Stuck Oil Filter!

[baboon]

Truth. Not long after I inherited my dad's Durango, I ran over a large screw in the parking lot at work on a weekend. Could not BUDGE the lug nuts - I even stood on the lug wrench, and I weigh 300lb. Had to call roadside assistance, and that dude had to use a breakbar with a four foot pipe over the handle plus all his weight to get enough leverage. Discount Tire somewhere in far south Austin did that one.

Discount Tire lost my business when they siezed up 2 lug nuts to inform the they don't fix them because they aint mechanics. I told the manager with me making hospital runs with my wife at stupid hours of the night & needing to drive 1 -1.5 hours if there was a problem they would have one of biblical size.

 

[Sasquatch]

Three uga dugga?! I like that. Dad used to call it “dog shit tight and another half-a-turn!”

More uga dugga means more better! Run that bitch till it won't go anymore, right? Everything's hunky dory till the lug snaps off on the freeway, then another, then another, then oh, lookee, that looks a lot like our tire...hey, where's it going without us? Tire shop monkies with impact wrenches were great business, when I drove a tow truck for that very reason. The other was - service truck goes out - cannot get the damn tire to break free. Guess it needs flatbedded! Take it back to the shop that put the tires on and let them deal with it, and the pissed off customer. Someone needs to visit those dude's cars when no one is around, and slap half a pound of sticky wheel weights on one of their wheels.

 

[BBL]

Yes, I finally got the blasted thing off and replaced.

Inquiring minds want to know: what tool did you use to get it loosened in that confined space?
I do not own a vehicle with that tight of a filter fit anymore but still curious what trick you pulled out of your hat. I am coming up empty. I'd like to learn your secret.

 

[skfullgun]

Inquiring minds want to know: what tool did you use to get it loosened in that confined space?
I do not own a vehicle with that tight of a filter fit anymore but still curious what trick you pulled out of your hat. I am coming up empty. I'd like to learn your secret.

Just kept using one filter- wrench after the other. I finally deformed the filter enough to get a grip on it with one of the ratcheting type wrenches. I moved it at a snails-pace, almost imperceptible, until it finally came loose!

 

[Texasjack]

I worked in a gas station back when they were "service stations". 100% that a stuck oil filter is because they didn't put oil on the rubber gasket before spinning it on. I've seen them so badly stuck that using a screwdriver only tore off the metal cover. We had to use a cold chisel to get it loose.

That's not the worst I've seen. A dealership left the old gasket stuck connection and spun a new filter on top of it. The owner got a few miles down the road before enough oil leaked out to turn on his oil light. He pulled in to the gas station where I worked and we found the problem. He was pretty pissed, but I never did hear how he got satisfaction from the dealership.

My dad had a new Buick that came with a year of oil changes. He left the dealership after an oil change and noticed the oil light was on. He had to drive around the block to bring it back into the shop. They forgot to put oil in it. The dealership eventually exchanged the car for another one.

We had a guy come in who hadn't had the oil changed in a long time. The car used and/or leaked some oil, so he figured he was adding enough oil to keep it "new". Lately, according to him, it had stopped leaking oil, but was really hard to start. He said he couldn't figure out why as he had been adding STP. He had been adding nothing but STP for a couple years. We took out the drain plug and the hot oil barely started to ooze out. His oil was thicker than maple syrup. How he didn't blow the engine is beyond me.

We had an old lady who brought her car in for an oil change, but she said she brought her own oil. OK, sometimes people do that (and we charged extra.) The oil was in Mason jars. She and her husband had 2 cars. She rarely drove, so when her husband changed the oil in "his" car, he saved it in Mason jars and used it for "her" car. The old guy had passed away and she needed the Mason jars for canning, so she brought the car in and some of the gallons and gallons of oil he had saved over the past 20 years.

We had a guy call and ask how much oil it took to fill an engine. We told him 4 or 5 quarts, depending on the filter. He said that can't be right. Why not? Well, he had already put twice that much in his engine and it still wasn't full yet. You mean, on the dipstick? What's a dipstick? I can look in the hole and see it's not full.

