to see more detail, just click them and they will open in another window in closer to original size. Click that image and it should open full-size (i.e. VERY large).

If you click on that image, you will see that I have marked all the locations of the 'fasteners' with different colored arrows.

There are four plastic nuts that are marked with orange arrows. These are 10mm and it you have a deep-well socket that would be easiest. But I got to them with a 10mm boxed end/opened end wrench.

The three yellow arrows point to screw positions that require a torx bit, size T-30. The two lower torx screws had ~1" washers. The upper one on mine did not have a washer.

Then there are two plastic screw/lock fasteners at the rear of the "inner fender splash guard". Those are marked in that picture with red arrows.

Once those were all out, I started by pulling the inside edge loose from the fixed bolts that the 10mm plastic nuts were on. When the "inner fender splash guard" was off of those, it could be pushed inward and slipped away from the fender edge and then easily removed.

4. The fuel filter is the silver cylinder about 6" long or so mounted horizontally on the back side of the wheel well.

Here is a pic of the fuel filter.
It is easily noticeable as soon as you get the "inner fender splash guard" off. If you look at the fuel lines in that picture, you will see that the line coming from the rear (gas tank) has a flexible section about 1' long making a rectangle around the filter. I started by taking that side off first. I did this because I wanted to catch any excess fuel released in an old milk jug. And the flexible line would allow me to direct the pressurized fuel into the container.

Here are the things I had to deal with fuel flow.

I put a sheet of old cardboard on the floor of the shop so any gas that made it there would be absorbed by the cardboard and not the concrete. I also wear nitrile gloves when I am working with gas and oil and I had some paper towels to absorb any gas that made it past the cut open milk jug I used to catch the gas from the line and the filter.

I did these next steps in a little different order than suggested by whiteSTR. I am certain his way will work, but I like to deal with the line fittings while things are still immobilized, so I did not take out the retaining bolt until after I got the line fittings off.

5. The system is under pressure, although in my 3.0L there was not nearly the pressure I have experienced in other US made vehicles. Here is a close-up pic of the clips that have to be removed.
This is the outer one.
This is the inner one.

These are pretty easy to remove. Simply spread the two locking tips (that you see from the top, if yours are in the same orientation as mine). Then push them inward while spreading them a bit. Once they are pushed in a bit, you can get a flat screwdriver in the bottom and pry them all the way out.

Here is a pic of the clip 'just started out'.

Again, once you have it that far out, it is easy to get a screwdriver in there to pry it out. (The Jag JTIS lists a special Jag tool. If you buy one, take a pic and show us what it looks like! Please.)

The outside clip came out without breaking. I broke one side of the inside clip. The new filter comes with two, so that does not matter. Just be careful not to break the black plastic fitting that is connected to both ends of the fuel line. If you take your time you will be fine.

I did the clip on the line coming from the gas tank first (the outer clip). I caught the gas that came out of the line. I missed a few drops, but this is all that came out.


As you can see, really not much gas came out at all.

6. Once I had both ends of the fuel line off the next step is to unbolt the mounting bracket from the car. There is only one bolt holding the bracket and it is an 8mm hex head. I again used a closed end wrench to take it off. The bracket comes off the car by lifting and pulling the top of the bracket out of a slot in the metal wheel well wall. There is still fuel in it, so make certain to keep it level and not spill it on yourself.

Once I had it off, I wanted to see how dirty the filter was. So I tilted the inlet side downward over the milk jug I was using to catch the fuel. Here is a pic after a few seconds of fuel/water/crude pouring out the inlet side of the filter. You can see that the caught fuel is now 'black with dirt'.



The filter that was in the car was a Motorcraft, so I am pretty certain it was not original. But it had been in there for a good long time. I am also pretty certain it was nearly completely clogged.

7. The next step is to remove the retaining bracket from the old filter. It just slips off. But mine took a little bit of wrestling. (I have a broken wrist that is giving me some grief though. It should hopefully be easier for you.)

8. Once the bracket is off the old filter, it will slip back onto the new filter. Just make certain you note the orientation. It is pretty obvious. If you forget to, just look at the pics here and it will all make sense.

Here is the new filter I used. Yes, it is not a Jag filter, but it is available at Walmart for $7 and for me a 10 minute drive to pick up.



