Below are the instructions I used as published by Matt Kaminski on ST-Owners.com in 2009 (
https://www.st-owners.com/forums/threads/st1300-fuel-filter-remove-replace.64006/)
This is pretty straight forward and simple. There is no scheduled maintenance for this procedure and you MUST replace the fuel pump packing (this is Honda's term for a gasket) when you remove the fuel pump housing so make sure you order both a filter and the packing at the same time.
Time: 1 hour
Tools needed:
10mm socket
10mm box wrench
Short and long extensions
8mm hex socket
Torque wrench in in/lbs
Pair of pliers
Philips head screwdriver
Paper towels
Garage towel
Clean oil change pan or disposable turkey roast pan
Honda Service Manual
New fuel filter
New fuel pump packing (gasket)
1. Make sure you are almost out of fuel! Let that blinky fuel gauge go for a while before starting the procedure.
2. Remove both seats.
3. Remove the bolt that attaches the upper fuel tank to the seat mount.
4. Remove the four bolts that attach the seat mount to the frame.
5. Remove the bolt that attaches the rear brake master cylinder to the seat mount.
6. Put the seat mount out of the way for now.
7. There is a wire coming off the top of the silver oval fuel pump cover that should go just under the left side of the frame. I was able to disconnect this w/o removing the left hip tupperware but if you cannot get it loose, remove the tupperware and disconnect it. That is the fuel pump wire.
8. Have some paper towels ready, get your hex socket going on the banjo bolt. There should just be a few dribbles of fuel spill out. I guess I should mention, don't smoke, set off fireworks, light candles, etc while doing this procedure. :rolleyes: Gently remove the banjo bolt, there are two washers, on on the top and one on the bottom of the connector. DO NOT LOSE THESE AND DO NOT REASSEMBLE THE FUEL HOSE W/O THEM IN THEIR PROPER PLACES.
9. Use the pliers to move the hose clamp on the fuel return hose out of the way and gently slide the fuel return hose off the fuel nipple.
10. Do not kink, bend, fold, iron, mutilate, destroy, yank, pull, beat...you get the point, the fuel hoses. Just gently move them out of the way as needed.
11. Use the 10mm socket and extensions to remove the nuts surrounding the fuel pump house cover. Note there are two acorn nuts on two of the bolts. Note which bolts they are on. Do not place them in another location as the acorn bolts are there to prevent damage to main wire harness by the exposed bolts.
12. Gently lift the fuel pump out of the lower fuel tank. Take your time...there is a 'dance' that you have to do to get the fuel pump out of the tank. There are also several wires that you do not want to damage trying to yank it out of there.
13. Cover the lower fuel tank with a towel to prevent anything from falling into the lower fuel tank.
14. Place fuel pump assembly in pan and use a screwdriver to loosen the fuel filter bracket.
15. Use the pliers to move the appropriate hose clamps off the fuel filter nipples and carefully slide the fuel filter out of the hoses. I found it easier to use my fingers to 'spin' the fuel hoses a little around the fuel filter to break them loose.
16. Install new fuel filter in reverse order of removal making sure to put the hose clamps back into position.
17. Remove the packing (gasket) from the bottom of the fuel pump housing lid. DO NOT REUSE THE OLD GASKET. Note that there are rubber nipples on the gasket that protrude through the top of the cover so it will only fit on one way. Put a new packing onto the lid being careful not to damage the new packing.
18. Do the dance getting the fuel filter back into the lower fuel tank being careful not to damage the wires OR the fuel pump packing.
19. Once the lid is carefully seated, check to make sure that the packing is not kinked or that anything has become wedged between the packing and the bike.
20. Replace the nuts on their appropriate bolts only get them started. DO NOT TIGHTEN THEM YET.
21. There is a specific order in which you want to tighten them on. If you have a Service Manual, the order will be inside. If you do not, start with the bolt located at 1 o'clock (front of the bike is 12 o'clock) and tighten opposite bolts. In other words, whatever bolt is opposite of the one you just tightened, that's the next one. Like lug nuts on a wheel. If you don't understand, see the first photo or check your Service Manual. Tighten the bolts to 107 in/lbs. (Page 5-55 of the 2003 w/s manual).
22. Replace banjo bolt remember to place one washer on the top and one on the bottom of the connector! Tighten to 192 in/lbs.
23. Reattach the fuel return hose and slide the hose clamp back into position.
24. Reconnect the fuel pump wire to the quick disconnect.
25. Test bike.
26. Reinstall the seat bracket and all the bolts. Torque them to g?tentight. Not over tight.
A couple of points:
* I disconnected the battery before starting the exercise - a pretty reasonable precaution I thought.
* My torque wrench didn't go as low as the Nm suggested for tightening the lid back onto the tank so I just tightened them to what I thought was tight without being over tight.
* the tea bag filter provided in the kit (the pre-filter attached to the pump intake) was a different shape to the standard Honda filter. I tried for some time to refit the black plastic bag/cover which held stainless steel wool and to which the fuel return went into. After a while I gave up as I could see myself breaking something and it just wasn't worth persevering (to my mind). Hopefully the attached photo demonstrates the bag I'm talking about.
* The biggest issue for me (other than the damn bag) was ensuring the fuel in the tank was low enough ie no fuel in the upper tank. I ran it down to the last bar where the readout goes to kilometres left. I took it down to 57km left. When I opened the bottom tank it was roughly half full - so ideal.
* One to two hours is reasonable for the job, provided you don't have issues with the pre-filter.
