I have a change coing up soon. i have 41,000 and I change every 15,000 miles.

 

thanks txf150 for the pictures and decription on this thread i changed mine in about 3 minutes and didnt break the blue clip...... there sure was some nasty gas in there

 

I just replaced mine at almost 20,000 miles. I think I will start around 15,000 from now on. I didn't try to blow through it but there was a lot of brownish gas with sediment coming from the backside of the filter. I haven't ran a whole tank of gas yet so I don't know if my mpg was suffering because of it or not. I would definately reccommend changing this filter at least every 20k instead of the 30k like for suggests.

I also got the filter removal tool from OReilly auto and opted for the WIX filter instead of the MC.

 

It's on your truck!

Hmmm... it's on the driverside frame rail about middle of the truck... close to being inline with where the Driverside door shuts... It's in a little plasticholder that you have to rotate it out of... Ya cant miss it... Buy the new filter, see what it looks like and crawl under the truck... you'll spot it!

 

So the Ford tool is the one pictured on the bottom, correct? They don't have the brightest folks working at the parts stores these days, so I figured I'd like to know what it looks like before I make extra trips for nothing.

The Motorcraft fuel filter is part # FG-986-B, correct?

I have about 21k on mine and figured I'd change it soon.

 

Hrmmm, my blue clip is not directly on the filter like in your pics. There's another 6" hose that is on the filter with another type of clip on it.

:edit: I was able to use the same tool on both ends, and didn't need to mess with the blue clip.

 

Yup, and they had it at Advance. Paid $7.xx for it. Had to look up an '05 though. The flex fuel trucks have a different filter, but mine is an early '06 without it.

 

Hey Fellas,

So I'm going to do this during the weekend. What do I need the Ford silver tool for?

The explanation on page 1 tells me how to remove the side with the blue clip. But what about the other end? I'm assuming you need to remove the filter from that end too.

Also, when you remove the second end, is that when you need to have kinked the fuel line to prevent gas from pouring out?

Thanks,

Duke

 

The Filter tool goes over the fuel filter like this, and slides into the hose end on the truck like this:



The ford tool works like this:



Also there is no need to kink the fuel line at all.. The silver fuel removal tool can be found at autozone or pep boys..

 

Great diagrams!

Just to verify, the Ford tool goes between the blue clip thing in the most recent picture and the silver hose like connection. Then I just push the entire Ford tool away from the fuel filter in order to get the tube off the fuel filter?

Thanks again, sorry for the 100 seemingly ignorant questions.

Duke

 

Anyone else note that the '06 (non-flex) filter is held in place by a different setup than the 04-05? Surely, I'm not the only '06 owner to do this? I did it at 19,050 miles. Didn't need to mess with the blue clip, and used the tool for both sides The rear end had an orange clip in the fitting. Also had to bend a metal clip on the mounting bracket to slide the filter out. The factory must bolt in the filter already in the bracket.

I should have taken pics...

Also , what do you all do to relieve the fuel line pressure? I just loosened the fuel cap, and all was well. (I did wear safety goggles just in case because I've done the whole "gas-in-the-eyes" thing before, and I'm over it). I changed the oil just before doing the fuel filter, so it had set for about 30 minutes by the time I freed the fuel filter.

 

Just called. Dealership wants $77 to change a fuel filter. Looks like I'll do it myself. My truck has 38,000 miles. My guess is that it's long overdue.

 

The blue thing in this picture is a different type of ford tool, so if you buy the other kind of tool, it would go just like the blue tool..

 

Oh I see now. I thought the blue thing was actually part of the fuel filter setup in this picture. Now it's making more sense for this end of the picture.

Things I need to get:

1. Silver ford fuel filter tool
2. Motorcraft fuel filter
3. Remember to take off the gas cap

 

New to the forums. Been reading post here for a while. Changed filter tonight at 30k miles. Bought filter wrench at Advance. Only other tool I used was a fine pair of hemostats. Used hemostats on blue pin connection that joins line from tank to filter. Clamped both ends of the little pin and pulled. Popped right up, no problemo. I had a clamp on the other side, from the filter to the motor. I released it by hand and pulled the clamp out of the way, back toward the line. Put on wrench, pushed toward the line and out she came. The only thing difficult(and it wasn't really hard to do) is push out the old filter. Mine is held in place by a bracket that clamps around it and to the frame. Just for future reference for anyone who hasn't changed the filter themselves: The filter will not slide out horizontally. You have to push it up and out of the clamp. If it dimples the side a little, even on the new one you put in, it's OK. Make sure before you put the new one in that you line it up correctly. There a little piece on the front of the bracket that keeps the filter from sliding forward. Make sure the front of you filter is behind that piece sticking up or it will not seat correctly. Then you'll have to push it out again and adjust it. Once replaced, lines connected back easily.
I cut the filter open with a hacksaw and I think b/n 20-30k is a good time to change it. Mine was beginning to stain but didn't look horrible. I plan to do mine again at 60k. Thanks again for the post concerning this simple, do-it-yourself maintenance.