The plastic disconnect tools worked alright for me but the metal works far better. The tool HAS to be inserted all the way or your just wasting time, twist back and forth while inserting it, sometimes there is a little bit of dirt in there and the twisting will break some of it loose.

 

I am using the metal tool (scissors-looking thing). No dice, tried squirting some lubricant in there, again no dice.

Fitting that won't come off has a smaller OUTSIDE diameter than the one that did come off. Might mean that the INSIDE diameter is just a touch too small for my tool. I'm going to take a photo, hook it all back up, need the driveway now.

(Insert very very very Bad Words here)

 

Just to levelset here. The rear connection (IE faces the rear of the truck) does not need any special tools. Just pop the white plastic tab up and pull it up. The fron one needs the smaller of the two sizes on the $5 tool from Autozone. I just closed it on, pusehed it in , pushed the connector in some and then pulled it off. Took me all of 5mins to change the filter.

 

valgard, push the fuel line in towards the filter as you push the tool into the line.
Doing that you should be able to get the tool in far enough to release the "fingers".
Then pull the line and the tool away from the filter at the same time.

 

You may have a different model truck or filter or something, there's no white plastic tab anywhere. Held on with metal clips (no problem to remove) and then those push fittings which most definitely require a special tool to remove.

I was indeed using the smaller (5/16" I think) fitting on the Ford disconnect tool that I bought at Autozone, no dice. I'm pretty sure that either the tool is a tiny bit imperfect or the reluctant fitting is, since if I use one half of the tool it slides right in (about 1/2 or 1/4 inch), whereas using the tool as intended it barely goes in at all.

Racerguy - yeah, that's exactly what I was doing. Like I said it worked fine on the first fitting, just not on the second one. I took some photos of the two different fittings which I'll try and post when I get home. I also stopped in at the local Kragen and picked up a set of the plastic release tools - the 5/16" one has a slightly smaller outside diameter than my metal disconnect tool, hopefully that'll fit.

Thanks everyone for the suggestions, I'll get the thing off this week. Truck didn't burst into flames when I moved it so that's good :-)

And if I can rant a tiny bit, what genius at Ford put two slightly different fittings on those fuel filter hoses? Is there any conceivable reason other than perhaps saving a nickel on the cost of the truck? The time I spent and the crick in my neck weren't worth it.

 

If i'm not mistaken the front one has a check-valve in it. Thats why it's different.

 

Yes, they are a pain in the neck (literally!), and yes, they can be a royal pain in
another part of the anatomy! I found spraying some lube around & inside the fitting
itself helped me (not in the filter or lines, of course). Regular ol' wd40, some coffee,
and ALOT of patience, as mine took all of 6 attempts over 3 days time. Something
about the planets lining up just so, holding your tongue a certain way...
Good luck.

 

YES!!! THIS DID HELP!
It popped right off once i understood how the tool worked!

 

I just wanted to say thanks here too, this thread helped me alot! I was told the filter is really easy to access and get off. So today I bought a new one and went under the truck. The metal clips were easy to get off, and I thought that was all I had to do. I spent a half hour trying to pry the fuel lines off! Finally after I swore enough I came in and jumped on FTE. I dont know what I would do without FTE!

 

As promised, update to my stubborn fuel filter removal situation. First time I've had to get under there since a few weeks ago.

Getting the little plastic disconnect tool did the trick. I compared it with the metal tool and the plastic one is very regular (not out of round) and has a slightly smaller outside diameter than the metal tool. I had to buy a set of them (varying diameters) for $12 at Kragen. Well worth the time and frustration saved.

Got back under the truck and did the stubborn hose first, took a minute of wiggling and then zip, off it popped. Removed the other hose and then had the fun task of getting the filter out of that metal clamp. I didn't want to bang on it with anything steel given the gasoline that splashed around and dripped from the filter (one spark will ruin your whole day), eventually pried that spring clamp open using a dowel and bit of aluminum channel I had sitting around. New filter snapped into place, hooked it all back up and truck started up just fine.

Old filter was a real hassle to remove but I think this was due to a couple of things:

1. I think it's the original filter (93k miles on it) and the clamp had actually dented the filter body and there was a bit of grit and rust in there.

2. I was going slowly (for all I know a Ford mechanic just knocks it out with a crowbar) - the filter is fairly easy to slide around in the clamp by pushing it "forward" (towards the engine) once you clear that little lip, however due to some other hoses being fixed into place in that direction, you can't actually get the filter out that way. Trying to move it back the other direction (towards the rear of the truck) was a pain because I was fighting that clip and lip the whole way.

For anyone who is doing this the first time what I wound up doing was prying the clip open a little and sliding the filter forward (as mentioned above). This opened up some room to get a dowel into the clip and use it as a lever to help pry it open while rotating the filter body out (just roll it towards you, it will slip out from underneath the top part of the clip).

I used a little spray lube to get some of the crap out of the clip, then the new filter was easy to install, it pushed right into place with a little effort.

Thanks for all the advice everyone!

 

Clean it out with some compressed air...all kinds of road grime gets in there. Also be carefull since it may still be pressurized! Only way to release is with a disconnect tool.

 

Just thought I would mention when I did my fuel filter I bought the anodized aluminum tool at Advanced Auto and it worked very well. It was more pricey (around $10 if I remember) but it was defanetly precision made compared to the cheap looking sicsor type, and I usually shy away from plastic tools myself. Its only like 2"-3" long so its really easy to get through all the other stuff thats in the way under the truck, and easily stores in the glovebox. My truck has a bit under 110,000 miles and the original filter had never been taken off. With that tool, it was a snap, even though I go off roading often and drive where roads are made of salt in the winter, maybe I was just lucky there wasnt any grime in the fittitngs.

I give the aluminum Advanced Auto tool a thumbs up

 

OK, I just read this thread and printed it off. I had to take my truck in to get its 3rd COP replaced and they said I am due for a new fuel filter, air filter and oil change. I can manage the air filter and oil change so I rushed to FTE to see if I was capable of a DIY job for the Fuel filter. Wish me luck, I will pick up this special disconnect tool on my way home from work along with a new Fuel filter and tackle this sometime this weekend. Thanks

OohRah!!!