Fuel Filter Question - 2001 Boxster - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

greenheckler · 02-24-2012, 01:56 PM

I am about to replace the fuel filter on my 2001 Boxster and understand that I need to pull the fuel pump relay and crank the engine a few times to lower the pressure. I have the 101 projects book.

Where is the fuel pump relay and how do I "pull" it? Anything else I should know?

Thank you

JFP in PA · 02-24-2012, 02:42 PM

Above the fuse panel under the driver's side dash there is a second panel with relays; the fuel pump relay is on the top row, second from the left.

san rensho · 02-24-2012, 08:35 PM

Or just pull the fuel pump fuse, much easier than the relay.

greenheckler · 02-27-2012, 02:02 PM

Thank you all, I will try it this weekend.

Mark_T · 04-16-2017, 03:12 PM

That would be fuse C4?

Syracuse986 · 04-16-2017, 05:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by greenheckler

I am about to replace the fuel filter on my 2001 Boxster and understand that I need to pull the fuel pump relay and crank the engine a few times to lower the pressure. I have the 101 projects book.

Where is the fuel pump relay and how do I "pull" it? Anything else I should know?

Thank you

I just recently replaced my fuel filter and didn't do any of these steps. A cup of gas drained out but otherwise very easy to manage. I did remove the fuel cap.

clickman · 04-17-2017, 08:37 AM

Ditto to Syracuse

Boxtaboy · 04-17-2017, 10:28 AM

Ditto Ditto. Did not do anything other than replace the filter.

Gilles · 04-17-2017, 10:54 AM

Could someone please confirm the location of the fuel filter on the 987's (2007)..?
for some reason I have not seen mine and at 97k should be planning to replace it.

Thank you!

Luckyed · 04-17-2017, 11:01 AM

For those of you who have successfully changed out the fuel filters on your 986's, what were the reason(s) leading up to your decision?
I am thinking of going the same route on my 2001 2.7 in an effort to eliminate an intermittent hesitation around 4500 RPM.

Thanks.

Luccia at Pelican Parts · 04-17-2017, 11:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gilles

Could someone please confirm the location of the fuel filter on the 987's (2007)..?
for some reason I have not seen mine and at 97k should be planning to replace it.

Thank you!

I believe for the 987 they integrated the filter with the fuel pump/sender unit. Starting in 2002, Porsche moved the filter to inside the gas tank, and called it a "lifetime" filter that never needs to be changed. This and more info can be found at our DIY article I linked below.

Quote:

The fuel filter is integral in the tank unit and no longer requires changing. A reduction in deliver rate can be detected via the mixture adaption.

Anyone needing a step by step on the replacement for the 986 and wanting more info can check out our article here: Porsche Boxster Fuel Filter Replacement | 986 / 987 (1997-08) | Pelican Parts Technical Article

Boxtaboy · 04-17-2017, 12:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Luckyed

For those of you who have successfully changed out the fuel filters on your 986's, what were the reason(s) leading up to your decision?
I am thinking of going the same route on my 2001 2.7 in an effort to eliminate an intermittent hesitation around 4500 RPM.

Thanks.

I didn't have any symptoms at all. I changed it cause Porsche recommends that they be replaced every 60k miles. I had hit 60k, so changed it.

Gilles · 04-18-2017, 05:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Luccia at Pelican Parts

Starting in 2002, Porsche moved the filter to inside the gas tank, and called it a "lifetime" filter that never needs to be changed. This and more info can be found at our DIY article I linked below.

Thank you Luccia!

Luckyed · 04-18-2017, 09:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Boxtaboy

I didn't have any symptoms at all. I changed it cause Porsche recommends that they be replaced every 60k miles. I had hit 60k, so changed it.

Thank you for the reply.

Ciao · 09-22-2019, 03:13 PM

This is not as easy as they say. I could not release the clip on the filter next to the ground wire; not room, the ground wire was tight (probably crimped with pliers). I gave up put everything back. I have 41.5 K miles i'll wait till I hit 60K and take to the dealer.

Frodo · 09-23-2019, 02:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ciao

This is not as easy as they say. I could not release the clip on the filter next to the ground wire; not room, the ground wire was tight (probably crimped with pliers). I gave up put everything back. I have 41.5 K miles i'll wait till I hit 60K and take to the dealer.

That's funny, I don't remember having this problem. What year is yours? Maybe there's some year-to-year variability.
I don't recall having much of a problem changing it out, but—at 104K now—it's been a good while since I hit 60K, so the details are a bit fuzzy in my mind.

Ciao · 09-23-2019, 02:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frodo

That's funny, I don't remember having this problem. What year is yours? Maybe there's some year-to-year variability.
I don't recall having much of a problem changing it out, but—at 104K now—it's been a good while since I hit 60K, so the details are a bit fuzzy in my mind.

I have a 2001 S. I expected it to be <1 hr. 2 hrs later, I still could not get the dang thing off.

piper6909 · 09-23-2019, 03:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ciao

This is not as easy as they say. I could not release the clip on the filter next to the ground wire; not room, the ground wire was tight (probably crimped with pliers). I gave up put everything back. I have 41.5 K miles i'll wait till I hit 60K and take to the dealer.

I haven't changed the filter on a Boxster, but I know some electrical connectors have a locking tab. You may need to press the little tab to release it.

I'm not sure this is your situation, but here's a pic of a connector with a locking tab. The tab is at the tip of the pen. You can't pull the connector off without pushing on that tab.

Frodo · 09-23-2019, 04:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ciao

I have a 2001 S. I expected it to be <1 hr. 2 hrs later, I still could not get the dang thing off.

Wow, that's weird. Mine's an '01 S as well.
I definitely didn't have to fool around with any tiny locking tab, as described by piper. As I recall, I was working at arm's length, without an over-abundance of light. And my eyes (even a few years ago) weren't as good as they once were. For whatever reason, somehow it seems like you have a different situation...

piper6909 · 09-24-2019, 02:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frodo

Wow, that's weird. Mine's an '01 S as well.
I definitely didn't have to fool around with any tiny locking tab, as described by piper. As I recall, I was working at arm's length, without an over-abundance of light. And my eyes (even a few years ago) weren't as good as they once were. For whatever reason, somehow it seems like you have a different situation...

I wasn't saying that they absolutely have the locking tab. I've never changed the filter, but I have had experience with difficult to remove electrical connectors, and they all had locking tabs. Since Ciao had problems with it I was proposing that it may have a locking tab.