I took my truck in for its second service this morning. I was told I should change my air filter, cabin air filter and fuel filter for the low price of almost $300. I said thanks but no thanks. I looked in the manual and it says 20K miles for the air filter and 30K for the fuel. I'm at 18K right now. So I can see the air filter probably needing it soon but not the fuel. The service writer said they recommend changing the fuel filter every 15K miles. My thoughts were of course you do. Anyway, if there is no indication of a problem I see no reason to change it until the recommended interval.

I'm a bit confused about the air filter as it appears there are 2 part numbers. I looked in the manual for the air filter part number and it shows FA-1926 for the air filter and FA-1927 for a foam pre-filter. I haven't looked under the hood but is there 2 different air filters?

For the fuel filter I see it is an FG-1147. I think that is the engine mounted one. The book talks about a frame mounted (near the fuel tank) filter also but I didn't see a part number for it. Should they both be changed at the same time? Anyone have a part number?

How often should the cabin filter be changed?

I did do a search for this topic and I'm sure it has come up before but I didn't find anything specific to my questions. Thanks.

 

Fuel filters (Engine bay and frame rail) is two filters and heavy service is every 3 oil changes or 15,000 so miles yes.

Cabin filter is every oil change "if dirty' if you drive in dusty smoky conditions, that can be quite frequent.

Engine air filter, about every 2 - 3 oil changes, depending on dusty conditions. There is also an air minder that measures restriction, if this is set off, then it should be changed.

By all your filters online at for example Diesel Filters on line and do it yourself for significant savings.

Alternatively, I am on a maintenance package, I am getting lots of extra cabin air filters, engine air filters, wiper blades, as and when needed.

 

 

Prices on the air filters and fuel filters from Ford are real high. I've been having the dealer do my oil changes every 5 to 6K miles. Had the fuel filters changed at 15K miles while in for the oil change. Bought a Ford air filter and changed it myself...dealer wanted over 90 bucks for an air filter. Found one at another dealer for 82 bucks. Good thing is my dealer charges 99 dollars for oil and filter changes. I've been using 15W-40 Motorcraft...live in the south and tow a 16.5K pound 5th wheel.

 

Change the fuel filters 25 to 30k and the air filter when the minder tells you it's restricted. Let them do their job and save some money. While I'm at it oil is fine at 10k as well.

 

Thanks for the help. I got the air and cabin air filters ordered. Having a little issue with the fuel filter(s). My manual says it is FG-1147 but when I put that as a search on Amazon it comes up FD-4525. Anyone know which is correct?

 

2017 + gets this one
Fuel filter kit

 

20k for cabin air
30k for fuel
45k for air foam (one piece with paper filter-earlier if the DP tell tale shows it needs it)

In case of emergency, read your manual.

 

2017 filter # updated to FD4526. Both filters in 1 package.

 

Read the manual and know the mileage recommendations. My manual was printed with some old numbers so had me a little confused. Thanks for the help. All is good now and I saved about $180 doing it myself.

 

OP - if your dealership recommended all of which you stated, then you should find a new dealership. Your sig states 2017 and you stated second service so I can only assume on mileage - the part that makes me say stay away from the dealership is the air filter recommend more than anything else.

Oil and filter change - when vehicle indicates - generally will be between 7k-10k, around 300 engine hours.

Ford states fuel filters every other oil life minder requested oil change - this should be in the area of 600 hours. The frame fuel filter is huge, unless you have a contamination issue, you will find it will be no where near capacity, point being even 600 hours is generous.

Cabin air - I have found in experience that 20K is a good number. It is not the quickest and easiest to access so you will probably be inclined to change it when you go through the trouble to remove it - unless you live on a gravel road or haul in and out of a stone yard everyday, the cabin air is large enough to accommodate 20K.

Air filter - the three biggest misconceptions on air filters are: it is okay to open and inspect it, you can tell if it is plugged by how dirty it looks and should change it when it looks "dirty", the little doo-hickey hanging off the side of the air box affectionately known as your air filter restriction gauge does not work because it never moves. The best thing you can do for your air filter is to not touch it - open it to inspect it provides opportunity for dirt contamination and breaks the seal between the air filter and housing. Cellulose air filters have a very high initial efficiency which only gets even higher as it loads with dirt. That is a good thing - changing the filter prematurely keeps you in the initial efficiency range only. As for the minder - that is the one and only reason you should ever open the box and change the filter - when it states to. That minder will indicate filter change at 20" or 25" of restriction - whatever Ford chose to select.
Your new air filter creates 1" at most, most likely closer to .5" The gauge does not look like its working because it is! The filter outflows the engine air requirements - the filter has to be relatively full before restriction starts to climb. Once the filter reaches near end of life, restriction climbs relatively quickly.

