How often should the fuel filter be changed?

[fudge12]

I have a 00' v6 LS that has close to 150k and I'm not sure weather if the fuel filter has ever been replaced in that time. I personally have put 30k miles on it. I've done coils and plugs with gaskets in the summer and have not had any problems with misfires and so on. However, since I have put a cone filter on my intake, I notice that the car will act like if it's hitting like rev limiter when I gun the gas and it reaches past 60mph (and sometimes lower speeds when gunning the gas.) It feels as if it's rocking back and forth but the car still increases speed. A friend of mine told me the air to fuel ratio is off balance because of the new filter and will cause the "rocking" motion when the accelerator is hit hard. Is this true or is there something that needs to be done to correct this?

 

[joegr]

The manual that comes with the car says to replace the fuel filter every 30K miles. A surprising amount of dirt will pour out of the filter when you change it, I bet.
I don't like aftermarket intakes. They can cause problems with the MAF reading which can cause mixture problems.
I'm not sure what you mean by "rocking", but with the LS, coils should usually be the first suspect.

 

[fudge12]

The car doesn't rock if I increase speed using normal acceleration. It feels as if it's downshifting and upshifting quickly between two gears. As far as misfiring goes, it doesn't misfire during normal driving.

 

[FDR]

I dont get any odd behavior like that with the cone intake. I doubt the minor increase in ease of intake would be beyond the computer's trimming capabilities, let alone enough to feel it lurching.

 

[1LoudLS]

if you have 150K and are unsure if your filter has ever been replaced, I would say that you're way over due.

it was the first thing I did when I got mine back with a little over 60K on it and the sh!t that came out of the filter was just gross, like a brown sludge. the old filter after being having the fuel dumped and sitting long enough to dry out was noticeably heavier. since then, I change it about every other oil change (20k-30k miles) and when dumping it out backwards, not too much crap seems to come out.

 

[izzy]

if you have 150K and are unsure if your filter has ever been replaced, I would say that you're way over due.

it was the first thing I did when I got mine back with a little over 60K on it and the sh!t that came out of the filter was just gross, like a brown sludge. the old filter after being having the fuel dumped and sitting long enough to dry out was noticeably heavier. since then, I change it about every other oil change (20k-30k miles) and when dumping it out backwards, not too much crap seems to come out.

I'll be changing my fuel filter soon.....not trying to jack the thread....but.....20-30K miles is every other oil change? Are you using some kind of heman oil? I have always changed my oil every 5K. Just interested is all.

 

[1LoudLS]

Mobil 1 Extended Performance.
https://mobiloil.com/en/motor-oils/mobil-1/mobil-1-extended-performance

recommends 15K Intervals. been doing it for many years. I do usually change it a couple of thousand early.

pretty much what Mercedes uses in their dealerships, and their dealerships also only recommend 15k intervals. and the germans wouldn't want to waste all those chances to charge their high price more often. who am I to argue with that many engineers?

 

[RigsLS]

Pretty good bet to change it annually after each winter, but that's just me. Winter fuels have additional crap in them. Mine doesn't see winters but it sits with stabilizer and for the price of a fuel filter, it's always nice to keep a good clean flow and in the process extend the life of the fuel pump.

Just good practice to change it often, perhaps overkill. As mentioned above, when you get it out, try holding it upside down above a drain bin and observe the brown gunk that comes out.

Why restrict flow when your what .... 12$ away from not doing so.

Did you know, when you change your oil, you really should put a new drain plug in as well?


Joe is most likely not liking the oiled intake filters as they can coat the MAF easily when over oiled.

 

[joegr]

Mobil 1 Extended Performance.
https://mobiloil.com/en/motor-oils/mobil-1/mobil-1-extended-performance

recommends 15K Intervals. been doing it for many years. I do usually change it a couple of thousand early.

pretty much what Mercedes uses in their dealerships, and their dealerships also only recommend 15k intervals. and the germans wouldn't want to waste all those chances to charge their high price more often. who am I to argue with that many engineers?

Here's something to keep in mind. The oil is designed for 15K miles. Mercedes and BMW oil filters are sized and designed for 10K to 15K miles. The filter on your LS was sized and designed for 5K miles. I wonder if it is into bypass by 15K miles?

