I did a video on it yesterday... I'll pin this thread also.
Goes without saying best to run the fuel low or drain the tank as we did for the the video below.
Well after spending 2 hours of my time and a further 2 hours of the time of two of my mechanically minded friends I have concluded that the fuel filter is not replaceable. No matter what we do the unit cannot be removed from the tank, if we apply any more force things are most certainly going to break.
Now I am not surprised, as how can you remove a filer that is the size of the opening, and a pump that is the size of the opening that are connected together with lots of other fittings. If the hole is size 1 and the pieces are size 2.5, this does not work. I have decided that the filter/pump unit was installed on the bottom piece of the tank before it was welded together.
The good news is the filter is clean white and perfectly shaped, no bulging at all. Must because I feed her only 100% ethanol free fuel and nothing else.
When I take her in for her for her 6000 ish service I will ask them to replace the filter for me if they can.
What a horrible, stupidly designed system. This is what happens when a company lets the most junior designer/engineer design something they do not think will even need to be accessible.