For the 6.7L, the manual states you should inspect the filter minder - it does not specify mileage replacement interval or to visually inspect the element.

You will have no effect on performance or fuel consumption up to around 20" of restriction on a turbo charged diesel engine even up to full load conditions which is when the greatest air volume is drawn - below those conditions, you draw less air volume. The industry standard is to replace at 25" of restriction at the filter. Restriction is based on the amount of surface area of the filter PLUS the air flow. Hence why it takes so long. For most owners, you will not see an air filter change request until you are in the area of 100K. Quick lube and dealerships places all over the country will fight you on this but the real truth is that changing your air filter early provides no benefit, waste Your money and can in fact be detrimental.
For those who are interested, Fleetguard, Donaldson, Cummins and many others have PDF files online which you can quickly find regarding air filter best practices.

**Also - if you have the newer style air filter which you should being a 2017 (air filter housing is in the back next to the firewall verse the front next to the radiator, the foam piece is integrated into the air filter and is serviced as one assembly. The two piece paper with replaceable foam insert applied to 2011-2016 6.7's.

 

Bernie, good info. My book was evidently printed with the info for the 11 to 16's. My air housing is close to the firewall on the passenger side. The dealer opened up both the engine and cabin air filters, took pictures and showed me how dirty they were, and they are kind of grungy. I don't live on a dirt road and it is parked inside. I have 18,700 miles on it so the oil change message is coming at about 9k miles. I do use it some for running around but mostly it's job is towing our fifth wheel and being our run around vehicle once we reach our destination. Probably half the miles were accumulated during our trips.

I will probably not be using the dealer again and try to find a local shop that can do the oil and filter. I had 2 leaking valve stem/sensors and the recall on the engine block heater so it was convenient to have it all done at once. The cabin and air filters will be here tomorrow and the fuel next week. May not be necessary to change anything right now but I will do it before our travel season starts. My engine has 533 hours.

 

My F-350 is on the severe service schedule due to the amount of towing I do. Oil changes happen around 5,000 miles. The Intelligent Oil Life Monitor prompted me for an oil change slightly before the 5K interval. I changed the engine air filter shortly after about 10,000 miles. It looked pretty nasty to me but others here said it wasn't bad. There were a lot of forest fires last summer and I do hit a few dusty, dirt roads. Those conditions prompted me to change the engine air filter. I have cabin air filters waiting to go in. The fuel filters will be changed when I do the next oil change at 15,000 miles.

Your mileage may vary. If you don't tow then all your intervals will be longer than mine.

 

Your welcome - hope it helps. To each is their own and I am certainly not trying to tell anyone what to do with their truck but the fact that the dealership took it upon themselves to remove your air filter and send you pics just shows they do not know what they are doing. Ford put the minder on there for a reason - 1) to avoid opening the air box 2) they know visual is not an accurate indicator 3) to prevent problems from operating on a filter with too much restriction.

Two additional points to consider for those who chose the visual inspection route - air filters have depth, a lot of it actually and when you look at your filter, you are only seeing the very upper top surface. Also, dirt comes in many different colors which is why the 'black dirt' means nothing. For example, an air filter from a piece of equipment operating in a stone yard all day may be lightly discolored when it reaches full restriction so the visual aspect can work the opposite way as well.
Some of you probably think I am getting a little too into the air filter thing but I have seen (numerous times) vehicles come in with damaged air boxes, broken clips, air filter seal torn etc from other places removing the air filter 'every oil change.' The most recent vehicle I had was a '17 Chevrolet Suburban with less than 30K on it and the air filter box was cracked from the screws being over tightened. This in turn caused the lid to not be secure and allowed dirt to be sucked in around the loose air filter. There is no reason for that but the plastic holes the screws go into were already worn! That air filter would have easily last to 100K before being at full restriction. I have oil analysis reports from customers of mine that shows what happens when dirt gets sucked in past the air filter. It happens and I have seen it enough - your truck cost too much for something silly like that. True our design is pretty service friendly but why chance it and the more you open it up, the higher probability from an issue.