Ford – What Were They Thinking?

I decided it’s time to start changing our own oil again, as some of you may already know…

Anyway. The F150 wasn’t too bad to change the oil. The filter was a little inconvenient to reach but overall it was ok.

This time it was the wife’s 2015 Ford Edge. I was prepared for 3-4 hours and some swearing. Boy was I wrong.

Got the car up on ramps and removed the panel. Found the drain plug nicely exposed and angled toward the back of the car. It nicely drains the oil pan 100%. Then I looked over and spotted the oil filter wide open and oriented vertically. Plenty of room to grab on and twist with one or two hands if needed.

I told the wife I’ll be working on her car for a few hours and not to bug me. It makes for some nice quiet time away from the screaming and crying of 2 young, beautiful, children. 30 minutes after starting starting this project I was pouring oil back in the engine. This was almost as easy as changing oil in my 1979 F150 with a 300 I6. Now what?

Damn you Ford for ruining my quiet time!

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You lucked out. It’s not typically that easy now days. The do my ram I need a bag of floor dry and a can of brake cleaner. The way the filter is in it’s impossible not to make a mess.

I can drop my Tundra off if you want some more quiet time. Tires need to be rotated too.

You obviously don’t have a 2018 F150. The pans are some kind of plastic with a plastic plug. (so why did they need to change a time tested metal pan with a threaded plug?? dON’T THE ENGINEERS HAVE SOMETHING BETTER TO DO??) You have to take down a shroud with 4 bolts two from each side of the truck) and then pry a tab on the plastic plug open past a keeper. Then u have to hold the plug in the hole for several minutes otherwise the oil comes gushing out making a huge mess. The filter is accessed from the front of the truck. Accessible but high and out of sight. So,…to change the oil u need to get under the truck from each side and also from the front. Not convenient at all. Once my supply of oil and filters are gone,…I’m going to have it changed by a garage. Too much of a hassle to save $15-20.

Consider yourself lucky. My daughters 2018 Escape has a full “blanket” under the engine, something like 12 fasteners that need to be removed before you can even get to the drain plug & filter. I’m just not going to lay on the floor and try to deal with all that.

HRG

Hot Runr Guy wrote:

Consider yourself lucky. My daughters 2018 Escape has a full “blanket” under the engine, something like 12 fasteners that need to be removed before you can even get to the drain plug & filter. I’m just not going to lay on the floor and try to deal with all that.

HRG

Yup, I had this. Took a whole 2 minutes to remove and 2 minutes to install. It took longer to loosen and unscrew the drain plug being careful not to drop it in the oil pan.

captddh wrote:

You obviously don’t have a 2018 F150. The pans are some kind of plastic with a plastic plug. (so why did they need to change a time tested metal pan with a threaded plug?? dON’T THE ENGINEERS HAVE SOMETHING BETTER TO DO??) You have to take down a shroud with 4 bolts two from each side of the truck) and then pry a tab on the plastic plug open past a keeper. Then u have to hold the plug in the hole for several minutes otherwise the oil comes gushing out making a huge mess. The filter is accessed from the front of the truck. Accessible but high and out of sight. So,…to change the oil u need to get under the truck from each side and also from the front. Not convenient at all. Once my supply of oil and filters are gone,…I’m going to have it changed by a garage. Too much of a hassle to save $15-20.

I have a 2015 F150 with 3.5. Pretty much the same without the plastic pan and plug. Like I said, the filter was a little inconvenient but it wasn’t all that bad.

Mr. Derek wrote:

I can drop my Tundra off if you want some more quiet time. Tires need to be rotated too.

Unfortunately I’m lucky to find an hour a month to spend some quality time working on my boat. Someone else’s truck wouldn’t fly with the boss.

If word gets around something was designed right they will fix it.

Yep, the FW has an Edge also and it’s crazy how simple it is to get at everything for changing oil. Then you go to change the spark plugs and suddenly your luck runs out and you’re swearing at the hidden bolts on the upper intake manifold….

My F-150 has that stupid catch tray that diverts the oil to everywhere but the pan. Then the dipstick location on the 5.0 requires a step stool for anyone dang near 6′ or less…

It’s funny how some are so easy and some are impossible.

I had an Accord V6 that was awesome. Drain plug was easy to get at, and the filter could be reached through a wheel well, so you didn’t even have to crawl under.

