Fuel Filter for my e30

Hi guys:

I want to change my fuel filter on my E30. It currently has a long fuel filter but when i went to RealEOM.com it tells me that I should've have the smaller wider one.

is there a difference between the two.

My car is a BMW 318i-E30 with the M40 engine. it was made in 89 but sold in 1990 and the filter is located in the engine bay.

Thanks for your help.

Someone just put a non oem filter on. Simple as that.

+1 on above. Filter (here) is about 41/2" long and 2" dia.

this is the genuine one in my E30 316i (m40) same filter as 318i




no idea what that plug just dangling there is for, but the car runs as it should so never bothered to find out! let me know if you know?

Originally Posted by _Ethrty-Andy_

this is the genuine one in my E30 316i (m40) same filter as 318i




no idea what that plug just dangling there is for, but the car runs as it should so never bothered to find out! let me know if you know?

Maybe it use to have a charcoal canister which has been deleted to vent the fuel vapors back into the intake and that plug was for the breather valve?

The pix look like mine (fuel filter that is).

Thank you all I guess this was a case of too much research... I'm sticking with the long filter ( like it was on the car in the first place) and i'm over realoem.com, it's not the first time it gives me rong info.

Thanks again

I wouldn't get to picky with it. Bosch made the same filters for a whole line of german cars. My mk1 vw filter looked the same as my E30's.

Originally Posted by jorgE30

i'm over realoem.com, it's not the first time it gives me rong info.

Thanks again

Type the last 7 digits of your VIN into the VIN search box on realoem.com and it will come up with the exact set of parts your car was built with. I've never seen realoem or bmwfans.com come up with wrong info as long as the information you put in is correct. You put in incorrect info, it'll come up with gibberish.

Mate I've done just that, that's where the problem began... Put in the last 7 digits and it all comes up the model, the engine the number of doors,left hand drive, etc. however the part number for my fuel filter is for the smaller wider filter that goes under the car, as per diagram, and mine is the longer one that goes in the engine bay, as per the above photo.
I just wanted to know for sure just in case I've been driving with the wrong filter since I bout it last year.

Even if it was wrong it wouldn't hurt anything. Bosch makes fuel filters for a whole bunch of different cars. They are almost all the same except for how they attach to the fuel lines. If you went to a parts store and asked for a fuel filter for your e30, gave them all your info. You would get a generic fuel filter.

yep, fuel filters one of the very few parts that almost anything for any older car will do. of course there are exceptions like E46ti having integrated pump and filter, but thats just BMW overengineering for you.

Originally Posted by actletpone

Maybe it use to have a charcoal canister which has been deleted to vent the fuel vapors back into the intake and that plug was for the breather valve?

yeah mate you're right the charcoal canister should be there and it has something to do with fuel vapors

thats just for emmissions isnt it? doesnt improve fuel economy right? this car is New Zealand new, and when sold Leaded gas was common here, so the car has no cat from the factory, would it have no charcol cannister too? maybe i'll ask on my NZ forum i frequesnt too

If it was deleted it would prob smell like gas some when you lifted up the hood, or even just walking around the car. Unplugged mine for a while but put it back after noticing the smell in the garage. Doesn't really effect much. Friends mk3 has his vapors running into the trunk which is kinda stupid to me. Everything back there smells like gas.

Originally Posted by _Ethrty-Andy_

thats just for emmissions isnt it? doesnt improve fuel economy right? this car is New Zealand new, and when sold Leaded gas was common here, so the car has no cat from the factory, would it have no charcol cannister too? maybe i'll ask on my NZ forum i frequesnt too

Mine is nz new and has had the charcoal canister removed