and aligned with the inlet connector 42 the push pad 50 is an annular member made of a rigid material such as metal or plastic preferably nylon or acetal the push pad 50 has a central cavity 52 for a function to be described the push pad 50 also has an annular flange 54 extending radially from one end thereof it should be appreciated that the push pad 50 is integral unitary and formed as one piece the fuel strainer assembly 10 also includes a locking mechanism such as a compression retainer 56 to lock the inlet connector 32 to the fuel pump 24 the compression retainer 56 is a tubular member made of a rigid material such as metal preferably steel the compression retainer 56 has an annular flange 58 extending radially from one end thereof the compression retainer 56 is disposed within the filtration member 44 and sets on the push pad 50 the compression retainer 56 has a slight draft complementary to an inside diameter of the inlet connector 42 it should be appreciated that the compression retainer 56 is disposed inside the fuel retainer 40 and sets freely inside the inside diameter of the inlet connector 42 it.