Oil Filter

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slosteve

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Just got myself a '95 that's been sitting for at least 5 years. Air susp. is gone. I have it on my lift and while changing the oil discovered that I couldn't get the filter out after unscrewing it. The only info I could find is that you have to raise the car; how high???

Steve
 
You say you have it on your lift? you can't get higher then that. LOL The filter just wiggles out. I never had this problem but others have mentioned it. Once unscrewed it goes toward the radiator if I remember right.
 
it kinda goes up and over.. its a tight fit.
its not a great design, but you'll get the hang of it after two or 3 times.
 
On some cars, depending upon the sway bar, you may need to jack up the left front wheel so that you're able to clear the sway bar on the way out.
 
martz0r said:
Sitting for 5 years? Make sure the o-ring came off with that bad boy.
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When I lived in California, my buddy had a Civic that he had the oil changed at a Jiffy Lube. We got going down the freeway at 70+, I looked in the mirror, and it was nothing but a huge cloud of smoke erupting from the car!

We pulled over and it was just like you said, when they changed the oil filter, the old ring was stuck to the block (in addition to the new one), it broke, and oil was spewing out everywhere.
 
You can unbolt the power steering lines from their location on the k-member and give yourself some more room.
 
Lack of Information; sorry guys, tired last night. The lift I have is a 4 post that you drive onto as opposed to a 2 post that lifts from the frame and lets the suspension hang.
I've jacked this girl up (from no air in bags) fairly high and still can't get the darn filter through. I'm wondering what they do at Jiffy Lube; do they have to lift the car?!
Oh, and thanx for the welcome and all of your input. :)
 
NetKeym said:
When I lived in California, my buddy had a Civic that he had the oil changed at a Jiffy Lube. We got going down the freeway at 70+, I looked in the mirror, and it was nothing but a huge cloud of smoke erupting from the car!

We pulled over and it was just like you said, when they changed the oil filter, the old ring was stuck to the block (in addition to the new one), it broke, and oil was spewing out everywhere.
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Same thing happened to my mom's old '92 Grand Marquis at a local shop. That's why I NEVER let anyone else change my oil.
 
You need to squeeze it under the PS pump and over the sway bar...its a tight fit thru that area, but it'll go. The only reason it wouldn't fit is if there's been a larger sway bar installed
 
Okay, got 'er done. I had to trim the top of the rubber bushing/grommet for the sway bar to squeeze it by. I'm glad my wrenching buddy wasn't around to witness this debacle as he's a Chevy guy - it would've given him some ripe ammo to blast Ford's engineers and/or their way of doing things.
I didn't mention that this Mark shows 62K on the odometer. The lady that I bought it from told me she bought it in '96 with 15K after which the engine kept overheating (temps pass 120 here in the summer). So she had the local Ford dealer here fix it. On the driver side valve cover is a sticker with the Ford oval in the center and around it says 'Quality Renewal'. Looking in the oil fill hole, this thing is spotless - no oil discoloration at all. So I got the oil changed, put a new fuel pump in it after dumping the varnished old gas, cleared more bad gas out of the fuel rails and then started it - it purrs so nice. :D So I'm a happy camper today!

Steve
 
NetKeym said:
When I lived in California, my buddy had a Civic that he had the oil changed at a Jiffy Lube. We got going down the freeway at 70+, I looked in the mirror, and it was nothing but a huge cloud of smoke erupting from the car!

We pulled over and it was just like you said, when they changed the oil filter, the old ring was stuck to the block (in addition to the new one), it broke, and oil was spewing out everywhere.
Click to expand...

