need help changing fuel filter

txpkup · November 29, 2004

anyone ever changed a fuel filter before?? it's a '99 silverado 5.3 4x4. guy at the autoparts store wasn't exactly helpful. he did say on mine it was under the passengers side. I can't even find it though. Of couse I'm basing it on what I saw in a few pics. called the dealer who said with installation I would "be looking at about $70." But a new filter is around $5! Any help on swtiching them out would be greatly appreciated!!

mcreyaufmiller · November 29, 2004

on my 98, the fuel filter is under the drivers side on the frame rail. I am not so sure about the 99's. I would guess that it is in the same place as mine, the passengers side is not a likely place being as the fuel tank is on the drivers side.

Mike

budhayes3 · November 29, 2004

Yep, driver's side on the frame rail, right by the ABS actuator. You're gonna want to get a flare wrench, or the fitting may strip. I can't remember if it's a 13mm or 14 or what...replaced mine about a year ago. You also want to use an open end wrench to steady the filter when you remove the fittings.

There's a whole procedure to relieving fuel pressure, but I basically just loosened the gas cap and tried to stay clear of draining fuel.

JayMan · November 30, 2004

You'll want to invest in a good set of flare wrenches, as you'll use one wrench to hold the metal fuel filter, and the other wrench to loosen/tighten the line. The filter is located on the inside driver frame rail just north of the fuel tank, before the ABS motor.

If the filter has never been off, you have my sympathies. Squirt some WD-40 or Nuts Off on the fittings and let it sit overnight.

You'll notice the fuel filter has a nut already on the end to hold it steady while you're leveraging the connector. It's really important to hold the filter steady too or you could twist off the connector or twist the metal fuel line.

First step is to remove the fuel filler cap to relieve any possible pressure in the tank. Some folks like to start the motor then pull the fuel pump relay until the motor dies, to relieve high pressure fuel in the rail. I would rather see somebody hook up a fuel pressure gage to the rail Schraeder valve and use the gage relief button to depressurize the rail. That's safer.

Once you have the flare wrenches on, loosen the rear connector first. Remember: "lefty-loosey, righty-tighty." You may have to apply a lot of force if its the original filter. Once it's loose, back it off by hand. You may get a few drips of gas at this point, so wrap a rag around that end of the filter to get ready for the next step.

You'll have to push the metal fuel line backwards. Follow the metal line along the frame and you'll see plastic clips that hold the line, especially at the first bend. It may help to pull the line away from those clips. You can now carefully push the line away from the filter, which will cause a gush of gas unless you depressurized the system first.

Now that you're covered in gasoline, enjoy a quick smoke. Yes, I'm kidding. Please don't do that.

Put the flare wrenches on the forward side of the filter and loosen the connector. You should be able to carefully push the metal filter through it's plastic strap towards the rear of the truck. You may have to hold the rear metal fuel line out of the way to slide the filter out of the plastic strap.

With the new filter in hand, make sure the "flow direction" arrow is lined up correctly, or you're in for a nasty surprise. The arrow should point towards the FRONT of the truck. It doesn't work to good if the arrow points towards the BACK of the truck (Been there, done that).

At this point, before you hook everything up, it might be a good idea to put a light smear of Loctite Never Seize on the fuel connector threads. I've found this makes the next filter change MUCH easier.

Slide the new filter through the plastic strap, making sure the flow arrow is pointing correctly - towards the front. Start the threaded connector into the filter as far as you can by hand. This is really important to prevent cross-threading.

Use the flare wrenches to tighten the connector. Don't go overboard too tight, you'll either twist the end off the filter or bugger up the connector seal..

You'll have to push the rear metal fuel line towards the rear to get the flared end of the fuel line into the filter. Again carefully thread the connector by hand and snug it down with the flare wrenches. Push the metal fuel line back into the plastic clips.

Put the fuel filler cap back on (I bet you forgot about that, huh?) Turn the key from Off to On, wait around 5 secs for the fuel pump to stop running, then back to Off. Repeat this cycle 2-3 times. This pressurizes the fuel system and helps get rid of any air you introduced.

