88 GTA 5.7 liter

I know, depends on how dirty the gas is and whether there is rust in the tank.

But I want to ask anyway. I changed the filter back in 1998 when I bought the car. It had 115,000 miles on it then. Now has 167,000 miles. So 20 years and 52,000 miles. Yeah I know, just change it, right?

The filters on these cars are so big it's hard to imagine them ever getting clogged, but I guess they could.

Anybody ever find their fuel filter actually clogged, and what from? Rust? Dirty gas from a sketchy gas station?

Did you saw open the old filter to look inside?

Thanks! Just curious.

I'm having an on again, off again bogging problem, which I think MIGHT be due to a clogged fuel filter, among a million other things.

 

Can't see much of serious contamination making it past the filter sock on the pump. The inline filter is one of those things, I replace them like I change other fluids, once in a blue moon, just because preventive maintenance. Never changed one and actually noticed any improvement.

So tell me about your fuel injectors?

 

I can't give you a definitive answer, but I had a low mile filter in my car and my friend, who is a mechanic, said it should be changed. Not that he is the end all expert, but he tried blowing through it and said it felt too restrictive. Not that it is your problem, but it can't hurt to just change it.

 

You already answered your own question.

Yes they clog. Yes people have to change them out all the time. Yes yours could be clogged too.

Past that, just swap it out and see if anything changes. Even if it doesn't, ... hey, at least you know your fuel filter is now not clogged.

I'm not one to advise just randomly swapping parts, mostly; but filters DEFINITELY belong in the category of "when in doubt, swap it out". Say that about 4 or 5 times until it sinks in.

 

for such a cheap and easy item to replace, sofa is on the money

 

The fuel injectors are whatever was in the car when I bought it, so I assume they are the originals.

 

A buddy of mine had a firebird (87 I believe). He ran out of gas and after he got new gas put in it, it wouldn’t start.. first thing we did was change the fuel filter and it started right up..

I changed mine in my 87 every 40k miles or something like that.. never noticed a difference from doing it..

 

we usually kill pumps and clog filters at the end of winter/start of summer here in Australia. Over winter the sellers put some waxy crap into the underground tanks to prevent it from freezing which ends up in your tank, as summer hits all that crap melts and goes through your fuel system.

Guaranteed it will always happen just after you fill up