I'm got an 83 300d and have changed my fuel, and the tank seems to be cleaning itself. I'm changing the inline fuel filter constantly, and have noticed they have really gone up in price. The ones I use seem to be sturdy, wondering if there is a way to clean them (provided they aren't that dirty). Seems a shame to toss them if they somehow can be cleaned and re-used. The filters aren't black when I change them but I'm doing it often as my car almost came to a halt a couple weeks back because of a dirty fuel filter. Anyone out these tried to clean the filters? Thanks

I've not tried to clean one. Reusable filters may be a good option for this situation, they are available online.

Good luck!!!

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"Rudeness is a weak man's imitation of strength" - Eric Hoffer

A long time ago there was a member of this form with the name “P.E. Haiges” or something similar. He posted on several occasions that he cleaned and reused the clear, in-line filters. If I recall correctly, he simply rinsed them out and then blew out the residual water with compressed air. If you search on his user name, you might find the posts describing his process. But based on those posts from years ago, I’d say yes, it can be done. I’ve never tried it personally.

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Christopher
'06 Mercedes E350 station wagon (silver/black)
'85 Mercedes 300D (black pearl/palomino)
'85 Mercedes 300SD (smoke silver/burgundy)
'79 Cadillac Sedan DeVille

'05 Toyota Camry (because always running is nice)

'85 Mercedes 300D sold back to orig. owner 8-1-06
'84 Volvo 264GL Diesel, owned 2000-2013

Yes, it's do able, I was doing it on a regular basis and with every fill up I'd swap in a clean spare and fill the dirty one with soap and water, let it sit as I washed my hands, shake it then flush it out backwards with clean water, stand on end to ensure all the water residue drains out in 24 hours or so .

Pretty much any of the purple spray degreasers will work fine .

Making 1,000 % certain it's completely dry inside before re using it is critical .

If it's really filthy with fungus let it sit and soak overnight then rinse and blow it out backwards .

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-Nate
1982 240D 408,XXX miles
Ignorance is the mother of suspicion and fear is the father

I did then what I knew how to do ~ now that I know better I do better

Yeah; been doing this for years. No issues

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Current fleet
2006 E320 CDI
1992 300D - 5speed manual swapped

former members
1984 300D "Blues Mobile"

1978 300CD "El Toro"

Yes, they can be cleaned provided they are not totally cruded up. I routinely cleaned mine out when I was experimenting with making black diesel. I just used either brake cleaner, or carburetor cleaner and used the little straw to spray the filter full of cleaner. Then I would plug both ends with my fingers and shake the filter a few times, repeating once or twice if necessary. Worked a charm.

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2012 Mercedes ML350 Bluetec 102K (hers)
2005 Corvette 55K (fun car)
2002 VW Jetta TDI 238K (mine)
1998 Volvo S70 T5 Turbo 211K (kids)
1994 Ford F150 4WD 246K (firewood hauler)
1983 Mercedes 300D 384K (diesel commuter)

This is my first step.

Then I soak the filter in cleaning solvent like Simple Green for awhile or as long as it takes to loosen the crud. Then rinse it off with water.

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Not MBZ nor A/C trained professional but a die-hard DIY and green engineer. Use the info at your own peril. Picked up 2 Infractions because of disagreements. NOW reversed.

W124 Keyless remote, PM for details. http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/mercedes-used-parts-sale-wanted/334620-fs-w124-chasis-keyless-remote-%2450-shipped.html

1 X 2006 CDI
1 x 87 300SDL
1 x 87 300D
1 x 87 300TDT wagon
1 x 83 300D
1 x 84 190D ( 5 sp ) - All R134 converted + keyless entry.

The $3-4 prefilter hardly seem worth cleaning for most situations. Maybe if you have a badly rusted or slushed tank… but then I’d look at a bigger filter.

My w140 has rust in the tank. I figured out lift pump flow and determined that I could get away with a 15GPH unit. Installed a cheapo Amazon unit. It works great.



If I was that concerned I’d get a unit with a micron rating similar to the OE prefilter, and plumb it so the fuel spins around the bowl before going through the media. That way the bigger particulates can drop out.

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Current Diesels:
1981 240D (73K)
1982 300CD (169k)
1985 190D (169k)
1991 350SD (116k)
1991 350SD (206k)
1991 300D (228k)
1996 Dodge Ram CTD (442k)
1996 Dodge Ram CTD (267k)

Past Diesels:
1983 300D (228K), 1985 300D (233K), 1993 300D 2.5T (338k), 1993 300SD (291k)

Thanks for all the great advice!

Yes they can be cleaned depending on what is gunking them up.

I got caught by a blocked prefilter on a then new-to-me 300D. I bought it right after the PO dropped the tank for a clean, but there were probably remnants that had one last hurrah and really did a number on the prefilter. Stalled right on an on-ramp lol!

Got it running after a few cranks and pedal to the floor, limped to my destination, and pulled down the filter there.

It was a Sunday and no place to get filters then so I tried my usual fill filter with diesel and tap and got some dirt out. Decided to experiment with various fluids like alcohol with not much effect.

I tried soapy water and was surprised how it cleaned my filter right up!

It was so clean I kept it on for a year after and was still fine when I changed it out, so I still have it as a spare lol!

I cant say it will work all the time but it definitely worked for my particular situation.

Yes G300D!...that is what happened to me....My car stalled in heavy traffic, I managed to inch it forward and pull over and changed the fuel filter and it did the trick. I've since learned that since I changed the fuel it was in effect cleaning the tank so I've been very careful every since and changing the fuel filters that aren't completely dirty, just in case. Seems a shame to throw them out when they aren't really gunked up. I hate that feeling of sitting at a stop light and your car just kind of mildly starts shaking, like you know what's coming.

Lol yes! Our diesels shake, but once you've experienced a couple of stalls you can tell when its coming.

Sounds like you have a good routine already. Maybe next filter change try cleaning the filter you changed out and voila! You now have a filter for the next change. Two filters alternating should last a long time.

The hose is standard 5/16", or close enough, so you could probably use any generic $3 fuel filter from an auto parts, and some are clear. At least I recall buying that size of Goodyear Barricade rubber fuel hose for my M-B years ago.

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1984 & 1985 CA 300D's
1964 & 65 Mopar's - Valiant, Dart, Newport
1996 & 2002 Chrysler minivans

Yes you can clean them out reverse blow with air but why bother. They are 3 or 4 bucks. The important thing are the fliter(s) downstream. I have 3 filters on my MB diesels, my cummins trucks and my tractors. A screen prefilter like on the MB 300D, the bosch filter as the secondary and a Racor 2 mic filter as a tertiary filter. The Bosch spin on secondary filter is if memory serves a 10 or 15 mic filter. Super filtration does wonders for pump and injector life and 2 mic is almost standard even on bigger diesels CAT sells a nice 2 mic spin on.. You hardly ever need to change the fine 2 mic filter. On our big commercial fishing boats we had pressure gauges on all the filters which told you when to change them. We also had horrific filthy diesel in Alaska in those days often decanted from rusty 55 gal drums so all of us in the fleet went this route.

I'd love to go HughO's route one of these days with a third low-micron filter