Fuel Filter Replacement w/pics

[N182NS]

Fuel filter replacement

It looks like it might be a return line back to the fuel tank.Nick

 

[bikeo]

Curse Ford engineers!

They must have been popping stupid pills the day they decided to put the fuel filter in this position. Probably the same day they decided to sans the transmission dipstick. If you are planning this job, don't think you are finishing in 15 minutes. In fact don't have a deadline at all. If you are real lucky your disconnect tool will do the trick with minimal frustration. I broke 2 plastic ones, and one metal one. It's impossinble to get leverage under there with one arm snaked around the frame. Why put one of these connections down there in the first place? Here's hoping you have much better luck than I did.



my anger management classes are really begining to piss me off!

 

[muzzymaniac]

Welcome to the Forum. Glad you enjoyed your filter change!

 

[bikeo]

Word to the wise, be extremely careful with the pink colored retaining clips as they are not available in the aftermarket, or at the dealer. If you break these be prepared to purchase the entire front fuel line assembly, and even then it is not gauranteed you will get them. They are not pictured in any of the dealer's parts manuals. My Explorer has 145,000 miles on it so the fuel filter has been replaced a few times making those clips very weak. The closing portion of those clips snapped off. So they are now jammed in there with zip ties around them until I can get to a junkyard. Once again Ford has screwed the end user on a part that is supposed to be maintained on a regular basis. If anyone was able to purchase these clips I would love to know about it.

 

[aspitaletto]

They must have been popping stupid pills the day they decided to put the fuel filter in this position. Probably the same day they decided to sans the transmission dipstick. If you are planning this job, don't think you are finishing in 15 minutes. In fact don't have a deadline at all. If you are real lucky your disconnect tool will do the trick with minimal frustration. I broke 2 plastic ones, and one metal one. It's impossinble to get leverage under there with one arm snaked around the frame. Why put one of these connections down there in the first place? Here's hoping you have much better luck than I did.

not stupid at all on fords part! it actually makes perfect sense! the average owner of a ford explorer will NOT get under the car and change the fuel filter.. so the stick it in a totally inaccessible area, knowing that u will give up and take it to the dealer. then the dealer will bill you the 3+ hours it takes to install a 15$ filter! they gotta make money somehow, cause it is not with SELLING cars

 

[Mic_]

not stupid at all on fords part! it actually makes perfect sense! the average owner of a ford explorer will NOT get under the car and change the fuel filter.. so the stick it in a totally inaccessible area, knowing that u will give up and take it to the dealer. then the dealer will bill you the 3+ hours it takes to install a 15$ filter! they gotta make money somehow, cause it is not with SELLING cars

glad someone said what I was thinking

 

[E.B. Cornburner]

I just changed mine on 2002 xlt. It has three lines, one is a return line. Excellent article and pictures. Nick

All the FFVs prior to 2004 had the 3-line filter. The '04+ used the same 2-line filter just like the gas-burners.

Edit: Just did mine today...Not too bad. Took me about a half hour (gotta love having a hoist!) start to finish. Hardest part is getting to it! Once all the shields and stuff are out of the way, it's easy. Taking the old one out of the bracket was a trick...I beat it out of there with a rubber mallet. Put a little oil on the bracket and slid the new filter in with ease. The one fitting on the plastic line from the tank to the filter is tricky if you don't know how to work with them. The other side is easy with the disconnect tool.

 

[warchild]

good question, GREAT article, im doin mine this weekend.

 

[DVRDOWN]

Doing a filter change on my 2002 this weekend, curious if anyone has pictures of these pink/red clips on the 02-03 FFV's that are giving everyone a headache. I want to know what i'm up against before I waste all my borrowed time at a buddies garage. I'm doing a double front hub replacement at the same time and don't want to spend the entire time replacing a fuel filter.

 

[Lurch16th]

I'm with Bikeo. Stupid pills must have been the order of the day.I had to wait several hours to post this for some cooling off time. Most ridiculous connection setup i have ever seen.

Anyway, I still can't get the metal clip portion undone. Using the tool, pushed into the fitting as far as i can get it, the filter end just won't come out. I eventually gave up for the night.

