Image courtesy of Serisly.
Image courtesy of Serisly.
The fuel filter on a Mark VIII is located behind the right inner splash shield behind the right front wheel as shown above. To remove it you first need to relieve the pressure from the fuel line by pressing on the Schrader valve on the fuel rail on top of the motor. The valve is covered by a small black cap. It is best to do this when the engine is cold and not recently started to avoid excess gasoline spray and fire. Use a rag while pressing on the center of the valve to soak up the gas. You must do this step first because fuel injected cars have gas under high pressure.
Next, loosen the right front wheel lugs. Jack up the car and secure using jack stands. Remove the right front wheel.
Then remove the black plastic inner fender shield.
The fender shield is held on by screws and special plastic clips. To remove this, use a trim removal tool that hooks under both sides on the center round insert of the clip. Pull the center of the clip out. The rest of the clip will then easily pull straight out.
Unscrew the bracket that holds on the fuel filter. The fuel lines on most Mark VIII can be detached after removing the white or plastic clips that go through both ends of the fuel lines. These clips may even be broken off to remove them, because some of the replacement fuel filters come with new clip. Make sure you have new clips before you break off the old ones. 1993 Mark VIII's use this type clip to the rear fuel line, but the front fuel line uses a special Ford type fuel/AC spring connector, that requires a special 3/8 inch tool for this. It may be difficult to remove even with the special tool.
If you cannot get the special tool, club member Steven "Boozer" Slay suggests cutting the old filter off, leaving just the stubs of the old filter in the factory connectors. Then find a plastic pen cap that will fit over the stub. Slide it into the connector and grip it tightly. Now you can pull out the old stub of filter.
Attach the bracket to the new filter. The new filter can be now snapped into place into the fuel line ends. Reuse or put in new plastic clips to secure the filter in the fuel line ends. Start the engine and check for leaks. Make sure the car wheels are chocked and the transmission remains in park. Turn off the engine.
Replace the inner fender shield. The outer part of the clips is inserted first, then the center is pushed in. Replace the front wheel and lugs. Lower the car. Torque the wheel lugs in chess knight pattern to 95-105 ft-lbs.