 

[joegr]

...Joe is most likely not liking the oiled intake filters as they can coat the MAF easily when over oiled.

Even the dry ones can change the airflow turbulence such that the MAF does not read correctly. It has nothing to do with decreased (or increased) air resistance through the filter.

 

[LS4me]

I don't like aftermarket intakes. They can cause problems with the MAF reading which can cause mixture problems.

I had the K&N FIPK on my LS and the stock intake on my wife's. Both ping pretty badly at WOT no matter where I buy my Top Tier fuel. I can't figure out why.......

 

[Jim Henderson]

Fuel filters are an odd thing. The safest bet is to replace per the manual. Almost none of us does. Way too easy to forget, especially since ours hides behind some plastic splash shields in the driver side wheel well. Out of sight out of mind, eh.

A fuel filter will clog either right away or after hundreds of thousands of miles depending on what kind of crap is in your fuel and tank.

I am guilty of forgetting to change mine. I have over 180,000 miles and cannot recall changing it, although I did have an opportunity about 80,000 miles back when I replaced my Driver side wheel bearing and had to remove the splash guard to get at the abs sensor plug.

My car still runs fine other than the usual LS issues and a surprise sparkplug blow out last week.

I have had a fuel filter fail after just a few thousand miles after I stupidly siphoned gummy gas from an old car and tried to burn it in an old taurus. Clog city. I also had a filter slowly die after about 80,000 miles on my F250 when it started to hesitate and even stall at intersections especially if I switched tanks.

The usual decline of a filter is so sloooow that you never really notice. So again best to follow the manual and I guess I should get my butt off to the part store for a new filter since I am preaching to the choir.

BTW, I think you will need a set of those plastic disc fuel filter removal tools. They are cheap and most stores have them.

Jim Henderson

 

[cammerfe]

FWIW, I changed my filter when I became serious about racing it. Part of what I did was to go to SS braid/Teflon hoses. I installed a filter that can be taken apart. Over the past 40k+ miles I've checked several times and always found it to be like new inside. I may just have been lucky.

KS

 

[1LoudLS]

Here's something to keep in mind. The oil is designed for 15K miles. Mercedes and BMW oil filters are sized and designed for 10K to 15K miles. The filter on your LS was sized and designed for 5K miles. I wonder if it is into bypass by 15K miles?

they say their oil filters are good for just as long.

 

[StarPower]

Most cars with longer oil change intervals also have much larger sumps than the LS. The larger oil capacity both minimizes temperature spikes and increases the amount of contaminants the oil can absorb. These engines may also have tighter tolerances, minimizing the amount of contaminants leaking past the pistons into the oil. Of course, this doesn't mean that the LS can't go 15k mi between oil changes. Have you ever had an oil analysis?

The service guide (for my 2003) specifies 30k mi for the fuel filter, so fudge12 is definitely due.

 

[joegr]

Most cars with longer oil change intervals also have much larger sumps than the LS. ...

Certainly, I can't speak to the "most cars" part, as I haven't owned most cars. I can say that my BMW with 15K change interval holds 6.9 quarts (I put 7 in), and my LSes hold 6.5 quarts (I put 7 in). I would say that the two sumps are close enough to say that isn't a factor here.
Still, I am unwilling to extend the 5K interval on the LS because of the timing chains and guides...

 

[Telco]

This is the way I look at it. Over 150,000 miles, doing an oil change every 15K miles vs every 5K miles you are doing 10 oil changes vs 30 oil changes. An oil change (at least for me) is 25 dollars and a half hour. 20 oil changes is 500 dollars and 10 hours. On the other hand, an engine swap is about 5000 dollars and a good week if I'm hard at it (mainly because I don't "just" change engines). I'd rather do the periodic oil changes and not have to worry about crap in old worn out oil causing an engine failure.

 

[jgscott]

Regardless of how good the oil is, Its still subject to contamination. At 15k the Oil is so black/brown, I would not trust a 15k interval even on the BMW's.

I have 192K on my 02 Sport, and I would drive it to California and back right now. I did 15k from the day I got the car at 30k miles, and I don't use nothing but the Motorcraft Synthetic Blend per Lincolns recommendation.