Ford Transit 3.5 Oil/Filter Change

Moot

Veteran Expediter
Owner/Operator
Changing oil/filter in the Ford Transit with the 3.5 EcoBlaster is a major PIA and also very messy. No matter how careful one is when removing the oil filter, oil ends up on the turbo plumbing, crossmembers, floor and anything else within 10 feet. Today, oil change #29, I finally did it free of any oily mess.

I've been perfecting a device I made over the past several oil changes. The original consisted of a plastic juice container with the bottom 2 inches cut off. The original cap with a hole drilled in the center and fitted with a rubber grommet through which a Phillips screwdriver was inserted. The idea was to use a hammer to punch a hole in the oil filter with the screwdriver. The problem with this was not much oil drained from the filter without complete removal of the filter resulting in a mess.

Oil change # 28, instead of a screwdriver I used socket extension through the cap with an oil filter socket connected on the end inside the juice container and a ratchet on the other end. The problem with this was I failed to consider that the turning extension inside the tight fitting grommet caused the cap on the juice container to unscrew resulting in another mess.

Today I tried again. This time I glued the juice container cap to the threads on the container neck and also hosed down the extension and inside of the grommet with a silicone lubricant. The extension turned freely within the grommet. The capped stayed on. The oil filter was freed from it's threaded nipple and fell into the juice container. No mess!
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.Transit oil change 5 Final.jpg
 

Moot

Veteran Expediter
Owner/Operator
Can't compare to other brands, but pretty sure Transit was designed to make self-maintenance difficult. Instead of engineers they were designed by mad scientists.

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17652


Mad , you say...

Common Sense doesn't come with Directions
No just Abby Normal.
 

purgoose10

Veteran Expediter
What might help with the oil filter on 3.5 is an auxillary filter. Lucas sells them. Attach it to the original filter outlet on the engine then run the line to the filter which you can install on the firewall or whereever. I used them on chevy P/up's and chevy c/vans. Makes life a lot easier. You can also get them with a dual filter setup.
 

robin280

Seasoned Expediter
When I'm home, I take my Transit to my Ford dealer. Everything there is expensive except the oil change. For less that $50 I get synthetic blend oil change and also a tire rotation. I have found that it's almost impossible to get a fast tire rotation on the road because of my high roof and extended length.

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RoadTime

Veteran Expediter
Owner/Operator
When I'm home, I take my Transit to my Ford dealer. Everything there is expensive except the oil change. For less that $50 I get synthetic blend oil change and also a tire rotation. I have found that it's almost impossible to get a fast tire rotation on the road because of my high roof and extended length.

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I wonder if the Ford guys have a less mess work around for this. But at that price, I'd be more inclined to let them clean it up ;)
 
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Worn Out Manager

Veteran Expediter
Owner/Operator
US Air Force
When I'm home, I take my Transit to my Ford dealer. Everything there is expensive except the oil change. For less that $50 I get synthetic blend oil change and also a tire rotation. I have found that it's almost impossible to get a fast tire rotation on the road because of my high roof and extended length.

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My personal preference is to use full synthetic, not synthetic blend. Becomes important (I believe) as you get higher miles, especially with heavy loads and hilly terrain. That being said, my technical knowledge of an oily surface is the film on the top of a martini when you drop an olive in.

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Moot

Veteran Expediter
Owner/Operator
You suggested diapers on the Transit forum and you invented something that looks like a catheter......how old are you getting Moot?;)
Piper should have fun with this.

A few years ago my daughter was hospitalized. In her room I noticed what she called barf bags. These looked much more practical than those shallow little trays that were once so common. A few weeks ago I bought a bag of them on Amazon thinking it would work for changing the oil filter on my Transit. Early on I tried a plastic grocery bag that was a huge failure. I thought the stout plastic ring on the barf bag, unlike a simple plastic grocery would make it easy to hold up against the block where filter is mounted.

I thought the barf bag would be a simple, clean and disposable alternative to the juice container. The barf bag was a major failure. I'm staying with the juice container.
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Barf Bag 2.JPG
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Barf Bag 3.JPG
 
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