I had an older Sequoia that I needed to drop the skid plate off (well, it was a lot less messy if I did that), but after that, it was simple.

My 2012 Tahoe was a major PITA. Drain plug went a weird direction, though after one or two messes, I usually remembered how to do it. The filter was crammed in a tight spot, too.

My Mazda 6 is getting a change this weekend. From what I remember, it’s not too bad.

I’ve now got a newer Sequoia that is about due. Fingers crossed!

I like my wife’s 2006 pilot that thing is simple my outback isn’t that bad either.

My ’16 Silverado is super easy. Everything is basically right under the driver seat. The only thing that would make it any easier is if I were about 75lbs skinnier….

My old ’05 Colorado was pretty easy as well. Removing the oil filter there was a little funnel on the crossbar directly below and would direct the oil to the pan. Well if the truck were at any bit of an angle toward the back the oil would miss the funnel completely and run to every corner of the frame and I’d be finding oil spots under the truck for a week or two after.

Our ’14 outback is the easiest oil change imaginable. The filter is super accessible just from opening the hood, and no shrouds or anything to get at the drain plug.

Our ’01 highlander isn’t too bad. It’s easier to access the filter from underneath, but there’s a plastic shroud thing that you need to move out of the way. Most of that shroud is just gone at this point, so it’s not terrible.

Ralph Wiggum wrote:

It’s funny how some are so easy and some are impossible.

I had an Accord V6 that was awesome. Drain plug was easy to get at, and the filter could be reached through a wheel well, so you didn’t even have to crawl under.

I had an older Sequoia that I needed to drop the skid plate off (well, it was a lot less messy if I did that), but after that, it was simple.

My 2012 Tahoe was a major PITA. Drain plug went a weird direction, though after one or two messes, I usually remembered how to do it. The filter was crammed in a tight spot, too.

My Mazda 6 is getting a change this weekend. From what I remember, it’s not too bad.

I’ve now got a newer Sequoia that is about due. Fingers crossed!

The sequoia and tundra are not one of the easy ones. I dont think its hard but there are more steps and it takes longer. You will need a special socket for the filter housing and a drain tool if your filter does not come with one.

It amazes me that oil change access, to this day, receives ZERO attention from the automakers. Some vehicles are good, some are terrible and it’s totally random, which seems to prove the point that as long as there’s SOME way of getting to that plug and filter, they don’t care.

You’re absolutely right, I found the same thing with Mrs Grouse’s Lincoln MKX. Easiest oil change on any vehicle I’ve had for a long time. My GMC Acadia is so-so. Plug is easy, filter requirs a step stool and a blind install and it is located right under the manifold so the vehicle has to be cold to chnage oil. Not the worst, but not good either.

The worst I’ve EVER seen was in the late 1980s my sister bought a little Pontiac Sunbird. I could reach the oil filter, but Pontiac engineers had not left enough space to actually thread it off before it hit the inside of the fender well.

So what I had to do was jack up the car, remove the left front wheel, remove the entire one-piece plastic wheel well liner, and THEN I could easily (!) spin off the filter.

Well after just one trip to that Goat Rodeo, I said no freaking way. I took out the tools and cut a nice access hatch in the fender liner. I put in hinges and a little latch to keep it shut. By cranking the wheels all the way to the right, I could open the hatch and get to the filter.

Thankfully, I’ve never seen anything since that was so bad that the vehicle had to be modified just to change oil. But I bet there out there.

Grouse

Grouse, so there is no access door in the wheel well to get at the oil filter on your Acadia? That is crazy! But then again I have to remove the wheel well liner in my 08 duramax to change out fuel filters which is also a routine maintenance item so I guess I shouldn’t be that surprised.

TheFamousGrouse wrote:

The worst I’ve EVER seen was in the late 1980s my sister bought a little Pontiac Sunbird. I could reach the oil filter, but Pontiac engineers had not left enough space to actually thread it off before it hit the inside of the fender well.

Ford did something like that with the Escort ZX2…if your hands were small enough, you could maybe get at it from the bottom. Most resorted to moving the washer fluid bottle or removing the fender liner…

Aaron Kalberer wrote:

Grouse, so there is no access door in the wheel well to get at the oil filter on your Acadia?

No, the access hatch was on my sister’s Pontiac Sunbird back in the 1980s. Terrible design.

My Acadia has good access to the filter, but a) you need a step stool to get up high enough so my arm is long enough to reach down and get to it, and b) it’s right below the header so the engine has to be cold when changing oil.

