Fuel Filter replacement

[johnssi]

The Fiat manual says that when changing the fuel filter on my 81 spider to relieve the pressure by using a hand vacuum pump before attempting the replacement. Can anybody tell me if that is really necessary to do, or can I just crack one of the hose clamps at the filter and let the pressure bleed off. I don't have a vacuum pump and at $60 at the auto parts place, I don't really want to buy one if it's not necessary. Thanks.

[4uall]

when I did mine I simply disconnected the neg terminal & pulled the fuel pump fuse, then removed the filter with a catch basin underneath. Not sure how glamorous that was however, it did the job and no issues yet

this was the reason why http://wwwe.fiatspider.com/f08/viewtopi ... =9&t=17531

[bradartigue]

I've never bothered. Gas leaks out no matter what you do, be clean, be careful, and you won't have problems. Dead cold engine, no smoking, that sort of thing. You do want to clamp the line or have an empty tank (or very, very fast hands!)

[Fiat88]

I don't have a FI spider but can't you just pull the fuel pump fuse or relay and then crank the engine over to relieve the pressure in the lines. This is what I did on my dads 98 VW golf to change the fuel filter.

[johnssi]

Thank you for all the replies. I'm going to change it out today and will post when I've got it done. Thanks again.
John