Has anyone ever had the displeasure of changing an air filter in an early 2000s Ford Focus Zetec? I got two of the bolts to come off without trouble, but the third one would just sit and spin in place. The engineers at Ford had the brilliant idea to make the connecting nut completely round with no edges to put a socket around to keep the entire bolt from spinning in place. I fought with it for over an hour trying to use pliers, a wrench and a socket. I eventually managed to get it half way off by wedging the pliers between part of the air filter box and the round nut and pry open the box enough to squeeze the old filter out and put the new one in. It caused the air filter housing to crack just a bit around where the bolt went in as well. I also could not tighten that bolt anymore on that side of the box as it would spin in either direction. Why can't all cars just have the two or three little clamps like on the Firebird I have? It literally takes 10 seconds in that car. My hands are still hurting from that nonsense. Such a horribly designed air filter bolt setup... ugh.
2003 Ford Focus Air Filter Housing Rant
- Thread starter ThirdeYe
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Isn't that the lifetime filter?
Nick1994
$100 site donor 2024
My mom had an 03' Focus with the 2.0L Zetec and I just remember using a flathead screwdriver when changing the filter. Wasn't hard at all.
Originally Posted By: CHARLIEBRONSON21
Isn't that the lifetime filter?
No, the one that was in the filter housing was just a Napa ProSelect that the previous owner put in probably around 5 years ago or so. The media was pretty brittle and broke apart in my hands. Glad I was able to squeeze the new one in there.
I did also change the cabin air filter, which was also a project even after moving the wiper blades to the vertical position. There was also a nice "present" of a mouse nest in there that took quite a while to get out. There was no cabin air filter installed, just a plastic housing/placeholder, so it looks like it went the entire 150k without a cabin air filter. Also changed the spark plugs, which I'm pretty sure were also original. The electrodes looked great, but the metal area where you put your 6-point socket over was rusted an corroded on all 4 of the plugs. That went smooth, at least.
Isn't that the lifetime filter?
No, the one that was in the filter housing was just a Napa ProSelect that the previous owner put in probably around 5 years ago or so. The media was pretty brittle and broke apart in my hands. Glad I was able to squeeze the new one in there.
I did also change the cabin air filter, which was also a project even after moving the wiper blades to the vertical position. There was also a nice "present" of a mouse nest in there that took quite a while to get out. There was no cabin air filter installed, just a plastic housing/placeholder, so it looks like it went the entire 150k without a cabin air filter. Also changed the spark plugs, which I'm pretty sure were also original. The electrodes looked great, but the metal area where you put your 6-point socket over was rusted an corroded on all 4 of the plugs. That went smooth, at least.
Originally Posted By: Nick1994
My mom had an 03' Focus with the 2.0L Zetec and I just remember using a flathead screwdriver when changing the filter. Wasn't hard at all.
I think it has something to do with how rusty the bolts were (thanks Michigan!) that you probably don't have to deal with in AZ. I'm guessing the round nut got rusted to the bolt itself and when I tried to turn it, it broke loose with the round nut still attached. Still, it's a terrible design IMO that would've been fine had they just used clamps instead. Even the rusty bolts in my '95 Acura never had an issue with getting stuck or spinning in place. If they would've used a hex-shaped nut on the end, I could've just used a wrench to hold the bottom in place while I turned the bolt above.
My mom had an 03' Focus with the 2.0L Zetec and I just remember using a flathead screwdriver when changing the filter. Wasn't hard at all.
I think it has something to do with how rusty the bolts were (thanks Michigan!) that you probably don't have to deal with in AZ. I'm guessing the round nut got rusted to the bolt itself and when I tried to turn it, it broke loose with the round nut still attached. Still, it's a terrible design IMO that would've been fine had they just used clamps instead. Even the rusty bolts in my '95 Acura never had an issue with getting stuck or spinning in place. If they would've used a hex-shaped nut on the end, I could've just used a wrench to hold the bottom in place while I turned the bolt above.
Originally Posted By: ThirdeYe
Why can't all cars just have the two or three little clamps like on the Firebird I have? It literally takes 10 seconds in that car. My hands are still hurting from that nonsense. Such a horribly designed air filter bolt setup... ugh.
Both E430 and S2000 has 6 clamps, 3 on front and 3 on back. They are easy to unlatch to change air filter.
Why can't all cars just have the two or three little clamps like on the Firebird I have? It literally takes 10 seconds in that car. My hands are still hurting from that nonsense. Such a horribly designed air filter bolt setup... ugh.
Both E430 and S2000 has 6 clamps, 3 on front and 3 on back. They are easy to unlatch to change air filter.
Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
Originally Posted By: ThirdeYe
Why can't all cars just have the two or three little clamps like on the Firebird I have? It literally takes 10 seconds in that car. My hands are still hurting from that nonsense. Such a horribly designed air filter bolt setup... ugh.
Both E430 and S2000 has 6 clamps, 3 on front and 3 on back. They are easy to unlatch to change air filter.
The Firebird I have only has 2, if I remember right. I want to say the Scion also has just 2 clamps. All cars should have clamps rather than bolts, IMO.
