DIY: 2018 5.3L Coolant Filter Installation

YYC-SIERRA · October 1, 2020

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.

Edited October 1, 2020 by YYC-SIERRA

YYC-SIERRA · October 1, 2020

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.

Edited October 1, 2020 by YYC-SIERRA

Eddie 70 · October 2, 2020

This was one of those things I wanted to do to mine but have never gotten around to doing. Thanks for sharing.

YYC-SIERRA · April 4, 2021

6 month update

Today I changed out the filter at 12,000 kms just to see what was going on.

Put a ziplock bag over the filter to catch any fluid, then cut open the cartridge to inspect the filter media. I could see some very fine / small particles between the folds, so it does appear to be working. Of course it's only a 2 year old truck, and a 6 month filter, so I wasn't expecting to find much. More peace of mind than anything.

Will extend the next change to 2 years.