Oil change rant...

[travlnman]

Just finished doing what we all love...changing oil !

It was on the wife's '08 Mustang GT, it got Pennzoil Platinum and Motorcraft FL 820S as usual. The reason for the rant...last oil change time for her car, I was overwhelmed with work and stuff around the house, so the wife , meaning well for sure, took the Stang to the local Ford stealership for the oil change. I would never use any of the quick oil change places, but you like to think you can trust the dealer, I guess not. The drain plug was NOT stripped, but it was touch and go for a moment while removing it, I thought it was toast. Now for the filter...even if one is tight, I just use a piece of sandpaper in my palm to give a little grip and it's off. I'm no bodybuilder, but @ 6ft and 210lbs...I'm no wimp either. Not only did the sandpaper not do the trick, I had to come inside , get an old leather belt, and fashion an impromptu strap wrench, along with the kung fu grip with the sandpaper to break it loose ! When I do all the oil changes, the correct wrench on the drain plug and a quick bump is all it takes to remove plug, and you will never need a wrench of any kind to remove a filter I install. Personally, I average over 50k miles a year on my truck, plus the wife's car, son's truck (he does his own, I supervise) and my barn car , and have never had an issue with leaks of any kind. Why ...of why is it so hard for others to understand...more is not always better ??!! Rant over, thanks for listening.

 

[johnachak]

That, my good man is why I do my own changes also... the few times I didn't, I ran into the same problems. Once I had to do the screwdriver through the filter can trick... I didn't like that at all.

 

[Oil Changer]

Don't get involved in one of the three thin/thick oil threads going right now!

 

[GMorg]

This is my experience for nearly everything that I have tried pay someone else to to do. Not just cars, but also plumbing, electrical work, painting, tree trimming, ect. The free-market doesn't seem to solve everything when low cost labor supersedes skill and experience nearly every time.

 

[travlnman]

I know she had her heart in the right place, trying to take the load off of me...but in the long run, it's worse, because I have to "clean up" the mess they leave Oh well, guess I'll keep her, got nearly 23 yrs invested...I don't think she's up to training anybody else

 

[The Critic]

I don't see what the big deal is about the oil filter.

I tighten the spin-on filters on the vehicles I service, about 1-1.25 turns past the gasket contacting the block. This is about as tight as I can tighten it by hand.

Once, out of curiosity, I even tightened it as tight as I could with a cap wrench...and I still did not have trouble removing it the next time.

So, I am curious why you're getting worked up about the oil filter. Oil filters will sometimes require wrenches to remove and that is what oil filter wrenches are for. This is what steel cup filter wrenches and pliers type filter wrenches were made for.

 

[travlnman]

Critic, You missed reading that part I guess....at age 43 and millions of miles..I have never needed a wrench to remove a filter that I installed and never had any issues with leaks, so why would any rational human being just keep tightening it ? It is not necessary, it is not better, and it upsets me that common sense is so rare these days it practically a superpower. Filters do not tighten themselves...there is an established procedure for installing a filter, basically what you described in your post, and using that, it will not require any tools to remove. Spin on oil filters should never need any tools to install or remove.That being said....it plainly says "rant" in the title...what did you expect ?

 

[fireman32]

glad to know im not the only one who uses the sandpaper trick to get off oil filters lol

 

[Merkava_4]

Get the KD oil filter wrench with the swivel handle; they're the best.

 

[travlnman]

fireman32..sometimes you just need a little more "traction"

I actually like the idea that Fram has with the "grippy" coating on the end of their filters...I just don't like their filters (Please, everybody save their filter comments,start your own thread ) keep a piece in the toolbox at all times.

 

[Lyman]

I never go more then hand tight on a filter. Never had a leak. I have never understood why the oil change thugs do this stuff. I would never trust my vehicles to anyone else for simple maintenance.

 

[travlnman]

merkava...nice piece of tooling ! But as I said, a properly installed filter will never need one. If I don't buy one, that is incentive for me to never let that little chore get away from me again

 

[Mr Nice]

That's a lot of highway miles per year.

What is your oil chage drain interval ?

 

[AlienBug]

Originally Posted By: travlnman
I'm no bodybuilder,


Apparently the lube tech is.

Seriously, I'm considerably smaller than the OP, and I am pretty consistent always tightening oil filters to about 80% or so of my "max" effort. It tends to be about 50-50 that I need a filter wrench to get them off.

 

[wirelessF]

tl:dr oil filter was overtightened.

I always tighten the oil filter 3/4 turn, little past that, not enough strength for a full turn. No leaks in the 5,000mi run and I still can (under certain conditions) remove it by hand.

 

[friendly_jacek]

Sometimes I think they do that on purpose, to discourage DIY.

 

[travlnman]

friendly...I agree, it's a conspiracy !! LT4, if running MC semi syn or PYB, then 5-7.5k, basically just follow the OLM (2010 F150 with 4.6L 2v, someone would ask) Mobil 1 or PP, then 10k is the order of the day. That 50k per year is 90% interstate/highway steady cruise.

 

[Zeus103363]

I understand your rant. Reminds me of a oil change the dealership, my wife drove a 2000 malibu. We had lots going on and moving so I didnt have a place to change oil yet so we took it to the dealership, where she bought the car. I stood there and watched the tech take off the oil cap, then put it back on. After draining the oil, he went to take the oil cap back off, and it was stuck. They had to break it to get it off. After I got the bill for the service i noticed a $50 charge for parts. I told then " no way", and that they was gonna eat that or the tech could pay for what he broke. Went round and round with them. The tech said it was like that when he poped the hood. When I produced the video my wife shot of the tech while he was working under the hood, they changed there tune. I still think the tech was too high to even notice what was going on. We had just been to wal mart and she got a new camera she was playing with. Thans for her hard work, we got 6 free oil changes...and a free oil cap.

 

[AlienBug]

How the heck did he break an oil cap?

 

[Dakota1820]

if a wrench is needed the filter was put on to tight or the guy taking it off needs to grow some kahunas. im a buck 90 and 5 foot ten and i can get any properly installed filter off by hand. no excuse for it to be that tight and i would call the dealer and complain only because i cant stand stuff like that.

you have every right to rant!!