Fuel Filter change (in-tank)

I just finished my first attempt at a fuel filter change. This job was long overdue (36k+ Yikes!), although I never had any issues I knew I was pushing my luck with the car. With the help of Shakes' How-to this process was very simple. His write up was very complete and accurate, short of the few notes I will make below. I think I spent about two hours on this taking my time and cleaning everything as I went. Shakes' write up was on an 06 and he mentions a few differences such as the actual filter part number (42072FE030 for the 07's). I bought my filter online for around $60, and I hear that the dealerships charge twice that so shop around.

Some notes for anyone trying this on an 07:

-When removing the rear seat back (step 2c) there will be 4 bolts that need to come off the bottom before you can pull it up and away.

-In step 2d you are instructed to remove both of the vertical braces behind the seat. Once I had a look at everything I found that it was unnecessary to remove the driver side brace as it is out of the way. This may be because of the "pass through"/arm rest change. The addition of this makes the "divider" behind the seat two pieces.

-In step 3d-3e while removing the fuel pump assembly I had a bit of a hang up. There is a small bracket that holds a fuel line that is also mounted to the top of the assembly using the same nuts. This bracket was right in the way of lifting the assembly up and out. Subaru doesn't leave you much space to work with here. What I ended up doing was before I lifted the assembly up I forced the bracket towards the rear of the car with a screwdriver. Once it had cleared the assembly top I pushed it down and released it. It popped forward from the pressure of the line and was now underneath the lid of the assembly allowing the clearance I needed. Obviously this process was reversed on re-assembly.

-Use extra caution on step 4d (removing the old filter). Early on in the how-to you are warned of fuel spillage when disconnecting the lines. I did not get much in those steps however keep in mind that the old filter is full of fuel and will spill out once it is disconnected.

-Lastly I wish I had ordered a new strainer for the assembly as well. This part has never been changed either and looked like it needed to be. Unfortunately with the car apart I could not go get one (if it was even in stock at the dealer) so I will be doing this entire process again soon.

Otherwise, a big thanks to Shakes' for writing this how-to. It was perfect and made my job much easier! Below is a picture of the dirty old filter.

Oh and don't forget, since you disconnected the battery, to re-disable your seat belt warning chime! I had forgotten how annoying it is.