This is the easiest maintenance item on a 13th-gen F-150. The airbox sits in the driver's-side front corner of the engine bay, and everything you need to touch is reachable standing at the fender. On most trucks you loosen one worm-gear clamp on the outlet tube with an 8 mm socket, pop three or four clips, and lift the lid.
All four engines in this generation use the same style of flat panel filter in a similar box, though part numbers differ by year and engine, so match by application rather than by eye. The one thing people get wrong is the lid: if the rubber filter seal isn't pressed fully into the groove, the lid won't clip flat and unfiltered air sneaks past, which can also cause a faint intake whistle and eventually a dirty MAF sensor.
| Item | Type | |
|---|---|---|
| Flat-blade screwdriver Medium, 1/4 in tip Loosens the worm-gear clamp on the airbox outlet tube and helps pry the lid clips. | Required | shop |
| Socket 8 mm 6-point, 1/4 in drive Fits the hex head on the outlet-tube hose clamp; faster and less likely to slip than a screwdriver. | Required | shop |
| Ratchet or nut driver 1/4 in drive, short handle Drives the 8 mm socket in the tight space between the airbox and the fender. | Required | shop |
| Socket 7 mm 6-point, 1/4 in drive Some trucks use 7 mm hex-head screws or clamps on the lid and inlet ducting. | Recommended | shop |
| Phillips screwdriver #2 Backup for lid screws on trucks with a screw-retained airbox cover. | Recommended | shop |
| Shop vacuum With crevice nozzle Cleans leaves and dirt out of the lower airbox housing before the new filter goes in. | Recommended | shop |
| Trim/panel pry tool Plastic Releases stubborn airbox lid clips without cracking the plastic. | Recommended | shop |
| Engine air filter FA-1908 / FA-1927 style panel filter (check application by year and engine) The replacement filter element itself. | Parts | shop |
| Shop towels Wipe the sealing surface of the airbox before closing the lid. | Consumables | shop |
| Nitrile gloves Keeps dust and old filter debris off your hands. | Safety | shop |
Tool sizes are effectively the same across 3.3 V6, 5.0 V8, 2.7 EcoBoost and 3.5 EcoBoost: an 8 mm hex-head clamp on the airbox outlet. Later builds and some EcoBoost trucks use a snap-together outlet coupling with no clamp at all, and a few boxes use 7 mm or Phillips lid screws instead of spring clips. Filter part numbers differ by engine and year, so check the application listing.
| Airbox outlet tube hose clamp | verify in the service manual (snug only, about 15-20 in-lb) |
| Airbox lid screws (if equipped) | verify in the service manual (hand snug) |
The airbox location and the 8 mm hose clamp are consistent across 2015-2020 F-150s, but the lid can be clip- or screw-retained depending on build year and engine, so open the hood and look before buying a socket you don't need.
Ford's schedule calls for inspection at each oil change and replacement around every 30,000 miles. If you drive dirt roads, jobsites or dusty areas, 15,000-20,000 miles is more realistic; hold it up to a light and replace it when light no longer passes through the media.
Most trucks need at least a screwdriver or 8 mm socket for the outlet tube clamp. Once the tube is off, the lid clips release by hand, though a plastic pry tool helps if they're stiff from age.
Motorcraft FA-1908 covers many 2015-2017 applications and FA-1927 covers many later builds; the correct number varies by year and engine, so verify with an application lookup or compare to the old filter before installing.
Replacing a badly clogged filter restores lost throttle response and mpg, but going from a clean filter to a new one changes nothing measurable. Oiled performance filters on EcoBoost trucks more often cause MAF contamination codes than gains.