ok so this morning i went to advance auto parts and bought 6 quarts of pennzoil some lucas carbuerator/fuel injector cleaner and a fram tough guard oil filter. i went to get my tires rotated got home parked it and opened the hood to let it cool off faster so i could change my oil. about an hour and a half later i went and started lookin for the oil filter and couldnt find it. i only looked for about ten minutes but i still figured itd be pretty easy to spot. the only vehicle ive ever change the oil on was my dads old nissan truck ( didnt really change it but helped him change it since i was really young) and my moms old dodge grand caravan and it was easy to find on the caravan but then my dad bought an 03 dodge and got free oil changes so weve never done it on his truck and my mom got a coupon for free oil changes for the rest of the time she owned the caravan and then got a new town and country last year with free oil changes so its been about 14 months since ive had to change the oil in a vehicle and i know how to do it but i have no idea where to look for the oil filter on my truck. anybody who could tell me where to look would be much appreciated. oh btw i drive an 04 4.7L if that helps.

 

Your oil filter is located on the FRONT drivers side of the block... It will have a "DRIP" Rail extending from the block... This is a nice feature as if helps direct the oil drip to the pan when you remove it...

I hope your ready for a fight! The factory filter is a SOB to get off the on your first oil change... You may want to pick up a good oil filter wrench before you begine...


SPEED SAFE, AIR RAM

 

I'd probably stay away from the Fram oil filters.

 

yeah i just got back online to say that i had found it. my friend had showed me his oil filter onhis f150 yesterday and it was sort of under that plastic shroud lining the front wheel wells so i was looking on the backend of the block on the drivers side. i had just found it and figured out what that drip rail was. this isnt the trucks first oil change...from looking at the maintenance log book in my glove compartment the guy who owned it before me was pretty good about going in to the dealership for all his maintenance needs. he was on schedule "A" and im getting it on the "B" schedule so 30,000 miles is a good round number to start it at. from looking at the owners manual keeping it on the "B" schedule from now on will make most of the maintenance at more regular intervals. the only thing i didnt like was that when looking at the book the first oil change was listed at 12000 miles and then again at 18000 24000 and so on so i dont know if he just decided to skip 2 oil changes or didnt record it in the log book until his 3rd one. im guessing this is it since the salesman who sold us this truck said the original owner always brought it in for maintenance.

 

whats wrong with the fram filters
everything ive read/heard/seen on tv says that theyre pretty good if not the best.

 

I personaly use the FRAM HP-1 which is a MONSTER. I will NOT jump out and say that FRAM is the best nor will I say they are the worst... I will just say the one I use works great for what I need it to do. There are a few people who will preach that FRAMs are the worst, but none of them have ever had one fail on them nor do they know anyone who has had one fail on them.... There was a real intresting filter study that did rate Fram among the worst filters because they use cardboard ends... I personaly chock it all up with HYPE. I have used the FRAM HP-1 on my race car for years never not one issue what so ever... (And yes HANK I cut them open and inspect them for any signs for failure and to see what its catching)... I figured out that the same HP-1 fits the 4.7L and 5.7L... Its the largest filter you can stick on your truck PERIOD and it has the LARGEST flow holes out of ANY filter I have seen to date. The larger flow holes mean less restriction on your oil pump at higher RPMs.

Second... Fram is the leading manufacture of oil filters... when you sell a billion of anything your going to have a few bad apples slip by the QA inspectors. Use what helps you sleep at night... I use the FRAM HP-1 and I sleep just fine.

SPEED SAFE, AIR RAM

 

I've done a lot of online research on oil filters and a couple of studies ranked the standard Fram filters as the lowest. One of those I read may be what you were referring to.

 

well thanks for the info...its already been bought but ill see how it works for me and if it does good then ill stick with it if not ill do some research and problly post about another brand to try in about 2800 miles (yes i let myself go 200 miles over the 3000 mark because ive been workin and havent had a chance to do it).

oh and i know this is off topic but i figured better to post here than to open a new thread. i was wanting to get some headers on my truck but didnt want to have to take my engine out to do it. i know that you can replace exhaust manifolds without pulling the engine out because ive done it before on a friends 92 f150. it was a pain in the *** with the cramped spaces but it was also still roomier than my engine compartment so i just dont see how i could put headers on without pulling the engine out of the truck which i really dont want to do or pay somebody else to do.