Has anybody else had this much trouble removing this stupid thing???

I managed to get the rear line off, but the front one simply will not budge.

I'd like to kill the engineer that decided to put all sorts of lines, crossbraces, and whatever else they could, RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE DAMN THING.!!!

Tips are welcome...

 

johngs,

Don't quite understand? Are you having trouble getting it off, or getting to it.
Both can be problems at times. Are you using the removal tool to get the lines off, if not, your going to h-ll for all those words you used.

The tool makes it very simple. They are very cheap at any auto supply store. Just tell them what your doing and they will point you to the right part. I think maybe 5 bucks or less.

Gene

 

I have one of those "X" type metal fuel filter wrenches (only God knows where it is cause I can't find it). I think I may have used a large screw driver or something between the filter and wrench to get leverage to both seperate the filter from the line and press against the latching mechanism.

 

Well, I guess you could say both.

The rear line came out easily enough.

The front one is being a pain though. I can only get at it from one direction (bring my hand behind the crossmember that has the torsion bars bolted to it) which means I can't get a great angle at it.

Not to mention, there is some line passing RIGHT IN FRONT of the connection.

I tried spraying a little WD40 into the connector, still wont budge.
Tried using screwdriver to use as fulcrum type deal, still wont budge.

Here is the tool I have:


I guess I will go back to autozone tomorrow and try getting the little plastic ones, I might be able to get a better angle to pull it off with one of them.

If not I will just have to take it to the dealer because I think I may have slightly caused the outlet to sperate a little from the casing (ie, a slow leak). If there is one, it's not bad at all. But Im just trying to be cautious. edit to add: I really dont want to take it to the dealer, since theyll probably rape me for labor, but if it gets to the point where the outlet part of the filter pops off and I'm stuck with a truck that wont go anywhere, Id rather just have them do it and not have to pay a tow truck as well as extra $$$ to remove that outlet from the line...

I had to give up for tonight since I was also changing the oil and it started to rain, and I had to clean up the mess from the oil.

 

Please forgive me if I ask a stupid question but did you remove the safety catch?

 

some times it just takes alot of finesse and patience to get the filters off of em,but its not as bad as a 2.8 v-6 in a blazer we had to take the power steering pump off and all kinds of other stuff just to get to it,took us almost all day with 3 people at school workin off and on

and you might wanna try removing it from the housing first,that might help.

 

Yeah, I got the back of the line off, then worked for four hours with the specialty tools that I had just bought to do the job, then I got mad, put the line back on and took it to a garage. Stupid fuel filter! Took the guy at the garage 45 minutes to get it off, and that was with the truck on a lift prying on it with a screwdriver. It was stock, though, so it was 6 and a half years old and had been through all kinds of mud, snow, salt, rain, sitting in a field...

 

Now that way fast mentions it I think I did slide my fuel filter toward the engine a bit when I got the rear connection off.

Pictures to follow with safety catch on and off...

 

Yes, or else the removal tool wouldn't even go in.

 

I tried that, but then that line that goes in front of the filter keeps me from getting anything from it :\

 

Your pictures look different than mine. Mine has a small black bracket holding the filter to the frame. This bracket also has two other lines attached to it. One of them is flexible and I can get it out. The other one is not, and it also bends up, right in front of the front connector. I can try to remove the filter/bracket assembly, but that hard line blocks it and I cant move it far.

I'll take pictures tomorrow.

 

Here is more panoramic view of the fuel filter. Mine is held by a springy clamp. There is a lip on the fuel filter that fits into one of the two oval openings in the clamp.

 

Yeah, I couldn't tell in those small pictures.

Mine is similar, except the clamp is about as large as the body of the filter, and then it also splits down the middle (parallel to the ground) to the inside of the truck. The split is too small to pull the filter through though. I think I would have to have both lines removed, then spred it open enough to get past those little openings the filter is held in by.

Also, I have that same metal line going on front of my filter, but it is clamped to the filter bracket, and that other flexible one is as well.


Does anybody know what that hard line is?

 

get the plastic tool they pop in perfectly and the filter will come right off.

do you have an expedition by chance? those look like rear heater lines

 

I am thinking I might have better luck with those little plastic ones.

I can just get my pointer finger and middle finger, and use them to pull on it...I can probably get a better angle on it this way and more force.

I have an F-150 with the same line. I thought maybe it was heater line as well, but I can't see a reason it would need to run to the rear like that...