Stuck oil filter; what do I do now?

[labman]

quote:

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Originally posted by Baveux:
if you have room, chisel and hammer used carefully will do the trick

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This is the ultimate that has saved many a real mechanic. The trick is to work tangentally. Get the chisel started near the edge, and then slant it so the force of the blow wants to turn the filter off. If the shell has yielded to the screwdriver, you could catch the edge of one of the inlet holes with a punch. this same technique works on broken bolts, bleeder screws, and rounded nuts and plugs.

The variation in shell thickness could account for some of the variation of success with the screwdriver.

Since I started using my 16'' Channellocks 10 year or so ago, all my filters have easily yielded to it. I do use a 5/4'' socket on the caniuster cap of my Ecotec.

 

[mikep]

quote:

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Originally posted by labman:
Since I started using my 16'' Channellocks 10 year or so ago, all my filters have easily yielded to it.

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That's how I ended up removing the filter after the botched screwdriver episode. Ran to the auto supply on the corner and purchased the largest Channel Locks they had. Good ol' Channel Locks saved the day!

 

[bob555]

I think that the screwdriver trick works best when you drive the screwdriver through the center tube, as well as through the outer shell of the filter. at that point, even if it tears apart, you should be able to use a punch in the baseplate holes to turn the filter.

I prefer big channel lock to try first though...

 

[tom slick]

in mazda circles it's a well known fact that they have a large japanese silver back gorrilla that installs the oil filters. he is fed saparro, banannas and kobe beef so he is a very strong fella.

it appears most mazdas have this problem from the factory.

 

[TC]

"...a large japanese silver back gorrilla...is fed Saparro, banannas and kobe beef so he is a very strong fella."
Yes -- that's very true!!! But he gets little or no roughage, so he's always constipated and pis*ed off, taking his aggressions out on those poor lil' oil filters.

Other than overtightening, another possibility is that the gorrilla isn't oiling the gaskets at the factory before installation. When I bought my new 2002 Mopar, it had sat on a dealer's lot for 15 months before purchase, and then it was another couple months before I did a first oil change. So that's about 17 month's worth of bonding time, although it came off OK. But in another ride, especially with an unoiled gasket, long-term bonding could potentially occur.

 

[labman]

quote:

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Originally posted by Thomas Pyrek:
I hate the screw driver method with a passion.

I actually have a leather belt that I will wrap around the filter 3-4 times and just slowly pull. This method has never failed me (no matter how hard the filter is to reach) and has been easier and cleaner than the screw driver.

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Great idea. May work well in tight places. Less chance of damage by misdirected screwdriver or hammer. Fewer ''Oh___!''

 

[1]

Holy crow, *never* do screwdriver method (I tried way back when on a '58 Rambler). Get your filter tool closer to the base ... where it is strongest. You probably used it up higher and it crumbled like a beer can - that's ok. 99 oughta a 100 that works. But if it's real old then you gotta get it real low, where the cannister is crimped to the steel base.

 

[sir slack-a-lot]

Hey folks!

I managed to yank the filter off today thanks to your suggestions; your help was much appreciated. I needed to resort to the use of vise grips with the chain on them in order to get it off. Nothing else cut it I'm afraid. It was really put on that tight!

Thanks once again!

Mike

 

[Thomas Pyrek]

I hate the screw driver method with a passion.

I actually have a leather belt that I will wrap around the filter 3-4 times and just slowly pull. This method has never failed me (no matter how hard the filter is to reach) and has been easier and cleaner than the screw driver.

 

[labman]

I have one of those, and may fall back on it if my trusty Channellocks ever fail to remove a filter. I have very little room to swing a wrench on my truck filter. I can quickly swing back for a new bite with the Channellocks. I have used the Vice-Grips thing, but it is slow.

 

[FowVay]

Off topic sort of and of no help with the stuck filter but I wanted to share a tidbit of useless information.

I have the good fortune of being friends with a engineer at Freudenberg/NOK which manufactures seals and O-rings for the automotive market. One of the products that they produce in their Lagrange, Georgia, facility is the gasket for numerous domestic oil filters. I asked specifically why oil filters can be so difficult to remove when you only install them hand tight. The answer is quite simple. The gaskets are not fully cured when they're produced and installed on the oil filter. They are in a stage of maturity which allows the rubber to last much longer with no ill effects due to age and moisture. Once the gasket is installed on the engine the rubber completes the curing cycle and this is why some filters are nearly impossible to remove.

So it isn't really a 600 lb. Gorilla that installs those darned filters. It just seems that way.

