ok, i replaced my filter/sending unit today.
i pulled fuse 30 out behind the glove box to disable the fuel pump, and i ran the engine a little bit after pulling the fuse to relieve some pressure.
the ring holding the unit down was tough to loosen on my car. i tried banging with a punch and hammer, but it wasnt budging.
i used a straight flat piece of metal and some pliers and wrench to make my own jerry rigged spanner wrench that grabbed the tabs on opposite ends of the ring. this worked pretty good. i really wouldnt recommend banging with a hammer and punch, since the threads on the tank itself seem to be the same brittle plastic as the sending unit. but you can do what floats your boat.
i lubed up the ring threads a little bit to make install a bit easier.
overall, the biggest challenge was removing the ring for me. just be a bit careful when disconnecting and reconnecting the sending unit connections.

i drove the car for a bit afterwards, and i cant really say it made a huge difference like some others have said. my car ran pretty good beforehand, and it may seem a bit peppier now.
my car had 101k miles on the filter. here are some pics of my old filter.

 

Hi chaps, well i was all set to do this tonight, got home, opened the box and was met with this....

Looking on Realoem i cant see how i have the wrong part....can anyone help

RealOEM.com BMW E61 535d Fuel filter /Fuel level sensor left

 

I am not sure where you ordered it from, but it looks like you only bought the LEFT FUEL LEVEL SENSOR 16146766008, and not the Delivery unit w fuel level sensor 16146765827.

I bought mine from Importec I think. I just looked up the sensor alone for my e60 M54 engine and both German Auto Parts and Importec would not sell the sensor without the delivery unit (or filter).

 

Got mine from BMW fella.... I gave them the correct part number, they charged me £85 (inc 10% discount)... quite a bit more than the level sensor on its own (£60 ish)

I'll have to ring them tomorrow

 

you have a diesel engine. dont you have an external fuel filter on your car?
the gas engine cars have the filter in the tank, but diesels i believe are externaly mounted, and you have a sending unit without the filter.

 

Well i did wonder why realoem showed the pic of a full filter unit and why i wopuld have two filters.....

I changed the 'normal' under car filter when i bought the vehicle 6 weeks ago.... I now have a fault flagging saying my fuel filter is blocked? so presumed it was this one...

 

Great write up.

One suggestion though...

While your replacing your fuel filter for preventive maintenance you might want to think about replacing the fuel pump relay. I know that with the E39's the fuel pump relay had a tenancy to go out after 80K miles. While only a small percentage of cars might have this issue it wouldn't hurt to replace this $45 part.

I am only bringing this up because I had my relay go bad and leave my pump running until the pump gave out coming home from work one day. I replaced the pump and then realized and that's when I found out my relay went bad.

 

How much did your filter spin as you were taking it off? I am having an issue currently and I think my fuel pump is bad. I want to investigate more so I am taking the fuel filter off again. It wants to spin on me as I am loosening it. I seem to remember this happening a little when I changed the filter back in February. Do you remember if it did on yours?

Thanks!

 

I don't think my filter spun at all. only the metal ring. If the filter spun i would have posted it for sure.

 

My filter definitely wants to spin with the ring (p/n 16116762417). It also wants to spin with the correct tool (as Rizbel has used).