What a joke. You can't get a band wrench up there, as that requires 2 hands. My strap wrench wouldn't fit. The strap was about 1/8" thick, and that was too thick to clear the rad hose.
So, I borrowed a steel strap wrench, and that got the little, bitty filter that the previous owner had installed off.
Then I installed a Baldwin filter. I'd bought a few of them. It was a decent sized filter for the application. I got it on, but the diameter was a bit too large to suit me. It might chafe the lower rad hose.
I think that what I'll do is to install a smaller diameter filter and no longer change my own oil.
How do the rest of you folks deal with this situation?
Thanks.

 

It is very easy. A ratchet, 10" extension, and a cup style wrench that fits over the end of the filter. Get to it from the front underneath. There is plenty of room to get the wrench and then your hand in to remove the filter.

 

Tried that. The local auto parts store didn't have any "cup style wrenches" that would fit the Ford filter. The Ford style is kind of got notches on it. Not a Hex or octaganol that would fit a cup style.

 

Hmm, odd. There are cup wrenches that fit all standard filters.
hex or octagonal??

Just a regular cup wrench buddy. Id stick with oem specs on the filter.

 

Got mine at Walmart. And they do have them that fit the "dimpled" bottom edge.

 

Ford OED P/N FL-820S is neither hex or octagonal..

 

Got my cap wrench at Autozone. I believe it was the "A" style? Also looks like Lisle #54800 is a perfect fit.

 

My truck is a 2002 and this may not apply to the newer models but I've found that if I turn my steering wheel all the way to the left it gets the steering knuckle out of the way and it is much easier to get to the filter.

 

works fine for me. Sometimes you need to tap the fan blade to move it out of the way of the handle.

 

Use a K&N oil filter. It has a standard hex nut on the end of the case. It's a very high quality filter with the same guts as a Mobil 1 filter.

 

I've currently got a long, fairly large diameter Baldwin filter on the truck. I can barely get a strap wrench between the lower rad hose and the filter.
I'm a bit worried about chafing the raditator hose when the engine moves on it's mounts.
Has anyone ever had a problem like that? Maybe I'm a bit paranoid.

 

This is what I use.. a long extension and a ratchet and you're set. It's really easy and its only 23 bucks!

http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item....e=snapon-store

 

due to the quirks of the 5.4 3v i have never ran anything but motorcraft oil and filters in my truck. never had a problem getting one of the motorcraft filters off. then again i never put them on that tight. a lot of people over tighten filters. i bought a car and ended up cutting a filter off the first time i changed the oil. hand tight and a quarter turn does the trick. and with truck being up that high its not too hard to poke your head under there after the first drive to make sure its not leaking if youre worried about not getting it tight enough.

 

yep that what I use too^^^

i would look for one that has longer fingers, the one I got is kinda short, & I usually need to give a couple of blows to the end of the filter so the fingers can reach the filter better. I figure I'm changing the filter anyway. Hand tight is plenty for going on with the new one