Getting ready to service my RV for the first time, and have been doing some research on the 6.0L diesel. I've had many Fords, but never a diesel. Most of the online DIY data is for trucks, where the oil filter is out there in the open. Looking at the oil filter in the tight engine bay, it doesn't even look like there's enough room to pull the filter out of the housing without hitting the cowling of the van. It's gotta be possible, but if there are some tricks or advice on accomplishing this (without bloodletting) I would appreciate the help.

 

The oil filter on a 6.0L E-Series is in the basement. Crawl under there with your 36mm socket and ratchet to remove and install. By the way, you better have some rags handy since it's going to get messy as soon as you loosen the cap.

 

Thanks, m-chan68. So what's the doohicky on the top of the engine then? It looks like it has a 36mm nut on its lid too. I never thought the E-series engine would have such a big difference from the F-series.

I'm not too worried about getting the concrete under the RV oily. My old '82 E-350 RV had such a leaky C-6 tranny that the driveway is a lost cause. Never thought I'd miss the old boat, but working on the 460 in it was a breeze compared to this. Tight! No wonder you hate working on them.

 

That would be the secondary fuel filter. And it's a 24mm hex size for that cap. You also have the primary fuel filter on the framerail as well.

What you have to consider, is a non-turbocharged, carbureted, plain jane 16 valve, cam in block V8 gasoline fueled engine will not take up as much space as what you now have in similar confines. Also, the re-usable gasket technology of today's powerplants would likely easily resolve your leaky C6 transmission's cheesy cork gasket.

Yeah I hate working on them, but won't refuse to work on them if it's for the right money. If you think this is bad, try changing out a set of injector(s) on the passenger side bank of cylinders.

 

That old C-6 was a fairly happy unit - I just never could get the o-ring for the dipstick seated right. Not that that was the only place it leaked.......

Thanks again for the reply. Loved your take on what oil to use in the 6.0L on another thread. This RV seems in great condition, but I have no idea what maintenance was done. For a 2007 rig, it has about 36,000 miles on it, which is on the high side for an RV but low for a truck.

 

Got the oil change done this weekend. I guess it didn't go so bad for a first time. Filled 'er up with Motorcraft 15W40.

Looking at the oil filter cap, it appears to have a metal cap inside the 36mm hex that with an allen wrench could be removed? Perhaps make things a little less messy when the big plastic housing is removed? It also might be the mount for the filter's prongs, so maybe not a good idea?

I didn't see anything resembling a check valve in the oil filter (usually on gas engine oil filters - looks like a silicone flap). Does the diesel not need something like this to get oil to the heads a bit faster?

The fuel filter on top is looking like a squirrelly bugger to get to. Looks like I have to move the wiring harness up out of the way to get to it, which means I have to remove some other stuff first.

 

yes the little meatal cap on the end can be removed to drain it. no the less it still makes a mess

 

For what it's worth, I use 10W30 diesel oil for all oil changes on these, 6.4L and 6.7L engines. Through the years that these engines have been in production, many of us techs have found 15W40 to be too thick a viscosity to use. Overall performance (especially at cold engine start up) have been found to be better, and therefore more recommended for these engines. You can also use 5W40 synthetic as well, if you don't mind paying extra. As far as the check valve, it's located on top of the oil filter adapter housing, ON TOP OF the engine oil cooler. It's just that on E-Series applications, where space is extremely restrictive, Ford devised a supply and return line system to relocate the the oil filter housing itself to the bottom of the engine.

Here is a good visual instructional aid to access and service the secondary fuel filter on E-Series applications:

DTS Articles - 6.0L Power Stroke E-Series Fuel Filter Removal

About the only part of the article I disagree with, is the last paragraph of the article where it instructs you to use a 1/2" square drive to remove the cap. I always use either a 24mm or 15/16" six point socket instead. The reason for this is because I've seen too many caps broken too many times by others who've used the square drive and over-torqued it during removal only to strip the cap, and thus needing to replace it afterwards.

 

Thanks for the replies. The link is very nice, and yes, I already bought the 24mm socket on your advice. The 36mm socket made it very easy to remove the oil filter housing. My torque wrench hardly broke a sweat going up to 19 ft-lbs on the reinstall. I flip-flopped on the oil viscosity choice, having read your post on the subject, m-chan68. Since this RV isn't going anywhere during the winter, I went with the Motorcraft 15W40.

Sorry for more noobie questions, but I have located both the upper and lower fuel filters. Is there also a filter in the fuel/water separator? It looks very similar to the other two housings, and the Ford manual isn't clear on this. Rooting around on RockAuto, I don't see a replacement filter # listed for it.

 

Yes there is a primary filter inside the fuel conditioning module. You will need to remove the plastic water separator drain first, before you can actually get a 25mm or 1" socket onto the hex fitting of the cap to remove it. And don't forget to disconnect the WIF sensor on the cap before doing so too. By the way, do not use anything other than the factory OEM fuel filters too, when servicing them. The part number from Ford for both filters in the kit is FD-4606.

 

So I'm going to have an extra secondary fuel filter after buying another FD-4606 (2 filters) to replace the FCM? The local Ford dealer charged me $66 for the first set, which seems a little steep.

So the 6.0L van gets 3 fuel filters, and the truck motor only gets 2?

25mm socket for the FCM, and 24mm for the other fuel filter housings? huh.

 

Okay I'm confused. You say Ford charged you $66 for the FIRST set. That set should come with two filters. Please explain how you would end up with an extra secondary fuel filter. Were you able to purchase one aftermarket one by itself?

Both the van, and the truck applications use two filters.

That is correct.

 

So if I had 3 fuel filter housings and only 2 filters in the FD-4606 box? That just don't seem right.

 

You don't. You have TWO fuel filter housings. One on top of the engine, which is the secondary fuel filter housing (the one the small filter in the kit goes). And you have the primary filter that goes inside the fuel conditioning module, where you have the fuel transfer pump, fuel heater and WIF sensor as well as the primary filter housed in one unit. I think you're confusing the external transmission fluid filter is what seems to be in question. There are TWO of those as well. You have the transmission pan filter (which requires pan removal to access) as well as the external filter that goes inside the aluminum cylindrical shaped canister where that also houses the fluid cooler bypass. Hope that clears it up.

 

Well yes, that clears up alot. Sorry for the noobie confusion.