Extra fuel filter

Steven,
Mine (on 2000 GU 4.2 T/D) is a Denco adaptor which screws on to the bottom of the OE primer unit and does away with the Nissan filter. I find it easiest if I remove the 2 bolts that hold the whole unit to it's bracket, remove the 2 hoses and take the whole thing to the workbench so I can get at the bottom of it to dismantle.
It's a dead easy operation, but you will lose about half litre of fuel. Once you put the new filter on and re-assemble onto the bracket, fit only the fuel inlet hose at first; use the primer pump to fill the filter and bowl with diesel until it starts to come out of the outlet side, then whack the outlet hose back on and tighten everyting up.
I only use the one filter as such, but I do also use a product called a "DE-BUG" made by Morrisons. I reckon they've got a web site. This unit is about the same size as a typical filter but is filled with strong magnets. These kill off any algae etc before it gets to the filter.
I changed my CAV filter yesterday after about 15,000klm and it was still quite clean inside and could have stayed for another 10,000klm without any worries.

Thanks for that Roachie,

Hopefully the Prado will be similarly simple. It will be regularly serviced by my mechanic as it is a leased vehicle and this is included in the price I pay however I still want to know that I can do it myself (and carry the right parts!) so that I can get out of strife when the mechanic is 200-300kms down the road!

Is the algae in the fuel a common problem?

Cheers

Steven

Steven,
Not sure about how common the problem is.
Check out the extensive info on site:
www.morison.com.au
Algae forms in the "gap" between diesel and water (it's very difficult to totally eleminate water from a diesel's fuel tank). One way of keeping water to a minimum is to keep your fuel tank as full as practical, to eliminate the amount of free air which in turn leads to condensation. The downside of doing this is that your vehicle weigh will always be heavier than if you run around with minimum fuel, only filling up completely when you plan a longish trip.