I want to wait for a response from Schurkey. I’m kind of leaning towards the snap on, but it has to be worth the extra $75. The cartridges and accessories aren’t cheap if I need to buy more in the future.
I have zero experience with Actron scan tools.
If there's no bi-directional capacity, pass on it. And verify before purchase that it's going to interface with everything you need it to--Engine, trans, ABS, air bags, instrument cluster, etc.
I've used the Snap-On to activate the AIR system diverter, and to test the "limp-home" mode on my '88 K1500 via the bi-directional controls.
The newer vehicles have stepper-motors that swing the needles of the gauges in the instrument cluster. The Snap-On will interface with the instrument cluster of my '03 Trailblazer; very helpful for finding popped stepper motors--just command the gauges from 0 to 100% of the meter reading. The gauges that don't swing the needles have failed. (and the dash lights that don't light up via scan tool command have similarly failed.) I can control the idle speed of the Trailblazer using the Snap-On, to assure that the IAC is working.
Remember that the Snappy is old; mine takes forever to boot when first plugged in--which is my main impetus for getting a newer tool. And the whole capability of the tool revolves around the software cartridge, you HAVE to have a suitable cartridge for whatever you're working on.
The computer system used on the vehicle is more limiting than the capabilities of the '2500 scan tool. Newer vehicles give more information, and more options for bi-directional control.
For the record, it takes ONE tank of contaminated fuel to plug a fuel filter.
That said, no, I don't change fuel filters at 15K. The filter on Dear Old Dad's '98 Monte Carlo was probably original when I changed it last summer. (<40K miles.) It might be that I changed it in 2008 or 2010-ish; I flushed brake fluid, changed trans fluid, coolant flush, and did some other maintenance on it--but I don't have a strong recollection of that. Anyway, when I pulled it off and tipped the fuel out the inlet fitting, there was a bunch of rust particles that came out--but the engine didn't run any better afterward, and the filter didn't seem
plugged at all, just a little bit restricted. I had to cut the tubes to remove the filter on my new-to-me 97 K2500. Original filter at 165K? No idea. Same deal--poured out the gas through the inlet fitting, and there was a circle of rusty fuel on the ground when I finished. The filter wasn't plugged, though. Got one tube unscrewed from the filter, had to make a second one; and then spliced the sections back into the rest of the plumbing along with a new filter and some anti-seize on the threads.
By comparison, a friend of mine was bitching about "vapor lock" on his '77 snowplow truck for about a year. (350, Q-Jet) Eventually, the truck would run like **** or stall after running about four minutes. Changed fuel pumps, still had "vapor lock". Wrapped the fuel tubing with aluminum foil as a "heat shield", still had vapor lock. I kept telling him that four minutes wasn't enough heat to produce "vapor lock". He drove the truck to my shop (20 mph, wouldn't go any faster, stalled and wouldn't re-start a mile away--had to be towed the last mile.) The tiny filter behind the inlet nut of the Q-jet was plugged so bad nothing could get through.