It's worth doing once just so you know how to, but after that it's worth it to pay somebody else

 

It's worth the little bit of work to me to make sure I don't have some new kid learning, forcing, twisting and ripping my lines apart haha...

Or any funny business like this...

 

I guess money grows on trees in some peoples houses. lol

If you do it correctly, they pop right off 99% of the time, especially if they are changed regularly(when they are supposed to be). People just dont do it enough to learn the technique of how its properly done. You dont just put the sleeve in the socket and it pops off, you have to press the sleeve in the line, wile applying pressure to the line, then back the line off the sleeve.

An F150 and a crown vic are about as easy as it gets for a fuel filter change lol. Theres nothing really obstructing your hands.

for 10 bucks to buy the filter and 2 min of my time...ill take that over 32 bucks any day.

 

I am pretty mechanically inclined, but I don't understand some of the explanations here. I wonder if someone could post a few photos of the procedure...

 

Lol, you haven't done very many fuel filters I take it. And I don't mean yours, you do them regularly, that makes it 100% different. People don't do them when they're supposed to. If they did it wouldn't be an issue.

I agree with A7X's point, and I've already stated that I do my own work, so that post doesn't apply to me personally. I was obviously referring to someone who doesn't have much experience so they'll have to figure out how the tool works and the techniques, and no lift so they have to crawl under the truck on the ground and lay there while trying to reach up at a stupid angle, then finally getting the filter off and getting fuel everywhere, probably on them. Screw that, for $32 it's completely worth it every 30,000 miles. What's that once every year for most people? Subtract the $10 for the filter and the $22 a year is not worth the hassle of doing it yourself if you're not equipped.

 

http://www.fordf150.net/howto/fuelfilter.php

There's some OK pics in that article. It doesn't mention that you push the line in towards the filter while you push the disconnect tool into the line to depress the springs.

 

Im a mechanic, I do a couple a day, on all types of Fords. It takes me almost always the same few seconds to disconnect a fuel filter after getting the hose clamp off...if it happens to be like the clips on expeditions and explorers it takes a few min or so. The method I described gets the trap clamps off in a couple seconds every time, given the filter has been replaced and not on the vehicle for way longer than its supposed to. I mentioned the part about pushing both together because if you just pull the sleeve into the line a lot of times it wont disconnect the detent or whatever is holding it on. If I dont apply pressure from both ends it just pulls the line from the other side and the fuel filter toward the direction of force... lol of course you have to apply force from both ends.

So yea, iv changed quite a few...Changing fuel filters is by far the easiest money you can make. the .6 I get is absolutely raping the customer... and most techs feel this way.

 

I don't think a shop around here would do just a fuel filter for $32, but for $32 it isn't worth doing it myself. I usually have it done when the vehichle is all ready in the shop for something else. I just bought a 2003 v6 f150 from my father to replace my 94 f150 with 362,000 miles,though I'd really like to get it to 400,000, and was trying to diagnose why it sometimes seemed like the engine wasn't getting gas and wouldn't fire up when cranking the engine or ran rough at times. It seems fine now...fingers crossed.

 

I believe you, I just don't have the same experience. Fuel filters are consistently a PITA around here, and seeing that you're from Texas I wonder if that makes a difference. It's pretty often that I get filters that won't even spin in the quick disconnects, the whole line will twist with them because they're rusted together. When that happens you can't push in on the line and the springs don't want to push back and it's pretty obnoxious. I never thought of it before, hence my skepticism of your easy fuel filters, but if you're in a low rust area the filters aren't going to get rusted in.. Makes sense to me.