Thread: Idle went whacko....please point me in the correct direction.

PS... That much rust on the fuel filter means you probably should replace it b/c that one has been in there a while.

^ Ditto. If the fuel filter really is old and well used, you will notice a difference for sure when you swap in a fresh one.

It looks like the fuel filter in a B13 is easier to manouver around then in a P11 G20. I just changed mine the other day and I swear those damn rubber hoses were secured with contact cement!! I blame the previous owner for having never changed the damn thing!

Aside form trying to pull the rubber hoses of the fuel filter, it is an easy process and shouldn't take too long. There is a how-to kicking around for that as well.

Edit: Fuel filter change

1) With the car running, pull the fuel pump fuse and wait for the car to die
2) Disconnect negative lead from battery
3) Loosen clamp holding the hose on top of the filter, pull off hose. Have container ready to catch fuel drips.
4) Tip the fuel filter over into the same container/bucket to catch any fuel inside the filter.
5) Loosen clamp holding bottom hose on to fuel filter and pull off the fuel filter. There will still be some fuel inside of it, so have a rag/container ready.
6) Prepare new filter by rubbing a bit of oil on the bottom nipple (protrusion from filter) and re-install the bottom hose in reverse order. Tighten clamp.
7) Do the same for the top hose. Tighten clamp.
8) Check that your hose clamps are tight.
9) Reinstall lead to negative battery terminal.
10) Reinstall fuel pump fuse.
11) Check for loose tools and start car!
12) Voila. Your car will thank you.

You may very well need hose pliers if the hoses have been there for a while. They can help you get a grip on the hose and not damage it during removal.

Also, another trick is when you have both hose clamps loosened, you can slightly spin/twist the fuel filter a little bit to "break the seal" on the hose. It will make removing the hoses a bit easier. They can be very stubborn!

I'm not sure why the heck I'm still awake but I just remembered this...Make sure (if/when you finish the fuel filter swap) that you turn the key forward for a few seconds to re-prime the fuel pump/fuel lines before starting. Do this a couple of times and THEN you can start the car.

Well....sheeeeeit.....I'm pretty sure I can "find" that plug-in. LOL.

Thank you sir.


I appreciate the vote of confidence, but you might be over-estimating my mechanical skill level.

I joked about it on Chat. I'm not intimidated by 10:1 odds facing a table-full of thugs, but the thought of doing an oil-change makes me nervous.


Nope, gotta replace the hose entirely. It is tight at the other end, and this cut end is OK for now, but the hose is definitely too old. I can see little cracks around the other end. I'd rather just carefully check all the rest of them, they did not *appear* bad, then go and purchase hose and replace accordingly.


Since 2007. Although I only put about 2K miles on the vehicle per year, or less. So less than 10K miles on the fuel filter.

I can call Greg V easy enough and get one sent to me. He'll even know if I should OEM-plus it to another Nissan fuel filter, or just go with the B13 unit.


Very grateful for the information including the hose pliers. I have to get over to Harbor Freight anyways. I have already "discovered" that having the exact right tool makes things soooooo much easier.


Thank you. There is no way I would have known. It would have spawned a "WTF?" thread from me.




5-year old fuel filter with 10K on it, do I replace it?

OEM-plus (Z32, B14, whatever...) upgrade of some sort, or B13 fuel filter?


And a collective Thank You gentlemen. I am dragging my heels a bit, but am actually determined to at least give it a very serious try and effort on any and all repairs on my Sentra.

Without you guys, I would have been baffled by this latest bug-crazy idle. Now you've got me doing a bunch of other "easy" maintenance/repair stuff. Damn you.

Shawn B

Your fuel filter should be fine.

If you're to replace it, Greg (and the rest of us) would recommend the slightly larger Nissan 300ZX (Z32) filter.

Greg might not even carry the B13 filter. Last time I ordered a P10 filter he put the Z32 in the box.

Is it more beneficial to groud there opposed to say, the strut tower?

I've actually done the maf to the strut tower and then tie that into the intake manifold. But I actually clean the chassis, and grind the paint off down to bare metal at all the chassis grounds and am pretty compulsive about having good grounds so ymmv.

But the injectors and ECU ( or harness or something) get their ground from the intake manifold so matching that up and tying those three to the same ground doesn't hurt at all.

Interesting. And yes I dont ground to the chassis without taking the paint off first. Right now I have the maf tied into the drivers side strut tower and then multiple other big grounds from the intake and block to clean spots on the chassis.

Whatever you guys do, don't look up "ground loop" if you want to continue to sleep at night.