YYC-SIERRA

It's been snowing on and off the past week in Calgary, and I've been out a few times. I always run winter tires, but haven't got them on yet, as this snow is pretty early in the season. I can tell the factory tires suck......compared to the Michelin X-ice. They slide easier in corners, spin a bit more when accelerating from a stop, and take a bit longer to stop. For sure they're manageable when you know what to expect, but if you're expecting long winter conditions, you'll benefit immensely from putting true winter tires on. I "almost" drive at normal summer speed and aggressiveness in snow & ice when I have the winter tires on, they're that good.

That's a nice looking truck you've got there. Personally I wouldn't change a thing! Question -- do the window deflectors help cut down wind noise on the highway?

There's a lot of very good oils on the market......the reason I chose Amsoil in particular, was from watching Project Farm on Youtube. This guy does simple, easy to understand testing in his garage. Best part is, he seems completely unbiased, and does these testing videos as a hobby. I love watching car-nerd stuff like this:

OK gotcha, thanks. But let's say, for the sake of total overkill, i still wanted to do this......would there be any issues with the 5.3 gas engine to put in a setup similar to the diesel versions? Anything to be aware of?

Awesome, thanks a lot CamGTP. I also found this schematic which confirms the #3 line is the feed line and it is indeed the top line. Next question......why does it seem there are NO aftermarket fuel filter setups on these gas engines? I see Duramax's, Cummins, Powerstrokes, etc all have various dual water seperation / filtration remote filters that tie into the fuel lines along the frame, but I've never seen it for a gas version of the same truck. Is it incompatible with the gas fuel pump or pressure? Here's some examples: what would prevent someone from installing 1 or 2 fuel filters on a gas truck?

Thanks papageoff Anyone know if the bottom line, or top line, would be the one sending fuel to the engine?

I have some questions about fuel lines on a 2018 5.3L gas truck: - Under my truck I see 2 main fuel lines, which one would be the main fuel sending line? - These black nylon hoses, do they have a specific name? Can the metal ends be removed with a GM fuel line tool? - Could these black hoses connectors be replaced with a quick (push) connect fuel fitting? I'm looking for a place to tie in a remote fuel filter, so I'm thinking I might be able to remove one of these black hoses, replace it with another suitable fuel line/hose with a proper fitting. Thoughts? 1st picture is further back towards fuel tank, then the two lines go past a pump (what pump is this?) then the black hoses appear, before the lines turn upwards into the engine bay.

I think I was running low on time so I didn't bother taking pics of the T-case fluid change, but from what I recall, it was easy and straight forward. You'll see a top fill plug, and a bottom drain plug. I can't remember the quantity of Dex 6 I used but it wasn't much, less than 2 quarts. Cheers

I also changed the transfer case fluid in the same manner as above, using ACDelco Dexron 6 ATF, not much to report other than the look of the drain plug magnet. Apparently this is normal from the break-in of the timing chain.

Here's the front diff job, not much different (30000kms / 18500 miles) 1. locate the front diff plugs, loosen the top fill plug first, then the bottom drain plug second 2. drain fluid 3. refill with your favorite gear oil (i used Amsoil 75w90, same as the rear diff) 4. tighten plugs back to spec Some observations: the old fluid was a dark green as opposed to the dark black from the rear diff. I only use the front diff occasionally in the winter with AUTO mode, and very rarely in 4 HI, so that likely explains the colour difference, it's not used as much. I tow a 3000lb and a 5000lb trailer boat about 2000 miles a year. I drained approximately 1200 ml out, and refilled with 1600 ml back in.

Gone_fishing, I removed the tire purely out of personal preference. I liked the extra room underneath, it allowed me to sit upright. Also wanted to clean out all the underside with a hose when I was done. For sure you can do this without removing the tire. Davester, Thanks for that info. How would you fill it to 1" below the hole when you can't see inside? Bob2c, Yes it has a magnet at the inside bottom, I cleaned it out, it was just a little metal sludge type stuff like what's seen on the drain plug, didn;t see any metal chunks.

