What's the best way of doing a fuel filter change as I've read two ways of doing it... One using a syringe and another just cranking it over till it starts

I always do it with a syringe. fill the canister as much as you can and just keep squirting it in until it will literally take no more, take some time but does work. 

based on mine which was a 1.6tdci, cranking over until it starts did not work. ended up with flat battery - twice, before I had to resort to other measures of getting the fuel in to replace the air in the pipes/filter

DONT CRANK UNTIL START....

 

i tried this this and failed had flat battery and massive trapped air.use advice above and make sure your new filter is soaked with plenty fuel and plenty fuel in the filter insert.

cranking a 1.8tdci is not a good idea, seen other techs fail miserably trying that way. lol. ive got a syphon pump which sucks the fuel up and out the outlet, then when fuel comes out i wait 5 mins and do again as tiny air bubbles trapped in paper element rises. then i attatch my syphon pump to return outlet of hpfp gives a couple of pumps then crank while connected. sounds long winded but only a couple of mins at most to do with a 5 min wait in the middle doing something else like tightening wheel nuts etc. . car starts first turn of engine every time without fail. done 1000's like that,

Failing all that, get someone to give you a tow start.  Worked for me when I had a bad airlock and nothing would work.

Just done mine at the weekend as part of the annual service and using my current method has worked 1st time since I starting doing it this way 3 years ago.

• Leave the 2 pipes connected at the top of the filter
• Fully unscrew the collar
• Gently move the collar out of the way to allow access to the filter
• Remove the full filter assembly
• Remove the filter
• Tip out the old filter to ensure any water is removed
• Remove the plug in the middle of the filter (if there is one)
• Pop the new filter in the housing including the replacement filter seal
• Keep filling with diesel a bit at a time until it's well soaked (about 40 seconds usually does the trick for me)
• Place the filter assembly back in place
• Give the filter a final top up (don't worry if a bit spills it won't do any harm)
• Refit the filter top, ensuring the collar is correctly seated

As mentioned earlier, since I start doing it this way she fires 1st time just like a normal cold start.

I previously tried cranking to start and the starter motor ended up roasting hot, I still got a massive air lock (or series of) and probably took 2 years of the life of the high pressure fuel pump (not good when a replacement is £600+)!.

In my book, if you crank it twice and it still doesn't start then something is likely to be wrong i.e. filter not sealed correctly.