Ford F350 6.7 L fuel filter

[agesilaus]

I really am reluctant to post this since I know it will attract a flock of negative comments. I expect to see: "The Ram fuel filter is made of aircraft grade titanium and is platinum plated too...."

But this is something other 6.7 owners should know. I was taking off the chassis mounted fuel filter housing an hour ago when the plastic 'nut' on the bottom snapped right off. This housing has always been tough to remove and replace. It groans and squeaks loudly as you turn it.

I had it 1 1/2 turns off and was able to use a strap wrench to get the housing all the way off. The strap wrench makes a very poor fit for the housing so this would not be an option to remove it normally.

I've heard on the Powerstroke forum that you need to use a six point socket to remove the housing not a 12 point. Apparently this must be fairly common the Ford parts guy told me that they been seeing this happen and he ordered four housings and has one left.

The new housing comes bare, you need to recover the electical fitting (unscrews easily) and the drain valve from the old housing. Rumor is that it costs $25 for a new housing. Will see in the morning.

[coolbreeze01]

^^^^^Great pic 😉

[BurbMan]

agesilaus wrote:
Well a six point would be in contact all the way around the plastic hex. A 12 point would only touch at 12 points around the circumference. Might be a minor point.

Not quite. You are correct about the six point, but the 12 point still only touches at 6 points because that's all a hex has, the difference being that the 12 point socket only grabs the fastener at the corners. Still, if it;s gonna snap off it doesn't matter how the wrench is on there.



A 12pt socket will tend to round the corners on a stubborn fastener where the 6pt has better grip.

[agesilaus]

Well a six point would be in contact all the way around the plastic hex. A 12 point would only touch at 12 points around the circumference. Might be a minor point.

[BurbMan]

You have less chance of rounding the corners on the plastic hex using a 6-point instead of a 12-point, but a 6-point socket won't keep it from snapping off altogether. Good thing about plastic is that you're not dealing with rust at least...

[agesilaus]

Just put a new one on. Cost $22.75 + tax. I sprayed the threads with dry silcone spray and bought a 6 point 32 mm socket. Lubed the new O-Ring. It went on a little easier after all that.

The new housing is a little different than the original on the truck. They added a stick on foam strip starting at the drain valve and running maybe 200 degrees clockwise from there. It's about 3/16" or so thick. Might be heat insulation? The new housing is marked 2013.

[Helmsey]

agesilaus wrote:
I really am reluctant to post this since I know it will attract a flock of negative comments. I expect to see: "The Ram fuel filter is made of aircraft grade titanium and is platinum plated too...."

But this is something other 6.7 owners should know. I was taking off the chassis mounted fuel filter housing an hour ago when the plastic 'nut' on the bottom snapped right off. This housing has always been tough to remove and replace. It groans and squeaks loudly as you turn it.

I had it 1 1/2 turns off and was able to use a strap wrench to get the housing all the way off. The strap wrench makes a very poor fit for the housing so this would not be an option to remove it normally.

I've heard on the Powerstroke forum that you need to use a six point socket to remove the housing not a 12 point. Apparently this must be fairly common the Ford parts guy told me that they been seeing this happen and he ordered four housings and has one left.

The new housing comes bare, you need to recover the electical fitting (unscrews easily) and the drain valve from the old housing. Rumor is that it costs $25 for a new housing. Will see in the morning.

They are temperamental, I have an extra before I start working on mine just for that reason. I can usually find them on eBay for about $20 so I order one there before doing anything.

agesilaus wrote:
And the Ford housing has a hard stop, so that you have to tighten it down until you cannot go any further.

And that little bugger will break off easily too if not careful when tightening....ask me how I know 😄

[FishOnOne]

agesilaus wrote:


A unreasonable concern I'm happy to say. This housing broke off when it was being removed tho, not tightened. And the Ford housing has a hard stop, so that you have to tighten it down until you cannot go any further.

Thanks for sharing agesilaus... I'm going to purchase a new cap when I purchase my filters this week just in case.

[agesilaus]

A unreasonable concern I'm happy to say. This housing broke off when it was being removed tho, not tightened. And the Ford housing has a hard stop, so that you have to tighten it down until you cannot go any further.

[jus2shy]

What's with the worry of negative comments? All manufacturers have their weaknesses. My 6.7 Cummins has a plastic fuel filter cap for the engine-mounted fuel filter. If you over-torque it, you've destroyed it. I've seen on the Ford forums that some members carry 2 chassis filter caps. Seems like a good idea for a cheap part (20 something bucks if I recall). I'm pondering whether or not I want to do the same for my fuel filter cap.

[Hannibal]

At least on my Prius it's a 64mm 14 flute cap wrench. The universal 65mm from the autoparts stores can mess it up. Once you get the right tool though it's not a problem.

[Ron3rd]

Hannibal wrote:
Toyota "hear the angels sing" uses a plastic oil filter housing that will break if you use anything but the proper tool for it. Use the proper tool and life is blissful.

Yes, the Toyota housing (really only a "cap) is made of plastic. It's made to accept a standard oil filter wrench, don't remember the size, it's metric, and the cap comes right off and you drop the filter out. Never had a problem with mine in over 7 years. Though plastic, it's very very heavy duty and would be very hard to break. Worst thing about the Tundra oil change is taking the heavy metal skid plate off. Some Tundra owners cut a round hole under the oil filter cap so they don't have to remove the skid plate. That's 90% of the work.

[Hannibal]

Toyota "hear the angels sing" uses a plastic oil filter housing that will break if you use anything but the proper tool for it. Use the proper tool and life is blissful.

[agesilaus]

or 1 1/4"

[FishOnOne]

coolbreeze01 wrote:
Any idea what size 6-point socket is needed?

I use a 32mm