Fuel filter maintenance

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The filter keeps crud out of the very finely machined and articulated injectors. That is it's main function.
They are made large nowadays on FI engines, for long life, and to keep working well with some crud in them.

By far, a bad pump will puke a filter more than a filter will puke a pump. I can not say that I ever knew of a filter that caused a pump to fail. Broken pumps get crud in the filter, for sure.
 
I saw it all the time at the GMC / Olds / Pontiac shop I worked in. I can't even begin to count how many Suburbans we had brought in on flatbeds with burned out pumps that the techs blamed the filters for. By a wide margin, the customers cited the 'death whine' that has become a common finding with a lot of GM fuel pumps. This is most often caused by a restriction in the fuel tract. The common warning was that you should get the filter changed immediately if the 'death whine' surfaces, and pray you caught it in time.
 
I also disagree mechtech. I bought a used 1997 Suburban with intank fuel pump. I didn't know when the filter was changed last and one day total fule pump failure...why because the fuel filter was totally plugged. The plugged filter had added so much stress to the pump over time while clogging it burnt it out. Since then $10 fuel filter changes every other year saves me a $200 drop tank and fuel pump replacement. Fuel pump has no filter so to speak on it so it sucks up all the particulates no problem, the filter down the line gets all those missed before it hits the injectors. Everyone I know with these trucks changes the fuel filters at a certain interval to save the pump from suffering the same fate as mine did.
 
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Wait a minute. You say the problem is in GM's fuel pumps, but then you say one you bought from NAPA only lasted a year. Which is it, GM's or NAPA's?
 
I HATE that GM has gone to integrated filter/pump combos. My 06 truck and 08 Malibu are both integrated and non-servicable. They recommend injector cleaning/flushing every 30k, but I fail to see how that helps the fuel pump.
 
Originally Posted By: MrCritical
Wait a minute. You say the problem is in GM's fuel pumps, but then you say one you bought from NAPA only lasted a year. Which is it, GM's or NAPA's?


I do not know the prior history for my Suburban. But given that the fuel pump lines snapped due to rust they must have been in use for awhile.

While the NAPA pump lasted only a year, it was covered under warranty, but still dropping the tank is a PIA.
 
If the wiring to the pump has a problem it will burn the pumps up. There was a recall on some of them.

If a lifetime warranty dealer puts the pump in and the customer pays for it, it's covered for the lifetime of the vehicle for the same customer-parts and labor.
 
Originally Posted By: mechtech2
Suburbans had a lot of fuel pump failures because of faulty 'O' ring seals.
Blame the filter?


What O-ring? Inside the actual pump itself?
 
I replaced the filter after 100k miles, it improved performance. The pump is original at 350k miles. I have resolved to make it part of the 60k mile timing belt sevice here after.
 
Originally Posted By: andyd
I replaced the filter after 100k miles, it improved performance. The pump is original at 350k miles. I have resolved to make it part of the 60k mile timing belt sevice here after.


Hard to believe, the fuel pump typically pushes much more fuel through the fuel rail than is needed and is returned to the tank.

If the vehicle was running fine changing the filter will not improve the performance or MPG. If the car had a lot of hesitation then changing the filter might help.
 
Lot of pepole do this when getting a replacement fuel pump,buying an aftermarket fuel pump made by Airtex,Carter or Bosch.The aftermarket fuel pumps are junk and Airtex will not warranty theirs 99.9% saying it is installer error.Most of Napa's fuel pumps are made by Airtex.Carquest got smart,ditched Airtex and switched to Delphi and no returns when Carquest switched to Delphi.
 
Right - in the tank.
If filters were a severe problem for fuel pumps, it would not be singular vehicle specific - only Suburbans.
Since the Suburban had known 'O' ring problems and fuel pump failures because of them, I conclude that it is not a filter problem.
 
Originally Posted By: toyota62
Hi Guys.
I am wondering how long Toyota 5SFE and V6 water pumps last for?


The water pump in my 93 camry's 5sfe lasted until 191,000 miles...it started to make some noise at first, then leaked a little, then starting screeching. I replaced it (and the timing belt and pulleys) of course, and now 2.5 years later it has 230,000 miles and is going great.

Not sure about the V6.

My Lexus V8 has the original pump with approx 175,000 miles and is running strong.
 
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