I've spent the last 25 years of my life diagnosing and repairing American and foreign vehicles. Naturally, from the time my son Jonny could walk, he made it very clear that he wanted to be a mechanic just like me. Most fathers love to hear this, but for me this meant working my normal 12-hour workday, then coming home and teaching him to work on his car -- needless to say it didn't take long for me to teach him all the basics. And, with that education, also came a deal. Every time Jonny had to ask for help on a basic maintenance procedure, he would have to do something for me in return. One of my favorite times was when he swore that his 1997 Mercedes E320 didn't have a fuel filter. Well it did -- he just didn't know where to look. I helped him change the filter, and I bet you can guess who helped do the dishes that night.
By the time Jonny came asking for help, he had already done the first basic steps to working on the fuel system. He had lifted the car and secured it on four jack stands under the jack pads that are near each wheel. To relieve fuel pressure, he removed fuse No. 6 from the fuse box under the hood, started the engine and let it idle until it stalled out, and removed the key.
I got down on the ground and pointed out a square pan that was attached to the floor, right next to the driver-side muffler. I removed the one rear and two front bolts, and lowered the pan to expose the fuel filter. His car used rubber hoses for the fuel lines, so I was able to loosen the clamp screws and pull the hoses right off. I put the new filter in place, tightened the clamps and the bolts for the pan. The car was back on the ground and running within minutes. I'm pretty sure it took him longer to do that night's dishes.
