Can a bad fuel filter cause an engine misfire?

I got a misfire in cylinder 3 and I changed the spark plugs 3 months ago
I looked at fuel filter and it’s dented and has all this black shit all over it it’s also the stock filter from 16 years ago still has the ford logos plastered on it and everything
Do you think that is the cause of misfire?

Try replacing it anyway, yours sounds like shit and they are only $10

>stock filter from 16 YEARS AGO
Well, there's the problem.

So you think that’s causing the misfire?

Not him, but I don't. You changed your spark plugs, but it could be a bad ignition coil if it has one coil per plug or coil pack, or a bad wire, bad injector, or poor compression in that cylinder. Check your coil first.

burnt exhaust valve
carbon buildup causing detonation
faulty ignition coil
damaged spark plug wire grounding

those are my guesses. better hope it not a burnt valve, but hey it happened to me.

I did coil is fine it’s an entire coil pack if one fails they all would fail or atleast it would throw a code for all cylinders
It only shows code for cylinder 3

>burnt exhaust valve
Burnt what now? Is that something I’d have to tear apart the block for? I hope not
>carbon build up causing detonation
Maybe but I checked the throttle body and there was no carbon to speak of still hit it with some cleaner though to be sure
>faulty ignition coil
It’s a single coil if one cylinder failed because of weak spark they all would fail for the same reason
>damaged spark plug wire grounding
Possible however I haven’t seen any loose wires around I could be wrong though.

Did you gap the spark plugs

faulty upstream O2 sensors can make your ECM do weird shit.
are you sure its not an O2 sensor?

have you done a compression check?

I will add clogged or faulty injector as the number 1 thing to check

whats the car?

if it has coilpacks i'd go to that. swap em and see if the problem moves to another cylinder after you clear the code.

is the porcelain cracked on that spark plug? put it to another position and see if the problem moves.

would definitely not think it's fuel filter related. make sure they're all gapped right like the other user suggested

Update: took off fuel filter and replaced it
Pic related is old filter
Pretty sure I found my problem
Also the idle was a lot better now (used to be just above 500 now it’s just below 1000 like it’s supposed to be)
So here’s to hoping
Can’t drive it to confirm because it’s snowing a shit ton and I can’t get any traction

If your fuel filter has gone that long without being replaced, think of all the other parts that must be on their last legs.

this

why has nobody said injector?

could be injector/jets clogged

Look if it was an injector or anything fuel related then I would assume all cylinders would be misfiring not just cylinder 3

Not necessarily. Coil packs will have one coil for every two cylinders (wasted spark ignition). I had a misfire on one cylinder for a V6 with a coil pack. A new pack fixed it. That's just an anecdote. It would still be wise to continue diagnosing it before throwing money at it.

Why would all cylinders misfire if the #3 Fuel Injector was clogged?

Had a single cylinder misfire due to a clogged injector. (Pic related) Have them cleaned for piece of mind OP.

How much was it user? To have injectors cleaned/replaced?

If you want to rule out the coil for sure, swap the coil that's attached to the #3 cylinder with literally any other coil. If the misfire moves to another cylinder you can say without a doubt the coil is causing a misfire.

Wouldn’t that fuck up the firing order?

If they're individual coils, one coil for every cylinder, then no. The firing order is computer controlled

coilpacks can be changed to any cylinder, the computer just sends signal to fire and expects there to be a coil. easiest way as said to see if a issue is coil related is to clear the code then swap the coil you think is bad to another cylinder, if the misfire code follows that coil to the other cylinder its bad

distributors with spark plug wires is where you fuck things up if you cross the wires

OP, can you tell us what car it is or post a picture or your engine bay?

Damn....

could be the filter if its all clogged to fuck or the injectors if crud has made it past the filter and has them sticking open.

or the fuel pump. honestly though, nothing wrong with changing a 16 yo fuel filter