Oil filter change on a 3.0. Frustrating.

[RangerVet]

I know I should follow my wife's advice and take my '05 Ranger 2wd stick shift to the dealer for an oil change. I can afford it and since I just turned 74 and am not a dainty guy I can see her reasoning. BUT I am stubborn and my parents grew up in the Depression.
I buy the 5W30 synthetic oil from Amazon and use a Bosch filter. I would like to meet the engineer who decided to place the filter almost horizontial on the side of the block. Then they attach a type of plastic funnel in front of it and expect a guy to be able to get a wrench on it to take the blasted thing off. What a bear to get to.
THEN you have to try to reach up there and line up the filter onto its pipe thread while your arms fall asleep from being up in the air so long. And it REALLY did not help that I pre filled the filter 3/4 full of oil as most of it ran out and caused the filter to be very slippery. Grrrrrrrr!
I finally grabbed the plastic funnel and ripped it off. This allowed my to get both hands up there to line the filter up and spin it on (after drying it off with a rag).
Pic of the evil device. I can see the reason for putting it on there but I do NOT like it.
I threw in a pic of my new Cooper-made tires too. These are a bit taller and wider than the stock tires and they ride great!

 

[8thTon]

I think the funnel was a great idea. I grab the filter from the top, so it's not in my way. Maybe look for a better filter wrench that allows you to get on it from above?

 

[stmitch]

My dealer charges about $45 for an oil change. Halfway decent 5w-30 is $8-10/qt X 5 quarts = $40-50 just in oil. Add the cost of a filter, and the fact that I don't have to get dirty or deal with disposing of the used oil and it's a no-brainer to just let them do it.
Toys get the oil changed at home, but my daily drivers get taken someplace for their oil changes.

Also, when the funnel has been removed, the oil just drips down onto the starter and makes a sludgey mess in a bad place. I did a filter relocation on mine that has made the whole process cleaner and easier.

 

[RangerVet]

Good advice. Thank you!

 

[Dirtman]

Don't install it tight enough to ever need a wrench. And instead of filling it wiith oil when you put it on, just wet the seal. When you go to start the engine you can prime the filter without causing any damage by holding the gas pedal to the floor and cranking the engine. Do this for a couple 5 second bursts and then take your foot off the pedal and start it as normal.

Holding the pedal to the floor disables the fuel injectors so the engine wont start but allows the pump to fill the filter.

 

[adsm08]

I agree, you are doing this wrong. The 3.0 was a transverse mount car engine, and the filter was easy to get at that way. If you grab it from up to and stop over-tightening it it should be easy to change.

 

[RangerFabWorks]

While I agree it is more of a bitch than the 2.3/4.0 counterparts. Going from under the hood is the way to go. You can sneak your arm under the steering shaft and get the filter on.

I’m able to run the full size fl1a filter on a 3.0 this way. Yes it’s a challenge to line it up. But in all honest it’s not that bad.

You wanna bitch about an oil filter to change. Go look at a 2008 Jeep Liberty with the 3.7. You’ll be kissing the 3.0 after that ordeal.

 

[Dsetz]

Good on you! What do wifes know? I assume you have already received the gift of hard of hearing so she's got nothing on ya.... ?

5 quarts of decent mobile 1 are about $23 at Wal-Mart.
I refuse to let anybody touch my vehicles. Except the tire store.

Work at a parts store and you get frantic calls from the oil change shops needing whatever they just broke. Its quite eye opening. I would say I came to trust about 10% of garages. A desperate oil change shop will literally hire anyone.

 

[91stranger]

If you have to use a wrench for the filter then it is WAY too tight. You're likely to cause more damage this way if you're not careful and don't look for the gasket. Crank it on so tight the gasket will stick to the block and most people don't care to look at the surface before putting the new filter on and an oil filter with 2 gaskets will leak like a siv. I change the filter from the top like most people would. I think that's why they made it so difficult to try to remove from the bottom. Our rule of thumb for oil filters is to spin them on quickly then when you get the slight resistance its a half a turn. I was jaw dropped when a guy at work changing his own oil asked to use a filter wrench so he could put his filter on..... I'll let him learn that lesson down the road lol.

 

[8thTon]

In recent years I've run into quite a few filters that leaked and/or became lose before the next change. I suspect there's been a change in the material used on the rubber seals. Anyway, I tighten them more than I used to.

 

[mikkelstuff]

I don't know if there is that much of a difference, but with my '02 Ranger 4WD 3.0L, I find it not that bad to reach over the left front tire and through the fender well to change oil filters. It does require a long long extension and a universal socket joint for the filter extraction tool.

I think the plastic funnel is great because it keeps oil from running over the starter when removing a filter.

 

[sgtsandman]

You would absolutely hate the 1997-2001 Honda CR-Vs then. The filter on them is mounted on the back of the engine at near horizontal. The only access to the filter is a hole only a little bit bigger than your arm. One learns not to over tighten that filter. Unless they like tearing apart half they engine in order to have enough room to put a strap type filter wrench on the filter. The cap style ones would pop off and not loosen the filter. Only did that once and learned from it the hard way.

 

[RangerVet]

Thanks everyone. Local Ford dealer changed the oil when I bought the truck this year. I was unable to correctly bleed the clutch slave cylinder so I gave them the job. They had their oil change on special so I let them do it. The screwed up both the bleeding and the oil change. Go figure.
I tried laying on the left front fender but since I have short arms and am kinda chubby I could not reach the fitting and line it up correctly while trying to get it started. I tried 3 different stools, ladders but it just would not work. Looks like I will be removing the left front tire next time and I will reinstall the funnel this weekend. Just needs a medium sized washer so the bolt/screw will be able to hold it on.

 

[RangerVet]

Truck is an Edge model so it sits high and since I just installed larger tires it sits even higher.

 

[det107]

I have an Edge model too, grip the filter from underneath to remove. The funnel stays...! The only shortcoming is (thread here or u toob?) shorting out starter when contacting w/filter-