oil filter removal
oil filter removal
Freshman User
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 26
Likes: 0
The factory filter is a PITA to get loose. My suggestion would be to get an end cap type filter wrench and increase the pressure on your ratchet very slow and smooth until the filter breaks free. This approach always seems to work better for me than giving it the old "He-Man" yank. I also ended up removing the factory oil spill funnel to get a better angle on it the first time. The second oil change was a breeze! Good luck. Look at it this way, once you get that factory filter off, all the rest will be easy!
Senior User
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 185
Likes: 0
From: Vancouver, WA
I had to go buy a special filter wrench just for my first oil change. It's not the standard filter wrench, but on that fits onto a ratchet. It looks like a three fingered claw and tightens up as you turn it on the filter. Works great. I put a 12" extension on it so I can get the filter off from the front.
Senior User
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 344
Likes: 0
I tried everyway I could think of to try to get the first filter off without naving to buy a filter wrench for it. No luck. It's in an awkward place to begin with and its on there tighter than koody brown. Just buy the wrench for a couple of bucks
Freshman User
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 26
Likes: 0
I had to use a breaker bar and about 1 hour of swearing at it. I would try the socket type of filter wrench. I tried the claw style but no luck. I would take it to the dealer for the 1st oil change if i had to do it again.
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Senior User
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 192
Likes: 0
From: Austin, Texas
I guess I was just lucky. Before my first change, I bought a metal end-cap style wrench at Auto Zone made specifically for the FL-820s. It fits the splines/flutes of the filter perfectly and makes removal very easy. As others have noted, the end-cap wrench I'm referring to uses a 3/8" drive extension and ratchet.
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Senior User
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 204
Likes: 0
From: Merrimack, NH
This might be a bit messy and I'm not sure if there's room on the F150, but back in the day if I couldn't get an oil filter off, I'd take a long screwdriver and stab it right through the filter. Instant handle!
Senior User
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 282
Likes: 0
Originally Posted by jdmclemore
This might be a bit messy and I'm not sure if there's room on the F150, but back in the day if I couldn't get an oil filter off, I'd take a long screwdriver and stab it right through the filter. Instant handle!
T
Senior User
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 192
Likes: 0
From: Austin, Texas
While I have stabbed the side of a filter or two myself, I am also a fan of using a big 'ol pair o' Channellocks. Unfortunately, there isn't much room in the F-150 for either of these alternative methods so I bought the end-cap wrench.