I worked at a J-Lube for a few years when I was much younger. Usuall it breaks loose right away. Seen this and many many other fubars.
 
the first time I changed the oil on mine this past winter I almost forgot what a pain in the ass it was to get the filter out, my last car (04 impala) was a breeze in comparison..on my 97 thunderbird I had to twist it in a certain direction to get the thing out and usually dumped oil all over the k member causing drips for the next week or so..it sucks that you can't pre lube the filter in these cars since you have to tip the filter to get it in the right position to screw it on..which means no oil pressure for a few seconds before it fills the filter.
 
keVIIIn said:
it sucks that you can't pre lube the filter in these cars since you have to tip the filter to get it in the right position to screw it on..which means no oil pressure for a few seconds before it fills the filter.
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That's why I always change the oil with the engine hot.So it's well lubed and the hot engine will help the new oil flow faster.Also it helps get any sludge and deposits out.After a few oil changes now, I can now hear the oil dripping on the pan after I shut it off.
 
The reason it's such a friggin' pain to get the filter out on these cars is because the MN12 platform was not designed for the 4.6L DOHC V-8's sheer size. When the MN12 was introduced with the T-Bird and Cougar in '89, Ford was under the misguided impression that the V-8 would be a thing of the past in a few short years. So they designed the engine bay around the 3.8L V-6 and had no intention of putting a V-8 engine in the car(s). The 3.8L V-6 in NA and SC forms were the only engines available in the MN12 T-Bird/Cougar in '89 and '90 (the only two years in either cars' history that there wasn't a V-8 available). Due to customer demand for a V-8, they had to shoehorn the 302 into the cars for the '91 model year. And when the Mark VIII was indroduced, the 4.6L DOHC was literally "squeezed" under the hood. That's why everything is so tight under the bonnet on these cars. They put a twin-cam V-8 in an engine bay designed to accomodate a pushrod V-6.
 
keVIIIn said:
..it sucks that you can't pre lube the filter in these cars since you have to tip the filter to get it in the right position to screw it on..which means no oil pressure for a few seconds before it fills the filter.
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Nonsense. ;)

P1130611.jpg
 
slosteve said:
Lack of Information; sorry guys, tired last night. The lift I have is a 4 post that you drive onto as opposed to a 2 post that lifts from the frame and lets the suspension hang.
I've jacked this girl up (from no air in bags) fairly high and still can't get the darn filter through. I'm wondering what they do at Jiffy Lube; do they have to lift the car?!
Oh, and thanx for the welcome and all of your input. :)
Click to expand...
ive also heard that a bad motor mount could cause this iussue, allowing the engine to sit too close to the swaybar
racecougar said:
Nonsense. ;)

P1130611.jpg
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wow whats up racecougar, i was the guy that built midwestbirds dohc bird a few years back, so ive heard about alot of your fun
 
Icarus said:
Thats a TBird, racecougar :p Our ABS pump and lotsa other crap is in that fenderwell :(
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It's all about priorities. I went the non-ABS route to free up space in the engine bay on that car (and increase reliability), and I ditched the '97-based cruise control setup when I installed the oil accumulator. Having ~25 psi of oil pressure during startup was a higher priority than cruise control. That's a '90 Cougar, btw.

chicken said:
wow whats up racecougar, i was the guy that built midwestbirds dohc bird a few years back, so ive heard about alot of your fun
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:waving:
 
racecougar said:
Nonsense. ;)

P1130611.jpg
Click to expand...

So you have to remove the inner fender plastic everytime you change the oil?? Almost better to just deal with the stock filter location if that's the case..or can you reach through without taking the inner fender out?
 
Outlaw94 said:
That's why I always change the oil with the engine hot.So it's well lubed and the hot engine will help the new oil flow faster.Also it helps get any sludge and deposits out.After a few oil changes now, I can now hear the oil dripping on the pan after I shut it off.
Click to expand...

Now I have heard it all. :shifty:
 
keVIIIn said:
So you have to remove the inner fender plastic everytime you change the oil?? Almost better to just deal with the stock filter location if that's the case..or can you reach through without taking the inner fender out?
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If you look closely, you'll notice that the fenderliners have been modified. I wouldn't be able to check the gauge on the oil accumulator with unmodified fenderliners in place. Accessing the filter is a piece of cake...no need to remove anything.
 
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