That's good to know about not destroying those clips. I'll give it another try in the morning. Great article!

 

[trucku]

Maybe this will help.
I could not get the the clips to release on my fuel filter also and had to make a change to the tool to get it off.
here is what I did
I tried the plastic fuel line tool and it was a pain in the arse. The plastic is just to thin (at least on the one I got) too push the clips back far enough to free the line. Here is what I did to fix the problem. AND it came off in a blink of an eye. Mind you I spent at least an hour before that not understanding why the damn tool didn't work

Just changed my fuel filter again last week and still worked like a charm.

 

[Lurch16th]

Thanks for the tips. I didn't have any plastic piping around to coat the plastic tool, so i tried a piece of 1/2" pvc. That didn't work, probably because i just couldn't get a good enough grip on it to apply any pressure.

And that steel clip!!,,, constantly in the way, until i finally duct taped it out of the way, to the line itself.

Ended up getting a metal tool from Advanced auto. Still had problems getting any leverage, but it eventually came off.

Evidently it was the Gov't that initiated the Stupid-Fest, because many other Makes, if not all, have these type of connectors.

I took a good picture of the connector insides, but don't know how to post it.

 

[trucku]

It really is a pain get the filter out. No space to move anything around.
At least its off..

You can save the pictures online then when posting add it as a image link.

 

[warchild]

tryed mine last weekend and after an hour gave up and put the shields back on, screw it , ive got a buddy that works at the dealership, im gonna make it his problem.

is there a way to do a trans service on an 03?,no dipstick, but the pan seams easy to drop the pan?

 

[BrooklynBay]

You could definitely service a 5R55W transmission. Check the sticky thread called the 5R55W fluid fill in the transmission section for more information.

 

[Hitchhikingmike]

I just changed out the original fuel filter on my '02 with 44k miles on it. I have to admit, I was too curious and cut open my fuel filter. It was all black inside! And the residual fuel that came out of the old filter once I got it out was dark in color as well.

This sticky needs to be edited to include information pertaining to the two types of fuel filters. Once I got my '02 apart I realized that pepboys sold me the wrong filter mad: annoying!) . I bought the one with two hose connections instead of three.

See: http://www.pureoil.com/ProductFinder.aspx?action=AS

The attached are the two types of filters that are offered for the 2002 flexfuel v6 explorer. interesting.

Be sure you know which type of filter your explorer needs! The time to realize that you bough the wrong fuel filter is not when you are on the creeper underneath the explorer while it is on jackstands with the fuel lines disconnected and both shields taken off.

 

[turblown]

#7 remove filter from bracket
Don't try pulling it out - that sucker is really in there. I used a rubber mallet to tap the filter out.
REMEMBER THIS IS A GAS FILTER - DON'T USE A REGULAR HAMMER!!! Use a block of wood if you have to.

Very helpful info. Thanks a lot.

Also, to anyone who is going to do a fuel filter change... the plastic tool didn't work for me and is garbage IMHO. I returned the plastic tool and invested in a metal one. Took like 10 seconds to remove the fuel line with the metal tool.

 

[whoknows]

Metal tool tool for fuel filter change

I did not try the plastic tool. However, most of the frustration that others are expressing with the metal tool can be forgone by filing (with metal file) down the ends of the tool. It seems to be too thick (at least for my 'o3 4.0 ffv).

Try the tool first as in the manual. If it doesnt do the trick then a minimal amount of filing done to the ends helps it slip in and you probably save yourself a good hour of frustration.

Also, I had to use the big end of the tool ( 5/8 I believe)

 

[whoknows]

double post sorry

I did not try the plastic tool. However, most of the frustration that others are expressing with the metal tool can be forgone by filing (with metal file) down the ends of the tool. It seems to be too thick (at least for my 'o3 4.0 ffv).

Try the tool first as in the manual. If it doesnt do the trick then a minimal amount of filing done to the ends helps it slip in and you probably save yourself a good hour of frustration.

Also, I had to use the big end of the tool ( 5/8 I believe)

 

[wickedturns]

I would of never found the darn thing!!!!!