I changed my rear diff fluid in the Spring but didn't get around to posting a write-up until now. 2018 Sierra 5.3L auto, 4x4, approx 30,000 kms / 18500 miles This is a fairly easy job, the 2 interesting points I found were how dark the gear oil was after only 30k kms, and how little quantity the factory fluid fill is, vs what it actually takes to drip out of the drain hole. 1. Find the tire iron under your rear seat 2. Use your key and pop out the tire lock mechanism from the rear bumper 3. Insert the tire iron into the bumper and crank down the spare tire, then set aside the tire. 4. If you're interested to see what rear diff you have (mine's a 9.5) look just behind the diff on the passenger side. 4. Remove the drain plug 5. Start cracking the pan bolts until fluid starts leaking. 6. Once most of the fluid is out, fully remove the pan bolts and brake cable hardware and set it aside. 7. Wipe off the internal magnet at the bottom center area of the diff to remove any debris. 8. Inspect your gasket, clean the gasket, the pan, and the mating surface of the rear diff as required. 9. Put the gasket and pan back on, and tighten the bolts in a star pattern. 10. Grab your favorite gear oil and pump it in 11. When oil starts dripping out of the drain hole, put the plug back in and tighten. I bought a couple cheap containers and measuring cups from the Dollar store and tried to measure exactly how much came out and went in. It was approximately 2150 ml of old gear oil I drained out, and about 2650 ml of new Amsoil that I put back in until it started dripping from the drain hole. So almost a half quart more fluid went in then what the factory filled it to! I think that'd be reason enough to get your factory fluids out of the diffs sooner than later.

Few more pics: The thermostat housing after hose removed, I was surprised how small the hole is, slightly larger than a paperclip. Filter install I removed the drain plug from bottom passenger side of the radiator and drained roughly 1 gallon of coolant, it looked pretty good for 38,000 kms (23500 miles) since the truck was new. Inside of the drained reservoir, you can see some small bits of debris. Inside the pipe leading to the water pump, you can see some small bits of debris and what looks like minor rust. So of course it was very early in the life cycle of this coolant to drain it, but I wanted to see what things looked like inside, and I might as well have done it now while I'm already installing the coolant filter. There's definitely some debris in the system and hopefully this new filter setup will clean most of it out. I plan to change the filter once a year.

I have a 2018 Sierra 1500 with the 5.3L engine, bought it new, and now has about 38000 kms (23500 miles). Here's a coolant filter install similar to a few other guys here, except I used a Luber-finer LWHB4861, instead of the more common cast-iron Wix 24019 Parts: - Luber-finer LWHB4861 filter mount - Wix 24070 Coolant Filter - 4 feet of 5/16" fuel line - 2 brass 3/8' 90 degree elbow barbs - thread sealant - 2 worm clamps - 4 nuts & bolts This was a pretty simple installation. First I installed the brass elbows with thread sealant, and attached the new "fuel line" hose to the IN port, with a worm clamp. Then I marked and drilled 4 holes for the Luber-finer bracket, and mounted it with the 4 nuts and bolts. I took the factory hose off of the thermostat housing and relocated it to the OUT port of the filter, and attached the new "fuel line" hose back over to the T-Stat housing. So the fluid comes out of the T-stat housing, through the new "fuel line" and into the RH side of the Luber-finer, through the massive filter, out the LH side, back into the factory hose and all the way across the front of the truck to the coolant reservoir. The Luber-finer mount came with the bracket. The black bracket says it's made in the USA, while the filter housing says China on it. Either way, it's pretty solid, quite heavy, and I think it looks good too.

Disregard the word "TEXT" on last picture, it was an error. When I cut the OEM trans hose, it cut quite easily using a basic razor blade. Not much fluid came out, only like 100ml or so. I mounted the filter on the left side of the frame (driver side) whereas I believe FL335i's was mounted in a similar position, but on the passenger side. As previous members have mentioned, the hardest part was figuring out exactly where to mount it. Once you have it mounted, the rest goes quick. I drove it around to get the trans fluid temp above 82C / 180F , checked the filter and lines were hot, so far no leaks and everything seems to run normal. Hope this is helpful for anyone else who wants to do this mod.