Crawl back underneath and see if there have been any leaks around the filter. If not, go back into the cab and start the truck. Go back underneath and see if the filter is still dry.

If it is, you did a good job and can forget about the filter until next fall. That was a real pain in the a**, wasen't it??

If I had kept the truck, I would have installed a Racor 110 canister fuel filter. With the supplied adaptors, the GMC fuel lines would have hooked up, even the width of the housing was perfect. One h*** of a lot easier to change too, around a 20 sec job. Oh well.

gil_bo · November 30, 2004

fuel filter change

hope this help, this web page has tons of helpful stuff

mcreyaufmiller · November 30, 2004

Wow. That was involved. I did something like that. But I did not relieve the fuel pressure. I got wet. and Stinky. Oh yeah, and I ahd to wait an hour before I could smoke. Didn't like that. But I got it done, pretty much like the direrctions above!

Mike

txpkup · November 30, 2004

Thank yall so much for all the help. One more question though: what problem did you have with your vehicle where you knew it WAS the fuel filter? Or is it something you should just change from time to time, I've never even heard of changing a fuel filter.

Thanks again for all the help!

facn8me · November 30, 2004

A fuel filter is basic maint. that should be changed every 30,000 "max" I do it about every 10,000 unless you have a 2004 which as I understand do not have fuel filters.

gil_bo · November 30, 2004

A fuel filter is basic maint. that should be changed every 30,000 "max" I do it about every 10,000 unless you have a 2004 which as I understand do not have fuel filters.

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on my 2004 z71 tahoe ther still is a fuel filter, but on the 2005 they put the fuel filter in the tank

why , i have no earthly idea

budhayes3 · November 30, 2004

I too replace mine as preventive maintenance, about every 30k. Actually did it at around 26k. Some manufacturers (Toyota, for instance), don't recommend replacing fuel filters, supposedly they have "lifetime" fuel filters. This is not the case with GM though.

Some factors that might warrant replacement besides preventive maintenance could be a no-start or stalling condition caused by a clogged fuel filter, which would result in low or no fuel pressure.

MS3DALE · November 30, 2004

There are no external fuel filters on most of the '04 pick-ups,however the "flex-fuel" equipped trucks do still have them as well as the diesels.

And as far as changing the filter I used to do mine around every 20,000 miles on all my other trucks that had them,txpkup, on your '99 it might help to also unbolt the filter bracket from the frame so you can move it around alittle,sure helped on my '99!

Greek · November 30, 2004

anyone ever changed a fuel filter before?? it's a '99 silverado 5.3 4x4. guy at the autoparts store wasn't exactly helpful. he did say on mine it was under the passengers side. I can't even find it though. Of couse I'm basing it on what I saw in a few pics. called the dealer who said with installation I would "be looking at about $70." But a new filter is around $5! Any help on swtiching them out would be greatly appreciated!!

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I've changed mine twice so far on my 2000 Z71 (65,000 miles). Excellent directions given here by the above posters. I did not have a pressure gauge. So I removed the fuel pump fuse and opened up the gas tank cap. Use a lot of rags to contain the fuel spill. Loosen the plastic fuel filter brackets and fuel lines from their supports as suggested by the others and you should be fine. The flare wrenches are always good to use to avoid damge to the fuel lines. Changing the fuel filter every so often enhances performance.

jhm · November 30, 2004

I looked at changing mine, without a lift it looked like a pain in the butt. I called the dealer, he wanted $70. I told him that seemed high so I called the independent owner operated garage in town, he said next time you need an oil change, bring it in and I'll do it while its in the air for the cost of the part. He charged $22 for the part, good deal since I didnt get fuel all over my garage or body. Some things are worth hiring out.

az'03Silverado · November 30, 2004

Please, nobody yell at me. But, what's a flare wrench? Is it similar to an open-end wrench?

az'03Silverado · November 30, 2004

Please, nobody yell at me. But, what's a flare wrench? Is it similar to an open-end wrench?

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Nevermind. Question answered at www.sears.com! I guess I'll be going to Sears tomorrow. I don't have any of those yet. I'll get them while we still have Sears. I hope K-fart doesn't screw up the Craftsman line.