I'm about to get started on changing my fuel filter, it doesnt look very hard, or like it will take very long, maybe a few minutes. But how do i prevent fuel from spilling all over the place?

 

You can't prevent it. Just take off your gas cap to relieve some of the pressure. Not a hard job all you need is a 17 or 18mm box end wrench...can't remember which. A 10 minute job really.

 

You can relieve the line pressure by pressing down the core on the Schrader valve, with a cloth wrapped firmly around it to catch any fuel that sprays out - prefereably when the engine is cold. Opening the fill cap as noted above will relieve any tank pressure. But you will still have some fuel running out of the line when you break the connections. Have a coffee can ready, and kept your face away from the filter connection when you open it up.

As far as unscrewing the filter from the hard line, use a pair of wrenches... one to hold the line so it doesn't rotate and kink, the other to turn the filter loose. And you need to pinch the clear plastic clip to release the inlet side line. Have the new filter nearby and ready to install to minimze any siphoning from the tank.

 

I just changed mine out about a week ago. All i did to relieve some pressure was take of the gas cap and let it sit for about an hour. A little gas came out and ran down my arm. It took me all of 10 minutes.

 

I did the same thing. I parked the car for about 1 hour with the cas cap off, there was barely any pressure left in the system although the fuel that was in the lines did spill out but I had some rags to catch that. It took me about 15 mins.

 

A catch pan is all you need to keep the gas from going all over the place. The scrader valve is a waste of time. I was angry when i saw the pics on www.instaluniversity.com . how the hell did they get that much gas on the ground.