Also, you can’t see the filter stub when putting on the new filter, so it’s installation by feel. Not the worst design I’ve owned or worked on, but certainly not the best.

Grouse

captddh wrote:

You obviously don’t have a 2018 F150. The pans are some kind of plastic with a plastic plug. (so why did they need to change a time tested metal pan with a threaded plug?? dON’T THE ENGINEERS HAVE SOMETHING BETTER TO DO??) You have to take down a shroud with 4 bolts two from each side of the truck) and then pry a tab on the plastic plug open past a keeper. Then u have to hold the plug in the hole for several minutes otherwise the oil comes gushing out making a huge mess. The filter is accessed from the front of the truck. Accessible but high and out of sight. So,…to change the oil u need to get under the truck from each side and also from the front. Not convenient at all. Once my supply of oil and filters are gone,…I’m going to have it changed by a garage. Too much of a hassle to save $15-20.

At least the oil pan won’t rust through like the ones in the 90s did.Be interesting on long they work without leaking at the seals?

Ford Ranger oil change fail….

http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2019/01/diyers-take-note-the-2019-ford-rangers-oil-change-procedure-contains-a-big-extra-step/

Job One for those looking to freshen the Ranger’s internal lubricant, besides heading to the store for a couple of jugs of synthetic and a filter, is to break out the jack. You’ll need to remove a wheel.

Because the 2.3-liter Ecoboost four-cylinder found in the 2019 Ranger isn’t exactly the same beast as that found in other Ford vehicles, the oil filter migrates to a slightly new location. A larger oil cooler means the filter no longer hangs towards the oil pan near the rear of the engine. Instead, the filter sticks out the left side, at right angles to the engine’s cylinders, making it less accessible for fumbling hands.

Sliding under there and going to town just isn’t in the cards, at least for the oil filter phase of the operation.

A service procedure obtained by TTAC states that, after removing the left front wheel, a technician or owner must then remove an access panel secured by nine push-pin retainers. From there, one removes the filter with an end cap tool. To actually drain the oil, which of course you’ll accomplish before attacking that filter, you’ll first need to unbolt the power steering control module underbody shield. Four bolts hold that on.

In all, there’s quite a few steps to take before replenishing the truck’s 6.2 quarts of 5W-30.

I change my oil three times just to have extra time in the garage.

Munchy,
Thanks for posting. I’ve been a Ford loyalist for many years, thanks to a Brother who is now a Ford Retiree. Once I retire, and lose my Company vehicle, the new Ranger has been on my short list, but I’m just having a hard time warming-up to the 2.3EB as the only choice.

HRG

Why do they lean toward turbos for all the power out of trucks? Just for really expensive fixes ?

Bearcat89 wrote:

Why do they lean toward turbos for all the power out of trucks? Just for really expensive fixes ?

To meet the fuel economy requirements set by .gov. Making a small motor act bigger is currently the most efficient way to raise MPG and still allow them enough power to actually do stuff.

@mrderek

Mr. Derek wrote:

The sequoia and tundra are not one of the easy ones. I dont think its hard but there are more steps and it takes longer. You will need a special socket for the filter housing and a drain tool if your filter does not come with one.

Tackled my Sequoia 2 weeks ago. Overall, not too terrible. I kind of like the style of filter it has vs. a traditional canister filter. I found a tutorial online beforehand so I knew exactly what was needed and where/what size the bolts holding the skid plate on were.

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Hot Runr Guy wrote:

Consider yourself lucky. My daughters 2018 Escape has a full “blanket” under the engine, something like 12 fasteners that need to be removed before you can even get to the drain plug & filter. I’m just not going to lay on the floor and try to deal with all that.

HRG

My 2015 Escape has the same thing, 2 or maybe 3 different size torx head screws just to get to the oil plug and filter. Makes me wonder if any of those covers even serve a purpose besides income generation for Ford! When not wanting an escape from the family, the local garage can deal with all that extra work.

I remember I had a chevy monza once, to get the filter off you had to turn the wheels to the left in order to loosen the filter, and then to the right to remove it…. had a buick the only way to get to the filter as to have the car either on a rack or oil change pit… son had a chevy and the oil pressure went south, ended up taking it to a dealer, they had to remove the left exhaust manifold and come in from the bottom with a crows foot…. aren’t engineers wonderful?