I don't like FRAM filters too much, but this one was accessible and cheap. The "proper filter" (in the Fram version) is the G8018. I am certain that WIX and others make a filter the correct size. I just found this one first.

9. Once the new filter is in the bracket, mount the bracket back to the wall and bolt it on.

10. Then put the fuel lines on and insert the new retaining clips. Make certain you push the fuel line all the way on the filter fitting before you insert the clip. I insert the clip while applying a bit of force to the fuel line fitting to insure it is inserted all the way. Do both lines.

Here is a pic of the nice new shiny (clean on the inside) filter installed. (The 8mm bolt I am pointing to is not tight yet in this pic. Make certain you get that tight!)



11. At this point, you need to do a leak test. Reconnect the (+) battery cable. Turn the key to the on (not start) position for 2-3 seconds and then off again 2-3 times. This repressurizes the fuel system. Inspect for any leaks. If none, go to 12. If leaks, check lines and make certain the fuel filter tips are fully inserted into the fuel line fittings.

12. If there are no leaks, start the car. It should start up quickly and easily. Let it run for a bit and inspect for leaks. If none after 30-60 seconds of running, all is good! Turn the car back off and inspect once more for leaks with the motor off.

13. Then just reinstall the "inner fender splash guard". Once I got it back in the wheel well, I got the outer edge tucked back into the lip of the fender. Then I got the 4 bolts into their holes. I hand-tightened the four plastic nuts onto the bolts. Then I put in the torx screws and the rear plastic screw-fasteners. Once all the fasteners were on, I began tightening them down. I did not go much more than hand tight on the plastic nuts. They felt like they might strip.

The torx screws in front went in to a firm tight (guestimate 20-30 in lbs). The plastic screw/fasteners in the rear did not fasten very tightly at all. I will keep an eye them and replace if it appears necessary. They can be replaced without removing the wheel.

14. Once the fasteners were all on and tight, the wheel went back on. I torqued the lug nuts to 150ft lbs. Lowered the car. Then drove it a few hundred feet in a zig-zag pattern and then retorqued again. (I have not found a good table of standard torque values for the Jag. If there is one, please point me to it!)

15. And waaaalaaaa your done and saved yourself $$$$ over paying someone else to do it (Jag dealer or not)! Smile big and say "DID I DO THAT?!?!?! YES! I am the Jag master!"

OK. Enjoy your Jag ownership! There are some things we can do ourselves. More than we think, I am certain. I hope the pics help. Let me know if you find anything that is not the same on your Jaguar S-type 3.0L fuel filter change. (AND put that $$$ back in your own pocket!)
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Nice writeup. I think I'm going to tackle that job pretty soon. It is good to know where the filter is located. I appreciate all of the good info that comes in this forum.

 

Good write-up.

As far as I know, the wheel/lug nuts should be torqued to 94+-7.5lbft (about 87-100) as per TSB S204-02 which is on jim.customer.netspace.net.au/service_bulletins called wheel_nut.zip or something like that (it's a zipped PDF).

That site's one of those to have a look at if you've not seen it. It's probably in the stickies or in the ones on www.jaguarforum.co.uk

 

Congrats Jag master in the making.... Nice write up.
Hopefully by replacing the "tune up" parts you are on your way to resolving the P0420 without dropping the big bucks on the cats! After smiling big did you have a cold 1?

 

BugDoc, just so you know, to make things a bit safer, when you are disconnecting the battery, try removing the negative battery cable vice the positive. Both wires will accomplish the same thing (preventing a short circuit when working on the car). The only difference is that when you are removing the battery cable, if you are on the positive and you touch the body of the car, you gets arcs and sparks. If you are on the negative terminal and you touch the body of the car, nothing happens. Then all you have to do is place a clean rag over the positive terminal (or other suitable insulative material) as you disconnect the negative terminal and the likelihood of causing any sorts of arcs is dropped to near zero (you really have to try to get sparks at this point). Other than that, good write up.

 

Thermo,

You are correct. On any other vehicle I have worked on, I have always removed the (-) battery terminal first. But I read the Jaguar JTIS and unless I read it wrong, it says to remove the (+). I could not see what difference it would make to the vehicle electronics. But these cars are "special" and so I was trying to follow what I understood from the JTIS.

