Oil Filter Question-why The Change

flatlander · March 20, 2008

My 2006 used the AC-Delco PF-46 oil filter and now I see that the 2008 uses the PF-48.

Both pickups have the 5.3 liter engine so it's basically the same engine except for the 'Active Fuel Management' in the 2008. Why the change in oil filters?

Does it have something to do with the more intricate design of the valve lifters on the 'Active Fuel Management' engine? What? Just as I get stocked up on oil filters they change the application, shucks.

big_heineken · March 20, 2008

My 2006 used the AC-Delco PF-46 oil filter and now I see that the 2008 uses the PF-48.
Both pickups have the 5.3 liter engine so it's basically the same engine except for the 'Active Fuel Management' in the 2008. Why the change in oil filters?

Does it have something to do with the more intricate design of the valve lifters on the 'Active Fuel Management' engine? What? Just as I get stocked up on oil filters they change the application, shucks.

Something like that happened to me. It was summer 2006, I was changing the oil for the first time in my new 2007 OBS Silverado. I went to Autozone to get oil and the filter. They didn't have a listing for the 2007 yet, so I got the filter that was listed for the 2006 with the same engine. Without cross-checking the filter numbers, I removed the old filter. I actually destroyed it in the process because GM cranked it on there and I did not have an oil filter wrench, so I had to use some channel locks. Well I filled the new filter with oil and went to screw it on and what do you know? It doesn't go! Why the hell would they change oil filters and nothing else from 2006 to 2007? It boggles my mind. Luckily I still had my old truck and was able to go to the dealer right before they closed and picked up a couple filters. I'm not sure why they have so many filters that vary so little.

redvett · March 20, 2008

The GMT900 uses the LS2 architecture not the LS1 The block has many modifications that the previous block didnt. The 6.2L has a LS3 style block. Changes come often check before you buy in advance.

flatlander · March 20, 2008

My 2006 used the AC-Delco PF-46 oil filter and now I see that the 2008 uses the PF-48.
Both pickups have the 5.3 liter engine so it's basically the same engine except for the 'Active Fuel Management' in the 2008. Why the change in oil filters?

Does it have something to do with the more intricate design of the valve lifters on the 'Active Fuel Management' engine? What? Just as I get stocked up on oil filters they change the application, shucks.

Josh H: Thanks for the reply and I too have had a tough time removing oil filters during the 1st oil change on a new vehicle. Don't know if they put them on without oil, over-tighten them, or what but they are always FUN. Just can't understand why the filters cannot be standardized so there are not so many different ones. Finally bought a filter wrench that uses a spiral strap that coils around the filter two or three times then tightens uniformly so as not to crush the filter-it is a better mousetrap

flatlander · March 20, 2008

The GMT900 uses the LS2 architecture not the LS1 The block has many modifications that the previous block didnt. The 6.2L has a LS3 style block. Changes come often check before you buy in advance.

Think you are on to why the change. The engines with 'Active Fuel Management' must need a separate oil galley for the lifters that shut down as they are controlled by oil pressure. The 4 cylinders that run continously need a constant oil supply but the other four are turned off/on by the oil supply to them. Can't all visualize it but maybe they need different filtering because of this AFM system????

C & A s Dad · March 20, 2008

Within the past several years, MFG's have been very active in changing parts and most of the time it seems there is no solid reason for doing so. In most cases they have refined or improved upon a design which makes a change necessary. In some cases I am sure it is a Marketing decision just to keep us Aftermarket Guys on our toes. These changes along with the different quality offerings demanded by the consumer are a couple of the reasons inventory investments in the Auto Parts industry have continued to increase.

However, this is a good thing for larger, well managed stores but not so good for the smaller stores that may be suffering.

silversport · March 21, 2008

...sometimes they are just consolidating parts...my 2002 Avalanche used one filter for the 5.3 and later was changed to the same filter the LS1 and LS2 use...

Bill

CalixEros · March 24, 2008

The GMT900 uses the LS2 architecture not the LS1 The block has many modifications that the previous block didnt. The 6.2L has a LS3 style block. Changes come often check before you buy in advance.

Think you are on to why the change. The engines with 'Active Fuel Management' must need a separate oil galley for the lifters that shut down as they are controlled by oil pressure. The 4 cylinders that run continously need a constant oil supply but the other four are turned off/on by the oil supply to them. Can't all visualize it but maybe they need different filtering because of this AFM system????

It's a completely different engine that services many vehicles, not just Silverados. They probably weren't thinking along the lines of, "How can I design this engine to reuse the same oil filter?" I believe (but am not 100% sure) that the PF-48 is shorter than the PF-46. I know the height on the new filter is what it is so there was clearance on the Corvettes...

cerbomark · March 24, 2008

the only difference i found from my 2004 6.0 and the NBS 07 6.0 was the thread on the NBS was a finer thread, maybe metric. The old one would not screw on. The height, length, rubber gasket ring were all identical.