Basic Silverado Maintenance: Engine Filters

Your Chevrolet Silverado contains several different types of engine filters which include:

• Oil filter
• Air filter
• Cabin filter
• Fuel filter

Each of these filters serve a critical role in the performance and longevity of your Silverado. Filters are designed to remove any contaminants or pollutants from what is being fed into your Silverado, to help maintain consistency in the power and overall performance. Without the aforementioned filters in place, things like dirt, metals, sludge and more would make their way into your truck.

The air filter on your Silverado is located at the end of the intake and filters the air being supplied to the intake system that ultimately ends up in the cylinders for the combustion process. In stock Silverados, the air filter is located in the front of the engine bay on the passenger side in a black plastic cube that keeps it protected from the rest of the engine bay. Air is piped in via an inlet hole that grabs air from outside the engine bay via the grille. 

The engine’s air filter should be changed roughly every 15,000 to 30,000 miles or every three years if you drive less than 10,000 miles a year as they become brittle. Not replacing an engine air filter in a timely manner will result in hampered performance and power as the engine will be more “choked” up and air deficient. 

To replace an engine air filter, simply remove the airbox covering, pull out the old air filter and drop in the new one. Replacing an air filter can be completed in under 3 minutes it is that simple. 

Engine air filters are typically constructed from pleated paper or a cardboard type of material. Stock Silverado air filters are in the shape of a rectangle, however, aftermarket ones can be round/cone shaped.

A common upgrade for many Silverado owners is to replace the stock air filter for an aftermarket one. Aftermarket air filters are designed to be more efficient in the airflow design allowing more air to enter the engine. Usually, aftermarket air filters are paired with a new intake tube that is wider in diameter, but this is not always the case. You can keep the stock air box and tube and only replace the filter if you so choose.

Aftermarket air filters tend to be reusable, however, not all of them are. Be sure to review the product page/manual to see if this is the case for the one you choose.

The cabin air filter is designed to filter the air coming through your Silverado’s HVAC system into the cabin, removing dust, pollen, smog, and other harmful pollutants. Prior to the year 2000, cabin air filters were not standard equipment on all vehicles, but from 2000 on all vehicles including your Silverado are equipped with them. 

To replace the cabin air filter in your Silverado you will need to open the glove box and remove four screws that are holding it in. After the screws are removed, close the glove box and pop out the plastic clips holding in place. Once removed you will be able to slide out the old cabin filter and replace it with the new one. 

Similar to oil changes, you will want to replace the cabin air filter every 15,000 to 30,000 miles or every three years. Failure to do so can result in an odor/stale air coming into your cabin, especially anytime you use the HVAC system.

The oil filter in your Silverado’s engine keeps the oil clean and free of contaminants that can damage your engine over time. The oil in your engine keeps all of the moving parts lubricated and protected, as they are beat on regularly. Without the oil filter, tiny particles would make their way into the engine and cause excessive wear and damage on the engine over time. 

The oil filter on your Silverado is located on the engine block towards the front, bottom of the block. You will need a wrench or two to unscrew it, but it should come out fairly easy. It is critical that every time you change your oil, you replace the oil filter. During the life cycle (i.e. one oil change) of your oil, a slew of those hard particles are collected in the filter, without replacing the oil filter with each oil change, those particles would build up and slowly render the oil filter more and more ineffective.

Fuel filters are one of the least talked about types of filters, but arguably the most important filter on your whole entire vehicle. The fuel filter goes on the fuel line and removes contaminants like rust, metal, paint, and dirt via a paper filter. The contaminants can come from the fuel itself or the fuel tank, all of which is fairly common for modern internal combustion engines. 

On the Silverado, the fuel filter is located on the driver’s side of the truck on the undercarriage, tucked up on the side, just about in the middle of the truck. You will need two wrenches or to get the filter off and replaced. It is fairly easy to replace, although intimidating to a novice mechanic (YouTube is your friend).

The timing of replacing a fuel filter can be difficult to gauge as your modern fuels are fairly clean compared to those of even a decade or two ago. With that said, fuel filter replacement can be done at anywhere from 30,000 to 90,000 miles, but more realistically 50,000 to 70,000 miles. If your Silverado is having issues starting, having a rough idle, getting worse than normal fuel economy, or had a tank of sub-par fuel, then you want to start troubleshooting the issue by replacing the fuel filter.