quick answer needed, where is fuel filter, 2005

[robjen1019]

I went and bought a fuel filter for my 2005 silverado, and I cant seem to find where it goes. I was under it looking, but I just cant seem to find it, Could someone clue me into where it is.

 

Thanks

[az'03Silverado]

Don't worry about it. You'll look all day and never find one. The '05 and up trucks just have a screen/sock in the tank and that's it. It is a non-servicable item.

[foghorn23]

Don't worry about it.  You'll look all day and never find one.  The '05 and up trucks just have a screen/sock in the tank and that's it.  It is a non-servicable item.

 

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Actually I think my 04 is missing the servicable fuel filter too. Wish it were there, but I haven't found it yet.

 

vroten

[robjen1019]

Interesting, I guess its just another way they are trying to cut corners.

[redvett]

Its part of the returnless fuel systems to reduce fuel vapors and improve performance. All MFR's are or will be using the system. My 2000 Jeep Wrangler has it and no problems.

[Mighty HD]

If all else fails add one in.

 

My 05 work truck with 50k on it has one. After about 5 tanks a week for 45k the fuel filter i had swapped out was un-believeable filthy.

 

 

Stupid gm.

[redvett]

Here is some info on returnless systems from MOTOR mag.

 

Returnless Fuel Systems

by Karl Seyfert

 

October 2004. Returnless fuel systems, while similar to conventional systems, require careful handling to assure proper function and full component life.

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To ensure adequate fuel pressure and volume under constantly changing operating conditions, conventional fuel systems always pump more fuel to the injectors than is ultimately needed. That means one molecule of fuel might make as many as 30 trips to the engine via the fuel rail before it finally passes through an injector and is converted to energy. Each trip adds heat to the fuel, which is returned to the fuel tank. In-tank fuel temperatures can exceed 160°F on a hot summer day-a prime breeding ground for fuel evaporation. Even if it's properly contained, vaporized fuel can contribute to a variety of driveability problems. Remember carburetor vapor lock?

 

To combat these problems, several vehicle manufacturers have introduced fuel systems that reduce the number of tank-to-engine trips to just one. Because these systems do not have a return line to return the unused fuel from the engine to the tank, they have been dubbed returnless fuel systems. This is something of a misnomer, as the unused fuel really is returned to the tank. It just doesn't have quite such a long return trip to make. These systems were introduced in the mid-'90s, and their use is rapidly expanding.

 

On returnless systems, fuel is picked up via the fuel screen sock at the bottom of the tank, then routed to the fuel pump. The pump supplies the needed fuel pressure and volume to the engine and the excess is directed back into the tank after passing through a pressure regulator.

The regulator lacks the vacuum connection to the engine that we're accustomed to seeing on conventional pressure regulators, so its job is to maintain a steady pressure independent of any changes in engine operating conditions. To make sure the engine always receives just the right amount of fuel for current conditions, the PCM makes rapid changes in injector pulse width instead. On some newer fuel systems, a pressure sensor keeps the PCM informed of system fuel pressure.

The PCM responds by modifying the pulse width to the fuel pump power supply, adjusting system pressure and volume on the fly. These newer systems completely eliminate the need for a separate pressure regulator.

 

One advantage of the older return-type fuel systems was the constant filtering of the fuel they provided. Each time the fuel made a trip to the engine, it had to pass through the fuel filter. The filter trapped tiny particles of dirt or debris that may have found their way into the system.

This cut down on component wear and service was relatively simple because the filter was usually in an easily accessible location outside the fuel tank.

 

Returnless fuel systems also have fuel filters, but where those filters are placed can have a big effect on the longevity of the system, as well as its ease of service and repair. The filter can be placed in any of three different locations. The first is the conventional location outside the tank. While this is the easiest to service, it also means that any unused fuel that's returned to the tank is never filtered until it makes its first and only trip to the engine. So if it contains any contamination, the same junk will make repeated trips through the pump and back into the tank.

A load of rusty fuel could pass repeatedly through the fuel pump, grinding the rust particles into increasingly smaller particles and making short work of the pump itself.

