My wife replaced the
Fuel Filter on a
2006 Ford Expedition. She's always wanted to do mechanical things, so I've started to work on it with her. It seems like the common recommendation is to replace the fuel filter every
30,000 miles, which seems reasonable since the filter is ~ $10. I don't think the original owners ever replaced it, and it's an easy job. I'll do a writeup later, but essentially you need:
TOOLS
* 8mm socket: To remove the negative battery clamp
* 10mm socket: To remove the fuel filter shield
*
Lisle 39400 Angled Disconnect Tool Set (less than $15) to remove fuel lines
*
Motorcraft FG986B Fuel Filter; $11,
(2006 Expy - may be a different model for your year)
*
Eye protection
* Rag to mop up spills
* Small bucket/container to catch fuel drips
* Fire Extinguisher (in case anything goes wrong)
PROCESS
The replacement was easy, and took under 15 minutes. It will probably take less than 5 next time:
* Start the Expedition
* Passenger front footwell:
Remove the blue 15a fuse to the fuel pump (#12 position, page 278)
*
Let the Expedition stall out to bleed out pressure. It will take between 1-2 minutes to stall out.
* Try to restart it once more to make sure it has no pressure.
*
If you don't do the above 4 steps, you'll get a face full of high-pressure gas when removing the filter. Do it.
* Disconnect negative battery cable (8mm) and cover w/a rag (I use a work glove) to prevent sparking
* I choose to wait an hour or two to let everything
cool off. You
ARE dealing w/
fuel.
* Remove fuel filter shield from the tank (2 x 10mm bolts). The shield is on the top front of the fuel tank, driver side. The filter sits on
top of the tank, right behind it.
*
CAREFUL: If you screw up the following step, it's $75 to replace the entire fuel line. They don't sell the clip seperately:
*
Right side hose: Unlock the blue clips and disconnect the line.
* I let the filter hang and drain into my bucket at this point.
*
Left side hose: It has a simple metal clip on it. Remove that.
*
Left side hose: Use the
blue plastic disconnect tool (Lisle 39400) to detach the hose.
* Replace fuel filter.
The arrow should point towards the passenger side.
* Reconnect fuel lines on either side of the fuel filter
* Pull a little bit on the lines on either side of the filter to ensure they're snapped in
* Re-insert the 15a blue fuse into the passenger side fusebox.
* Reconnect the negative battery terminal
* Turn your ingnition to
RUN (
not START) to re-pressurize fuel lines & fill filter w/gas
* Repeat above step 2 times at 10 second intervals to ensure pressurization
* Start your Expedition
* Look under your vehicle to ensure no fuel leaks/drips
* Shut down your Expedition
* Re-install the fuel filter shield shield (2 x 10mm bolts) over the fuel filter.
The whole process will probably take < 10 mins next time. It took a little longer this time since I talked her through some stuff, and she was being extremely careful.
She used to say she could never handle this size (she owned a smaller SUV) but now that she owns a blacked out Expedition, she's in love and wants to take good care of her truck