 

[oilguy3]

This same thing happened with my factory filter....It wont help you much now but in the future if you take the car to JiffyLube they have a special type of filter wrench (I've never seen this type anywhere else) that is adjustable and fits the endcap of an oilfilter. They can then attach this to a socket wrench or air gun. It's not the type that they sell at auto parts stores that fit a specific size filter. It's kinda cool (expensive) looking. Just my $.02

 

[kev99sl]

quote:

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Originally posted by mikep:

quote:

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Originally posted by 427Z06:

quote:

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Originally posted by mikep:
Either the filter socket or curved jaw dingus is the way to go. I strongly recommend you NOT poke a screwdriver through the filter. Been there, done that and all it accomplished was a mangled filter that was still stuck on the car.

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Bull. I've done this numerous times.

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Bull?

And you were there with me?

Pardon me for offering what was MY experience the one and only time I tried to use that last resort method. The darn thing was on so tight that when I attempted to turn the filter off with the now protruding screwdriver, it ripped through the case like butter.

If you prefer that method you could have simply said you've done it with no problems. I don't see the need to question my veracity.

But it is nice to know you've mastered the fine art of spearing oil filters.

Good day.

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I've also had the screwdriver "trick" accomplish nothing but rip the top half of the filter off. I suppose it depends on the strength/thickness of the steel used to make the particular filter. Again, the curved jaws will work every time, even if you only have half an inch of wiggle room.

 

[TC]

"...if you take the car to JiffyLube they have a special type of filter wrench (I've never seen this type anywhere else) that is adjustable and fits the endcap of an oilfilter. They can then attach this to a socket wrench or air gun."

We spend a lot of time on this board trashing the JiffyLube type shops, but we finally found something they're truly good at!!! Safe to say those monkeys are experts at removing stuck filters, probably even more so than a big bucks, Stuttgart-trained Mercedes mechanic. Glad to hear my vice-grips-chain-o-rama idea worked for ya, SirSlackaLot! By the way, along with F*rticus, you have one of the coolest names on the board.

 

[seotaji]

quote:

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Some Jughead from Japan had in on way too tight.

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are the engines made in japan?

 

[tom slick]

With a little internet surfing i found a pic of the infamous mazda filter gorilla!!!

 

[Seth_TJ]

The screwdriver trick can get you in trouble. I use it as one of my last resorts.

If anyone hasn't ever got to see a filter that is completely shredded off with nothing but the bottom and the part threaded on, well it is a nightmare. It wasn't me but i've seen it. It's BAD sometimes.

 

[427Z06]

quote:

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Originally posted by mikep:

quote:

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Originally posted by 427Z06:

quote:

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Originally posted by mikep:
Either the filter socket or curved jaw dingus is the way to go. I strongly recommend you NOT poke a screwdriver through the filter. Been there, done that and all it accomplished was a mangled filter that was still stuck on the car.

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Bull. I've done this numerous times.

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Bull?

And you were there with me?

Pardon me for offering what was MY experience the one and only time I tried to use that last resort method. The darn thing was on so tight that when I attempted to turn the filter off with the now protruding screwdriver, it ripped through the case like butter.

If you prefer that method you could have simply said you've done it with no problems. I don't see the need to question my veracity.

But it is nice to know you've mastered the fine art of spearing oil filters.

Good day.

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My apologies, Mike. Bad choice of wording on my part. In my defense, I have successfully removed at least a half a dozen stuck filters this way. Usually from friends and relatives that have tried everything else and called me as their last resort. From my experiences, I can tell you that how you "spear" it does make a difference on how successfully it'll work. I have gotten the best results by spearing it through the center diagonally from the end to the base. Like I said, worked everytime, and no need to run around looking for specialized one use tools. And I have every oil filter tool mentioned above except for one.

If there are filters that are stuck on tighter than the ones I removed in the past, I guess we now have a whole bunch of other methods to try.

[ October 05, 2004, 02:52 AM: Message edited by: 427Z06 ]

 

[KJA426]

Channellocks work well if you have room to get to the filter.

 

[mikep]

quote:

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Originally posted by 427Z06:
My apologies, Mike. Bad choice of wording on my part. In my defense, I have successfully removed at least a half a dozen stuck filters this way. Usually from friends and relatives that have tried everything else and called me as their last resort. From my experiences, I can tell you that how you "spear" it does make a difference on how successfully it'll work. I have gotten the best results by spearing it through the center diagonally from the end to the base. Like I said, worked everytime, and no need to run around looking for specialized one use tools. And I have every oil filter tool mentioned above except for one.

If there are filters that are stuck on tighter than the ones I removed in the past, I guess we now have a whole bunch of other methods to try.

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Apology accepted, thanks.

Like you eluded to I figure the one time I tried it I just didn't get the screwdriver through the right spot. Still, it was a harrowing enough experience for me not to try it again.