Originally Posted By: ThirdeYe
Why can't all cars just have the two or three little clamps like on the Firebird I have? It literally takes 10 seconds in that car. My hands are still hurting from that nonsense. Such a horribly designed air filter bolt setup... ugh.
Both E430 and S2000 has 6 clamps, 3 on front and 3 on back. They are easy to unlatch to change air filter.
The Firebird I have only has 2, if I remember right. I want to say the Scion also has just 2 clamps. All cars should have clamps rather than bolts, IMO.
OVERKILL
$100 Site Donor 2021
Originally Posted By: ThirdeYe
Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
Originally Posted By: ThirdeYe
Why can't all cars just have the two or three little clamps like on the Firebird I have? It literally takes 10 seconds in that car. My hands are still hurting from that nonsense. Such a horribly designed air filter bolt setup... ugh.
Both E430 and S2000 has 6 clamps, 3 on front and 3 on back. They are easy to unlatch to change air filter.
The Firebird I have only has 2, if I remember right. I want to say the Scion also has just 2 clamps. All cars should have clamps rather than bolts, IMO.
I recall these fun bolts on our Focus. Comically both my Town Car and Mustang had the clamps. The Expedition has one big clamp that wraps around the filter housing and connects it to the MAF.
Why Ford chose to temporarily deviate from what worked for them forever, I have no idea
Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
Originally Posted By: ThirdeYe
Why can't all cars just have the two or three little clamps like on the Firebird I have? It literally takes 10 seconds in that car. My hands are still hurting from that nonsense. Such a horribly designed air filter bolt setup... ugh.
Both E430 and S2000 has 6 clamps, 3 on front and 3 on back. They are easy to unlatch to change air filter.
The Firebird I have only has 2, if I remember right. I want to say the Scion also has just 2 clamps. All cars should have clamps rather than bolts, IMO.
I recall these fun bolts on our Focus. Comically both my Town Car and Mustang had the clamps. The Expedition has one big clamp that wraps around the filter housing and connects it to the MAF.
Why Ford chose to temporarily deviate from what worked for them forever, I have no idea
I liked the old days when it was just one wingnut over the round housing over a carburetor.
When I worked at a tire shop doing LOFs we have a multipoint checklist that included pulling the air filter... it was fraught with peril as there are lots of jury rigged boxes out there and nasty gonna-break hardware to trap the unwary.
When I worked at a tire shop doing LOFs we have a multipoint checklist that included pulling the air filter... it was fraught with peril as there are lots of jury rigged boxes out there and nasty gonna-break hardware to trap the unwary.
Originally Posted By: eljefino
I liked the old days when it was just one wingnut over the round housing over a carburetor.
When I worked at a tire shop doing LOFs we have a multipoint checklist that included pulling the air filter... it was fraught with peril as there are lots of jury rigged boxes out there and nasty gonna-break hardware to trap the unwary.
Back in my jiffy lube days I learned to tell the guys not to bother even looking at it.
On our old Escort GT, I think they cracked the intake hose underneath so it wasn't noticed until it started really affecting drivability.
I liked the old days when it was just one wingnut over the round housing over a carburetor.
When I worked at a tire shop doing LOFs we have a multipoint checklist that included pulling the air filter... it was fraught with peril as there are lots of jury rigged boxes out there and nasty gonna-break hardware to trap the unwary.
Back in my jiffy lube days I learned to tell the guys not to bother even looking at it.
On our old Escort GT, I think they cracked the intake hose underneath so it wasn't noticed until it started really affecting drivability.
Originally Posted By: Lubener
Of all the car makers, I always thought that Ford lacked common sense when it came to design.
Ford designs to manufacture, not for maintenance or repair. Given their sales rankings, it's a strategy that works well for them.
Of all the car makers, I always thought that Ford lacked common sense when it came to design.
Ford designs to manufacture, not for maintenance or repair. Given their sales rankings, it's a strategy that works well for them.
I have California Emissions and PZEV ... yet I have the regular air filter on mine. Go figure.
And they aren't cheap since it's super rare to have a real air filter.
And they aren't cheap since it's super rare to have a real air filter.
Yes, just be thankful you can at least change your filter... I have the lifetime one and Cali/PZEV emissions. even if I wanted to change it I couldn't...
Originally Posted By: MysticGold04
Yes, just be thankful you can at least change your filter... I have the lifetime one and Cali/PZEV emissions. even if I wanted to change it I couldn't...
I have the lifetime one too, but I don't worry too much about it as I don't drive in a lot of dust. I don't know if the restriction gauge is resettable, but if it is, it would be good to test it I suppose.
I assume the filter is going to outlast the body anyways, so I will save $80 from never buying an air filter for it.
Yes, just be thankful you can at least change your filter... I have the lifetime one and Cali/PZEV emissions. even if I wanted to change it I couldn't...
I have the lifetime one too, but I don't worry too much about it as I don't drive in a lot of dust. I don't know if the restriction gauge is resettable, but if it is, it would be good to test it I suppose.
I assume the filter is going to outlast the body anyways, so I will save $80 from never buying an air filter for it.
Is it possible to get the MAF and intake tube from a non-lifetime filter car?
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