 

Placing the filter in front of the pump protects the pump from contamination, but creates other problems. The most obvious drawback is that the filter is now in the tank, so replacing it is a major deal. A filter that's become clogged with debris means the pump now has to suck extra hard just to get the fuel it needs. This causes low fuel pressure, fuel boiling and pump cavitation. So-called lifetime filters are supposed to alleviate all of these drawbacks.

 

The last option is to place the filter after the pressure regulator, before the unused fuel is returned to the tank. This allows the unused fuel to be filtered repeatedly, until it's finally used. A restricted fuel filter is less likely to have an adverse effect on the fuel pump, and the filter can be placed in a location on top of the tank that is easily accessible for replacement.

 

Fuel system cleanliness is important on any system, but never more so than on a returnless system. Any dirt left behind will quickly damage any new components you install.

[snoman]

Its part of the returnless fuel systems to reduce fuel vapors and improve performance. All MFR's are or will be using the system. My 2000 Jeep Wrangler has it and no problems.

 

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No, it is part of cutting costs and reduing assemble time and making it more difficult for end user servicing. Dealers like it because it means more buck for them when it needs servicing.

[Shoot2Thrill]

d**n, I was hoping the 05's + didn't have this system. My dad's Caviler has this same system and it cost him 700 bucks to get the filter/sock and fuel pump replaced. The sock collapsed and tripped a error code which prevented it from starting.

 

My dad takes care of his vehicles to prestine levels, but the one thing I faulted him on was his choice of the cheap RaceTrack/RaceWay gas. I have heard many stories about why their gas is so cheap, and I refuse to use it in my truck.

 

I guess the bottom line is I will need to regularly use Chevron fuel system cleaner and continue not to use cheap gas. -Shoot2Thrill

 

Don't worry about it.  You'll look all day and never find one.  The '05 and up trucks just have a screen/sock in the tank and that's it.  It is a non-servicable item.

 

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[mmmikkke]

It makes me sick when cynical people blame every problem on cost cutting. Especially when they have to lie to do it.

 

The new design was mandated by new federally mandated evaporative emissions requirements. To be more specific, the recycling fuel system used in prior model trucks had to be abandoned to meet more stringent evaporative emissions requirements.

 

In prior model trucks, the fuel system had a return path where the excess fuel was bled off and returned to the tank. The old system raised the temperature of the fuel in the tank, increasing evaporative emissions, becuase the fuel returned via the return path was warmed by its proximity to the engine. Warmer fuel evaporates faster.

 

With the new design, the excess fuel is not recycled via a return path. The fuel system has a single path to the engine, one way.

 

With this additional evaporative emissions requirement forcing this de-optimization of the design, measures had to be undertaken to minimize the undesirable features and/or performance of the single-path design. To present a constant pressure to the fuel injection system, things like fuel filters needed to be removed from the pressurized side of the system. This way the pressure can be kept with a narrow range, so that the fuel injection hardware can work properly. The fuel filter had to be upstream from the pump, and the only way to do that was to put it in the tank.

[redvett]

mmmikkke

Thanks for the truth. Not everything is a cost cutting measure. The returnless system will work fine just as long as people dont use garbage fuel.

[robjen1019]

So, you don't think that with all the money and engineers working for the worlds largest automaker, couldn't figure out a way to make the fuel filter servicable. Wrong, yes, there are new goverment standards, but why cant they think in the long term. Some companies are also making no fill trannies also. Take a trip through the mountians and then the desert and you probably would be wishing there was a fill tube there too.

 

Sometimes I think that these companies believe that we are driving down the same road that they get there estimated fuel miliage numbers off of.

 

It might be a good idea on paper, but in theory, it just doesn't work.

 

Clean fuel? is there such a thing. How many differn't paths does a gallon of gas take to get to your local gas station. Believe it or not, it all comes out of the same pipelines and the only difference is the additives each individual company adds.

 

Now, the only way for a piece of rust, dirt, hair, ect to get out of your gas tank is to go through the injectors(or plug them). If I was only planning on keeping my truck for a year or two, it wouldn't matter. But over 10 years and 200,000 miles stuff can happen.