I don't have the JTIS here in the office. (We just competed the summer graduation ceremony here at my university.) I will check it when I get home.

It is definitely safer to take the (-) terminal off first. That way you do not risk shorting out the (+) terminal to ground on the vehicle once the (-) is disconnected. That is the reason I chose the wording as I did in the step-by. It is risky to take the (+) cable off first, unless you like really big sparks and potentially exploiding batteries. I just wanted to follow the Jag directions as closely as I could lest I blow up the computer or something!

 

Nice job, thanks for posting your step-by-step instructions. I always appreciate someone taking the time to do that. I hope this inexpensive repair solves your "stuttering" issue once and for all. Keep us posted....

 

Thanks JagV8.

There are a lot of good service bulletins on that site. The actual URL for the S-type bulletins is: http://jim.customer.netspace.net.au/jaguar_s.htm

I think those may be on the JTIS CDs too (or something like them). But sometimes a iNet URL is easier access.


Thanks.

 

Well... I don't know where I read the part about removing the (+) cable first. It is not in the JTIS. But as I was taking it off, I was thinking to myself, "It would be so much easier to take the negative off. I wonder why they say to take the (+) off."

But the JTIS clearly states to "Disconnect the battery ground cable.De-pressurize the fuel system." That is the negative cable. I will go back in and edit the original post in case someone does not read this far. I don't want to create an issue for anyone.

The JTIS also states the following warnings. So be careful
So be careful and take simple precautions and all will be fine.

 

I went back into the JTIS and looked it up. They do list torques under some of the sections. They list 128Nm for the wheel lugs. That translates into 94.4ft-lb. Same as the TSB.

So if you are reading this thread, you do not need to torque those down as much as I did.

 

Great detail and really appreciate the effort. My two questions would be about the fuel pressure relieve and jack. It seems you did not really do anything other then pull the lines leading to the fuel filter. I have seen some diagrams that show removing the schrader valve cap and attaching a fuel pressure gauge to help relieve the pressure. Do you think this is necessary? I was hoping to follow your direction and not have to worry about that suggestion I read elsewhere. I am guessing since you did not mention the valve cap, you did not do anything concerning it and just did the key to on direction to re-pressurize the system. I also wanted to ask if you used the scissor jack supplied with the car. I jacked the car up to see how difficult the replacement would be and this jack really does not give a warm and fuzzy about its strength to hold this very heavy vehicle up for any type of extended period and is just really meant for replacing a flat tire very quickly . You mentioned a jack stand and curious if you do use one and where you position it and what model. Appreciate any response and thanks again for this detailed fix.

 

Thanks Amadauss. I hope I can document with pics most all the things I end up doing to my '02 3.0L S-type so others can work on theirs more confidently too. I wish there were more pics here already. The numbers will continue to grow. I think they help!

I had read there was a relief valve (JTIS mentions it too.) But I did not see it and was not certain where to find it. The JTIS did not show a diagram that I had seen.

I just undid the connection and had the cut-opened milk jug ready. Do the side with the flex hose first, then you can easily direct the gas that wants to come out.

There was not much pressure. I actually am wondering what the fuel line PSI should be. I need to look that up. I am wondering if mine is low. Let me know how much pressure there is when you go to do yours. Thanks.

I did not use the jack that came with the vehicle. I am pretty unimpressed with the Jag tools. The lug nut wrench is worse than terrible. It will kill your lug nuts.

I have a $35 2.5 ton floor jack from Harbor Freight. It works. Normally, I would raise the car up more and put a jack stand under the suspension just to make certain it does not come down... I would suggest that from a safety stand point. 3-ton jack stands can be had from many places including Big Lots for around $20a pair. That is cheap insurance!

I hope this helps. Let us know how it goes.
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I suspect the 3.0 will be the same as the STR, which does not have anything like a constant fuel pressure. Instead, it pumps at quite widely different pressures - indeed, much higher pressures than many cars.

There is a warning (in jtis I think) not to run the fuel pump continuously as one might well do to diagnose certain types of problem on other cars.

To reduce the residual fuel pressure you might have removed the fuel pump relay and tried to start the car. Well..... that's what I've done on other cars but I'm not sure how the S-Type would react. (It should at least throw a code I think.)