Who here has done a home job oil/filter change on their 5.0? What a F*^KING stupid design!!! Me & the gf's old man spent a good hour or two trying to get the bloody oil filter off. In the end we decided to have a stab (literally) from the top, between the front manifold pipe & the PS/AirCon pumps. We got a 2 foot screwdriver & used it as a chisel, punching a hole thru the filter. I ran out of screwdriver, and was concerned about missing & hitting either my fingers or the manifold, so I used a 4" spacer thingy as a chisel, and chiselled the screwdriver! It's all about accuracy
Anyhoo, after that was done, we had to pull the screwdriver back out. Hrm, that was fun! The old-man-in-law levered it up from underneath, while I did a King Arthur from above. Just about punched myself in the face when the damn screwdriver finally came out!
Finally, the hole punched thru the filter was used as a rotating point from underneath. A tent peg, of all things, was used to break the oil filter's seal while pulling hard to turn it. The new filter went on without a hitch, and for a minute or so after firing up the engine again (AFTER putting new oil in), I began to smell a scent oh-so-familiar to LS1 owners, but luckily it turned out to be some oil that had been wiped against the block & manifold when pulling the screwdriver back out of the old filter.
Now I know why DIY people like old cars!
If you guys are wondering why we didn't use a oil filter ratchet thingy, well, we did, but because of the cramped conditions which Ford designed in their infinite wisdom, we couldn't clamp the bloody thing on to the filter!
So, who else here has any DIY epics with the 5.0s?
go in from underneth with a 3 prong claw type filter tool (local mechanic should have one you can borrow if you know them well enough.)
buy a K&N oil filter they have a 1" bolt head on the end so all you need to use is a 1" socket to fit/remove.
there also used by all winston cup / nascar teams. and if they can protect their windsors they can protect mine
I used to go in from underneith and use the screwdriver method on the EB V8 I had, seemed the quickest(if not messiest) way. Stupid design is an understatement.
My XE's engine bay could house a family in it, and I'd hate to try any DIY on a BA V8!
Hrm... that K&N oil filter sounds like the easiest way to go (depends on $$$), because I would fit the clamp thingy over the old filter, but had no room to rotate with! I was thinking at the time, "If only the filter stuck out another inch or so"...
I'm just happy that it's over & done with. Haha, my first mod, "upgrading" the oil filter (from old to new, generic!!!)
well.... the filter is fitted now........ just go to like autobarn or similar....... it was $19 frrom memory, which is cheaper than a ryco and an oil filter removal tool together
the other DIY thats hard on a windsor is the spark plugs. the one hiding up under the altinator is a mo biatch to get to!
Oh, I completely forgot to post about those! I asked the gf's old man "hey, umm, how would I get to the spark plugs to change them?" and his four-letter-word vocabulary increased vastly. He's a totally different animal when he's got his head in an engine bay! His advice was to keep the plugs & leads until I start running on 7 cylinders lol
Well, there's nothing wrong with them... yet...
Methinks I'll check out autobarn in the near future, maybe they have a "get to the spark plugs easy" tool too :)
I was gonna ask whether the TQEs had problems in this department... Looks like we're all in the same boat eh
Praise to Ford for their design genius. Thank god I don't drive a VN though, apart from the obvious crappy V6/auto combo and on/off accelerator and shit handling and poo factor, etc etc, I took a look under the bonnet of one a while ago and they look like they'd be a nightmare to work on!
The AutoGuide.com network consists of the largest network of enthusiast-owned enthusiast-operated automotive communities.
AutoGuide.com provides the latest car reviews, auto show coverage, new car prices, and automotive news. The AutoGuide network operates more than 100 automotive forums where our users consult peers for shopping information and advice, and share opinions as a community.
Linear Mode
