I seriously wonder what the heck the engineers were thinking. Was that really the only spot it would fit in? The lid for the filter housing and the filter itself both barely clear the drive shaft, not to mention that you can't really even get the damn thing on and off without using a special giant metric socket with a 3/8 drive and still barely get one click on a ratchet at a time at that. It's a task I dread every other oil change.

 

I use a long extension to reach from behind the crossmember, but I'm 2wd (for now), not sure if 4wd it'd help.

 

My truck is 4wd with the optional skid plates, which are difficult to remove and totally in the way. Maybe that's part of the problem.

 

How many tooth count does your ratchet have? Lots of companies sell a 100+ tooth ratchet, they are awesome for tight places.

 

I actually have a 3/8 drive toothless ratchet that helps, but there just isn't much space to swing the handle. This time around, I used one from Lowes where you can twist the handle to turn the ratchet and it worked great to preload the ratchet so each pump of the handle was productive. When it gets loose enough I have a 3/8 cordless ratchet that doesn't have much power to break things free but works in tight spaces.

 

*Billy Clinton voice*
I feel your pain brother

I picked up one of those aluminum sockets for it that I'll try next time, it'll help a bit but won't do anything about the "just barely fits" factor.

 

It helps to park on a curb, wear grubby clothes to leave outside after the diesel drips on you and your clothes

 

It is a really dumb spot to locate the filter.
After lots of swearing I finally tried taking out the 4 boilts that hold the front drive shaft. Lower the shaft and........lots more room to work. It doesnt add much time to the job either.
Still a crappy location.

 

Yeah I've tried jacking up the frame to get the front axle to droop. Gives you more room above to remove filter but less below to loosen it....

Theres no good way. Dropping the shaft would work but like I said, I've got a skid plate in the way. Removing it is way too much work for a filter change!
​​​​​​Always mark your shaft so it goes back on the same way to prevent vibrations.

 

So much easier with a gas engine. What a pain to have to go through for a simple filter change.

 

Yeah on a gasser it would be ok for it to be difficult to access, as fuel filter changes typically only occur once or twice within the truck's life cycle. But on a diesel where it's a 10k maintenance interval (as well as something that can potentially leave you stranded on the side of the road if plugged) it's baffling they would make maintenance so hard.

 

The engineer who picked that spot, obviously never changed a fuel filter. Ford probably never had much feed back on that design

 

Yep it is a pain in the butt! I usually use a few long extensions and always forget how I get the cap out of there. I have figured oout that first take filter off under the hood then open drain plug and give it a while to drain then go after the filter on the frame rail. Still get fuel leaking but not as much. I haven't figured a easy way to do this.

 

I replaced the factory drain hcfm plug (water in fuel plug) with the knurled brass International version and I pull it first and let it all drain out and leave the plug out while I pull the lid. This keeps fuel spillage to a minimum. I also wear rubber gloves and a sweater I feel like throwing away. Diesel smell is nearly impossible to get out completely when you really soak something in it!

 

The knurled brass Cornbinder plug does make a difference. If you don't have it, get it.