Hi,

Yup, that's one of the problems that comes w/ time, the memory starts to
go!

Ok, just kidding, but fuel filters DO need to be replaced periodically
for best performance and reliability. Used to be we'd see the book
recommend 10k miles or so, today's intervals are more like 50k and more.
Some of the "interval" choice depends on the type of filters in your
system in addition to the usual "driving condition" considerations. The
fact some owners manuals don't spec a change interval doesn't mean
they'll last forever!

"Back in the day" when all we had was a tiny filter inline to feed a
carb, they'd get clogged up rather easily. Then we started getting much
larger filters w/ injection systems, and filter problems went down, but
not away. A few cars today use a smaller "prefilter" plus the larger
main filter. W/ some of them, a periodic change of prefilter is usually
fairly easy, inexpensive, and will increase the life of the main filter
tremendously (which is good, because the main filter is often
outrageously expensive for what it is, and "hard to get to" would be
understatement.)

Unlike Tony, I've had a few few filter issues over the last 40 plus
years. And still remember most of 'em... so I change mine according to
the book if there's a recommendation, or, if there's not, at 15k to 30k
mile intervals for the old carbed stuff that still lives around here,
and 30k to 50k mile intervals for the injected stuff.

If your car's been driven pretty regularly all its life, you'll probably
not experience too much "cleansing" action from the E85, but I've also
seen some vehicles that weren't driven much for a long period of time
suffer problems when all of a sudden they were pressed into regular
service and some of the old crud and varnish in the tank got stirred up
and caught in the filter.

Still, changing out a filter w/ 150k miles is neither a waste of time
nor money...

Rick

I've been a mechanic for 35 years and have replaced thousands of stopped up
fuel filters. Some just stopped up enough so that the car didn't want to
climb hills without nosing over, others so bad the car wouldn't start at
all. A lot depends on the quality of gas you typically get and the type of
car you own. Some just stop up easier than others.

A good reason to replace the filter once in awhile is that a restricted
filter puts a strain on electric fuel pumps causing them to fail sooner.
It's one of those 'Pay me now, or pay me later' maintenance items. A $10 -
$50 fuel filter every 15k to 50k miles, or a $300 to $1200 fuel pump sooner
than later. YMMV.

Dave