I know this has been discussed in the past, but I'm looking to put together this thread for any concrete info that anyone has, for micron ratings on the diesel fuel filters.
@DieselDrax @Duken4evr - I know you guys have discussed this before curious if you have found any new info.
WIX - WF10226 (No listing)
GM GENUINE - TP1007 (No listing) Same as AC DELCO 52100212
DOC'S - DGF418 - 3 Micron rating with 99.7% Efficiency rating (Doc's website) Curious if their is any data that shows one brand is better than the other. So far Doc's is the only listed data I've been able to find.
It's interesting (at least to me) that the micron rating for the OEM and even the aftermarket 2.8 fuel filters is seemingly a state secret, while the CAT, Wix and other filters aimed at the heavy duty market's micron ratings are at least openly claimed by the manufacturers. The Doc's filter you mentioned is the only one I am aware of that claims a micron rating (3 at 99.7 efficiency as you stated) for our 2.8s. Drax found an independent lab test of a Doc's filter for another diesel pickup that suggests their claimed micron rating is optimistic. Be that as it may, at least they make a claim!
After 135k miles of abuse (10k or so of pulling a travel trailer at 12,500 lbs(combined) wide open up mountain roads), my motor let go while I was passing someone while only going 65mph. Got a tow to a repair shop in town, purchased a 2010 impala that the tow yard had on hand, then went home...
www.coloradofans.com
I doubt marketing being optimistic is unusual at all when it comes to fuel filter micron ratings - marketing tends to tell tall tales, and I doubt the HD truck filters are any different. At least with the HD truck filters there are claims, I figure somewhat exaggerated information from the manufacturer's marketing department is better than no info at all!
I have no idea if there is any deficiency with our OEM filtration or not, but our injector issues makes me wonder. It would be great to have an autopsy by a suitably qualified person on a failed injector to tell us why it failed. GM has a history of using inadequate 10 micron filters in the older Duramaxes. The OEM filtration has been improved since then, and our 2.8s no doubt have improved filters as well. Have read way too much on this and believe that particles around the 7 micron range are problematic, as they can damage injectors over time, but they are quite small. My guess is the OEM filters are 5 micron at a high efficiency rating, with an "absolute" figure of around 7. This is just a total guess though.
Being bored during COVID, I decided I wanted to make sure about filtration, and went down the admittedly a bit over the top 2nd pass filter rabbit hole. It is nice to know for sure that the 2nd pass HD truck filter is providing claimed 2 micron filtration. Our lift pump has no issue with the 2nd filter; the filter head and filter itself are not expensive. The biggest obstacle to adding a 2nd filter is fitting it, especially on short box trucks. I have a long box which provides a luxurious amount of space to work with while adding the 2nd filter.
From what I gather reading about it, the 2 micron filters need changing often in HD use unless they have a less fine prefilter in front of them to catch the bigger stuff. Adding and adaptor and swapping out the OEM filter for a CAT is a pretty common mod with the older big Duramaxes. In my case, the OEM system is the "prefilter". The CAT 1R 0750 unit seems to be the gold standard in the HD market. I may swap my Wix HD filter for a CAT as I figure if I went this far, I might as well go all the damn way
