HELP? factory oil filter is STUCK!!!
 

So I decided to change the oil in our 07 Expy for its first time today and the factory oil filter just won't budge... I've removed a factory filter before on my 02 f150 Supercrew, but it wasn't ANYTHING like this... Funny thing is I have 1 year of free oil changes at the dealership but the coupons haven't come in the mail yet and I'm taking a trip to the beach come this Monday; I couldn't wait. Funny thing #2 is that I went to a Walmart earlier for an oil change, but they told me the wait was 4.5 hours and it would cost $35+ to get motorcraft 5-20 oil. I thought "Shoot, for that price AND time, I could change my oil almost three times!" so I bought 7 quarts of oil with a filter to boot and headed home. Boy was I wrong (about the time, that is). 5 hours later, I'm only at step 2 of job 1...

Any suggestions? There isn't much room to work with so that's probably 90% of the problem. I've tried everything I could think of:

-my hand
-both of my hands w/ grippy gloves
-hands with rubber bands
-PB blaster on the threaded area
-a filter wrench
-screwdriver hammerd through (usually my last resort)
-my mocho man neighbor (the newer last resort)...

As a final last resort, I have a towtruck lined up to take the expy to the dealership/lube shop tomorrow when their service opens (AMEN for the free roadside assistance and towing!!!). Before then I still have time to tinker around and try to get this thing loose.

Again, I think the tight spaces make this just 10X harder. Has anyone removed the 07's factory filter before? Anything I can try that I didn't think of? If there's anything to be learned from this its: let the dealership change the oil the first time (and make sure they use quality oil). Thanks in advance for any input guys.

You'll need to try and get a large strap wrench of something around the base of the oil filter. Usually the oil filters are really cranked on there from the factory. IIRC our 2000 wasn't that bad.

If I got one of the strap-on ones you mention and only had like 3 degrees of movement do you think it'll be enough to loosen the filter it up? If I can find a ride later on, I'll give it a try and report back the results. Thanks for the suggestion.

You've got the greyish-whitish filter that has no markings on it, don't you? I've changed a few of these and some of them can be real tight. The trick is to get the proper wrench and use it at the base, like you now know. If you've already stuck the screwdrivers through it, you may need to peel the whole outside off and unscrew it by tapping on the holes in the base with a hammer and screwdriver.
Whatever you do, don't put the replacement on this tight!

yes, it's an evil white marking-less filter... Grrr. Getting the wrench to the base will be near impossible, but I'll try. The city buses run to my local autozone and I'll give it a try later tonight. I've got some things to do at home for the moment.

I'd suggest putting a screwdriver through each side of the bottom and attempting to turn them.

Past that...knock two slots parallel to each other with a good quarter inch of metal in the middle in the bottom of the filter, then grab it with pliers, vice grips, or a wrech. Not exactly pretty or clean...but any port in a storm.

RangerPilot: I could hammer through the end like you said, but I can't see it being any better than the first filter wrench I tried. It didn't slip while I was giving it all I had :(.

So I got the new filter wrench with the strap and "Webb Lock Design". Unfortunately it looks like the space is too tight to work this thing to its full potential. I wrestled with it for several minutes but no go. I'll give it another shot when I've got some daylight before finally throwing in the towel. Thanks for all the input guys. I'll take some pictures tomorrow of the filter's space if anyone's interested in how small it really is.

Yeah, I'd like to see what you're looking at under there.

When I did mine I saw there was no way to use a standard oil filter wrench so I was able to borrow this

http://www.sjdiscounttools.com/skt90220.html

Worked like a charm. I will need to buy a specific wrench to fit the FL820S for future changes.

My new filter wrench looks nothing like that so I'm no longer optimistic come daylight tomorrow.

x( This gets me thinking. Did Ford put the filter in such a strange location on purpose? Not only is it not level with the ground, it's actually angled all weird AND has lots of components suffocating it. There's plenty of room in that engine compartment so you can't say they had a space constraint. Even my ex-girlfriend's honda accord had more room to move around in.

Lets say I was able to change my oil at Walmart earlier today, would they have been able to get this old filter off? What if Ford is trying to push service into dealerships this way? by putting monster torque on the filter? I really hope I don't have to go through the hassle of towing it... Man this sucks!

I had the truck towed today (free with Road Side Assistance). The dealer charged me $20 for a regular oil change and I got to save my 7 quarts of oil and filter for next time. I'm getting this reimbursed by the original dealer I bought the expy from since I haven't gotten my coupons in the mail yet.

The towtruck driver tried to take off the filter before towing me to the nearest dealer. His hands were so big he couldn't get around it to grip. When we got to the dealer, the service manager said they have some neumatic tool they use which puts a lot of torque on it. This scares me for the next time I want to change the oil myself!

I have some pictures below. Since everything around the filter is black, it might look like there's a lot more room than there really is. There's a thick black hose on the right of the filter (from the radiator I think), there's some belt above, a smaller metal hose on the left (power steering or brakes?) and the "drip catcher pan" for the oil below. In front of it there is a large plastic blower cover. The hole in the filter was the only place I could really plant a screwdriver... after the screwdriver was in, I had maybe 2cm to work it (not anywhere near enough).
http://www.shawnlim.com/junk/ford/filter1.JPG

http://www.shawnlim.com/junk/ford/filter2.JPG

http://www.shawnlim.com/junk/ford/filter3.JPG

I should have just waited 4.5 hours at walmart... :-rip

Wow that is a rediculous place to put the oil filter...

I guess that's why everyone says let the dealer do the first one. I bet the dealership guys hate changing oil the first time around.

Glad you're back in business!! :-X03

That filter location's definitely NOT one of FoMoCo's 'better ideas'. To make it worse, the original filter must be put on at the engine plant by some ex (or current, working there to build up his forearms in the offseason) - NFL nose-tackle using a 4' pipe wrench or something.

After wearing most of the skin off my arm changing the filters on the wife's 2000 Navigator and my current '03 Expy (soon to be replaced by an '07 EL), I gave up and started using K&N's HP-2010 filter which has a 1" nut on the end. Piece of cake getting that one out of there. They're pricey, around $10 at Summit, but, so's my skin and sanity. :-X20

My '98 Expy's OEM filter was remote mounted, up in behind the front bumper. Now THAT was an easy one to get at, so, of course, they changed the location. :(

there is a wrench I use on my ranger '93.. that is placed like this, can only get to it from the end of the filter, works like the one in the other picture, got it from a local parts stores.. also think about an over sized filter.. I use them on my rover.. it will be 3 inches longer and may help with future maintenance.

What ever happened to the remote oil filter? my '98 expy had one that was mounted just behind the bumper on the driver's side. You could literally kneel down and unscrew it by hand without even seeing it.

My '03 has one in a tight spot but I can still get it off w/o a wrench.

The key is to only hand tighten it when you put the new one own. Most manuals tell you to only tighten about 1/4 turn after the gasket seats.

I wonder if there is any kind of aftermarket remote oil filter rig you can buy?