 

[Wudidiz]

Trannies should be left alone!

That’s true, but they shouldn’t be allowed to compete in women’s sports.

 

[candcallen]

Trannies should be left alone!

Especially the constantly variable ones, too fluid to make a decision.

 

[dsgrey]

Just kept using one filter- wrench after the other. I finally deformed the filter enough to get a grip on it with one of the ratcheting type wrenches. I moved it at a snails-pace, almost imperceptible, until it finally came loose!

I've always found an oil filter strip that attaches to a 1/2" drive works. Since I do my own oil changes, the tightest filters always seem to be the original installed when built.

 

[oldag]

This is why I change the oil in my cars, rather than take it in. Then I know the filter and plug are properly torqued.

That V6 that was in the Blazers was a very good engine. No problems and good power.

Watch that the old filter gasket does not stay on the engine. You will know immediately upon starting the car if it does (and have a huge mess to clean up). They don't always stake the gasket on well these days.

The screwdriver through the filter does not normally work anymore. The filter can metal is too thin these days. You just tear right through the filter.

 

[orbitup]

That's funny. We have 2 guys torque to oe specs and sign off. I can probably rattle off every manufacturer and model torque specs from memory. The independent shops usually use the 3 uga dugga method.

How do you have 2 guys check torque? Do they beak torque and re-torque?

 

[mroper]

That happend to me on my last oil change. I used some of the grippy rubber drawer liner inside the filter wrench and it gripped it well enough to spin it off .

 

[Geezer]

The rule to tightening is to tighten until it wrings off then back it off a quarter turn.

 

[Dawico]

I remember my dad going out to change his oil when I was young. He came right back in and I asked him what happened. He started it and came back in because his old van needed to warm up. The oil was too thick to come out of the drain hole......

He's still the same way now.

I have a trusted shop in town that changes my oil. Keep in mind that I own two diesel trucks and the time/ hassle/ mess of dealing with about 4 gallons of oil each just isn't worth the few bucks I'll save.

 

[BeatTheTunaUp]

How do you have 2 guys check torque? Do they beak torque and re-torque?

follow up behind and click with the torque wrench to verify

 

[Axxe55]

IF using the band type of filterwrenches wrap a few layers of duct tpe or msking tape around the fdilter for a littlebetter bite on the filter.

I remember my dad going out to change his oil when I was young. He came right back in and I asked him what happened. He started it and came back in because his old van needed to warm up. The oil was too thick to come out of the drain hole......

He's still the same way now.

I have a trusted shop in town that changes my oil. Keep in mind that I own two diesel trucks and the time/ hassle/ mess of dealing with about 4 gallons of oil each just isn't worth the few bucks I'll save.

Plushaving to deal with the used oil.

 

[BBL]

This is why I change the oil in my cars, rather than take it in. Then I know the filter and plug are properly torqued.

That is why I do all work on my cars, yes, including engine rebuilds. I know it is done right and with the right parts. No surprises. Plus it is fun.

 

[BBL]

I have a trusted shop in town that changes my oil. Keep in mind that I own two diesel trucks and the time/ hassle/ mess of dealing with about 4 gallons of oil each just isn't worth the few bucks I'll save.

Few bucks? What is your shop charging you and what would it cost you to do it? When it comes to diesel oil changes, shops around here want $200 minimum. I can do it for $50. That's a huge chunk of change. Lots of ammo money. And I can dispose of the oil at any local auto-parts store in the same containers I bought the oil in.
Plus the oil change is easier on my diesel truck because it is so much higher, I don't need to jack it up like my car. LOL

 

[popper]

Filter spec on ATV. Spin till it touches, then another 1 1/2 turns. If you can get the old one off. Not much room for a strap and tin top wrench is too flimsy.

 

[orbitup]

follow up behind and click with the torque wrench to verify

That doesn't keep them from being over-torqued.

 

[oldag]

The rule to tightening is to tighten until it wrings off then back it off a quarter turn.

I never use a wrench when tightening the oil filter. This assures that I can get the filter off with a wrench.