So I've bought this truck about 6 months back and have "enjoyed" working on it. 184K miles on it but cosmetically very nice. Ended up having to replace both CVA axles, both upper ball joints, and done some work on the driver's door (lock bar was bent and then the handle broke off). There was a little oil leak a couple months back and now it's gotten a bit bigger. Some of the sights I've been too mentioned the oil filter housing adapter gasket but when I went to work on it, I noticed that what I was looking at and what the videos were showing were two completely different views. I'm not 100% sure this is the problem but I'm not sure where to go from here. Any help?

 

The oil filter adapter gasket is directly behind the power steering pump.
It is also the lower radiator hose fitting. That part does 2 things. The gasket shows 2 round holes for the oil in/out, 1 largest hole for the coolant, the other 4 smaller holes are for bolts/studs.

 

I did mine earlier this year and it was much easier than I expected, and I took the extra time and replaced the lower radiator hose too. Take it to a spray and wash to clean the oil filter area around the leak and the undercarriage. There are a few good detailed videos on Youtube that helped me. I have a 2 wheel drive, I don't know if extra work or tighter working areas are on the 4X4.

 

I did purchase this gasket as I believe this is the most likely culprit. However, I'm having a hard time figuring out how get to it (or where it is precisely) since the front differential on the 4WD is where I thought it should be.

 

I'm wondering if I should start looking at tutorials for F-150s since the Expedition ones seem to focus on 2WD and not 4WD.

 

Use a strong but narrow 6 sided socket, extensions, universal joints, and a breaker bar for disassembly. The breaker bar or large ratchet will help with the bolts since you need to use extentions. Torque to spec on re-assy.

Mine is still bone dry, we dealt with that leak way too long.

 

Here is a picture that shows where the oil filter adapter and its gasket mounts.



Here is a dirty one

detail of oil filter adapter location Ford modular gasoline engine. The bolt holes to the left are for the power steering pump. There may be any assortment of bolts or studs & nuts holding this on depending on specific configuration of vehicle options. The studs have a hex on the end for easy removal.

Here is a basic oil filter adapter without oil cooler


Oil filter adapter without oil cooler. Also shown is a light duty style motor mount for an F150 or Expedition. Note the power steering pump bolt holes forward (left in picture) of the oil filter adapter. When installed in the vehicle, the power steering pump obscures the view of the oil filter adapter gasket location.

The picture below is on a V10 van but it will be similar for all modular gasoline truck engines. Left side of the picture is the front of the engine.

Oil cooler assembly with labelled parts from a 1998 E350 V10 van. Other Triton engines will be similar. The Super Duty motor mount base is wider where it bolts to the engine. For the SD, it's "one freeze plug" wider on the bottom of the motor mount bracket.

You will probably want to start with unbolting the power steering pump from the block and moving it as far as possible out of the way. On a 4X4 you may need to completely remove it from the vehicle to change the oil filter adapter gasket.