My truck finally arrived at the dealer yesterday so one of the things I checked out was if the oil filter was leaking like others have reported. I was very surprised to see that the filter was black instead of the usual white. Is this something that Ford has changed recently? The good news is that I didn't see any leaks.
Gary

 

That means it is the original factory filter. Nothing odd about it.

 

Yep, the one from the factory comes black. I always figured it was so they could tell if someone did their first change yet. They used to do the same on the engine compartment fuel filter too. There was a dead end third hose connection on the factory one that wasn't on the Motorcraft replacement. It was always a good tell to see if the truck was ever maintained.

 

Sorta like the plastic plugs that were on the c6 tranny from the factory. When the dip stick tube was installed they would just knock the plug into the tranny pan. If a tranny issue surfaced they could tell if the filter and fluid had been changed by the presence of the plug.

 

Thanks for the info. The black filter made it real hard to notice if there was any oil leakage on it. Glad to hear it is not a permanent change.
Gary

 

Ford still does this!

 

So just came across some new info about the black factory filter vs. the white Motorcraft unit. According to what I read... and it was on the internet so it must be true...LOL... the black factory filter is made by Champion Labs who also make the Mobil 1, Bosch, and K&N oil filters and is of higher quality. The Motorcraft filter is made by Racor. Interesting find and explains the color difference.