i wanted to share a 'How-to' on repairing the fuel door spring on the 09-13 F150. this was done on my 2010 FX2.

today as i finished filling up i noticed the fuel door did not spring back into place. it would not properly close and i could not diagnose the issue on the spot. luckily i was close to home and could do a little more research on what may be broken and or what i need to fix, order, or take to dealer.




Step 1: open fuel door and remove the Easy Fuel trim ring from the fuel filler neck. it should pop on and off easily.

Step 2 (optional): cover filler opening with small cloth, paper towel, etc to keep from dropping any foreign objects into filler neck.

Step 3: remove the 3 8mm bolts surrounding filler neck.


top view of housing and tab placement


bottom view of housing and tab placement

Step 4: reach up under fender and behind fuel door housing assembly and feel for 4 friction snap tabs. you'll need to pinch in the top and bottom tabs on the side opposite the hinge (back side of truck) and push to pop out the entire housing. it took me a few times of working all 4 to work it out of the lip of the fender to where it was free. you'll eventually slide it out in a hooking motion bringing the rear facing side out 1st.


proper spring connector placement with door closed


proper spring connector placement with door open

Step 5: investigate the spring and the connectors. here's where i caught a break. i have read that some of these points break off, where as mine had worked itself out of index. the hinge axle connector felt like it was sleeved over the axle pin and was not indexed or pressed into proper alignment. i released the spring off the housing side felt the action of the door hinge to the connector and simply pressed the hinge connector back down into place. insert the spring into the hinge axle side first, then snap the spring into the housing side (spring will have full tension on it). test door open/close functionality to ensure everything is working properly before re-installing.


photo shows hinge connector pressed down into place. before this photo it was about 1/2" taller and would not grab the hinge axle so no spring tension was on the door to keep it closed

Step 6 (optional): while i had everything out i cleaned the rubber seals and wiped off some of the dust and grime buildup on both the housing and fender indention where the housing sits.

Step 7: re-insert entire assembly hinge side first and wiggle pinch tabs into position.

Step 8: re-bolt the 3 8mm bolts to the fuel filler neck.

Step 9: snap the Easy Fuel ring back to the fuel filler neck.

Step 10: remove the optional (Step 2) cover from the fuel filler opening.


you're now finished ready to roll!


the internet is a great tool and forums like F150online, it's users and contributors, made my day. i had read a few posts about similar issues with the older models, yet i never had an issue with my '05 STX. today the '10 FX2 needed a simple fix. thanks to DarrenWS6 and Frisco_F150 for their original thread which gave me the inspiration for my thread.

if your assembly is broken you may choose order parts and do the install yourself. it took about 10 minutes total.

 

Had the same problem a while ago ... https://www.f150online.com/forums/20...-resolved.html

Easy fix now ...

 

I changed mine yesterday, quick 10 minute fix. thanks for the directions

 

Thank you for this post! Your procedure is excellent. I fixed mine this morning. I had the same issue you did. The plastic hinge pin had popped up. - Thank You

 

i had that happen to me a few months ago. mine was still under warranty so they just gave me a whole new fuel door. if it breaks again now i'll know how to fix it myself since its out of warranty now. thanks

 

I haven't had this issue, but nice write up and s/b pinned in the "How To" forum!

 

I searched this but did not find it:

Does anyone make a locking housing?
Not a stick on overlay but a locking ring?

I had one on my F250 but have not seen one for the F150.

Thanks

 

My 2010 FX2 did the exact same thing, and with your help, I fixed it in less than 30 minutes. Thanks for the post!

 

Wow, thank you so much for posting this thread. I had already bought the new housing ($61.00) and deciding to try the fix before replacing it...now I can take the part back and saved some $$... it also only took me about 30 min.

 

Does anyone know where to buy a replacement spring for a 2010 F-150? I am being told by Ford that I have to buy a new housing for $63+ as that is the only way to get the spring. Any help will be greatly appreciated. I called O'Reily Auto Parts and checked Home Depo and they didn't have anything. I would hate to spend so much money just b/c the very end of the spring broke off.

Great post. It only took me 15 minutes to take everything apart and I have never done anything like this before.

 

Step 11: Shut the fuel door.

That was one solid piece of technical writing accompanied by effective pictures. Nice work! Boeing could use you.

Hope I don't have to do this fix, however.

 

Thanks for the write up!

I just did this in the parking lot at work.

Wish I would of investigated sooner, I've been using a piece of electrical tape for
the past 6 MONTHS!!!

 

Thank you for the great instructions and pictures. I just had to fix my fuel door.

 

Damn. & to think I would pay the dealer 200 to replace the housing. Your post saved me $. Thanks for taking time to post the directions. Much appreciated!

 

Thanks for the write up. In my desire to only take this apart one time I decided on a mod to hopefully eliminate the need to do this again in the future. I drilled a small hole into the bottom of the hinge pin (bottom, opposite end from the spring). I used a small screw and washer to limit the amount of travel the hinge pin can move.
https://www.f150online.com/forums/me...or-removed.gif
https://www.f150online.com/forums/me...-installed.gif
https://www.f150online.com/forums/me...ottom-view.gif
https://www.f150online.com/forums/me...-hinge-pin.gif
https://www.f150online.com/forums/me...fix-view-2.gif
https://www.f150online.com/forums/me...fix-view-1.gif
https://www.f150online.com/forums/me...ottom-view.gif

Maybe this will help someone.