Man Spends Three Days Trying To Remove Oil Filter

[Mark Barnes]

72 Hours to remove an Oil Filter

WOW

Not the kind of thing you'd think someone would admit to, eh?

 

[BB BELLA]

I would take a guess at over 15,000 filters I've installed. 50day for 5 yrs at a truck stop i worked at and 20yrs. marine mechanic. I've had my battles! johnson bar lots of times on trucks ,never an airchisel!The mack spinner oil filter which looks like a small artillery shell were sometimes a muscle tester,but in a spot where you could get some footing!
Cat 3406 oem oil filter is certainly the best manufactured filter I've ever seen!base is over 1" thick and the filter hold 1us gallon.

 

[GrabberOrange69]

Next Month's article... Same guy changes spark plugs

Lol. Screw those up and it can be a lot more complicated a fix than an oil filter!

 

[QuickBpBp]

I will admit that a spark plug change in a 5.7 equipped 2003-2008 Ram truck S U C K S.
The fastest time I had was 1 1/2 hours.

Did that, plus a few coils and plug wires this past year on my wife's 03 2500.. Wires are fun all 16 of them! 2 1/2 hrs with taking breaks cause my back was killing me standing on a step stool leaning into the engine compartment. Fired right up and got all of them right the first time..

 

[Dave P]

Having fought the battle a few times over the years, I've come up with the next to last resort.
Having a machine shop, I've taken a piece of scrap round stock of sufficient od. and drilled it to
take dowels. Set the hole pattern and size to match the holes in the filter base and mill a 1/2
square pocket in the other side to put a extension in. Then hammer the bitch loose with a 1/2
in air impact. I've found punching the "can" to be about useless....they just tear apart.
Last resort is cutting it off.
Dave

 

[oldbee]

Working as an auto tech 45 years there was more than one filter that the can got ripped off. If the seal was dry and it was installed to tight, good luck. Learned two things. Before the can starts to twist grab it with 2 oil filter wrenches at the same time. Most times that will work. The cup type by itself can tear the can off. If the can has to come off or tears you are at option two. Break out the air chisel. Grind a bit with a notch in it. Place the notch in one of the holes and have at it. At times the hole will tear. You may have to go to a 2nd hole. Filter brand doesn't matter. I've had this happen with many different brands.
Doug

Have used an air chisel on more than a few semi’s in my day. You just have to show the engine who the boss is!

 

[Don Frelier]

He wasn't by chance the same guy with the cockroach infestation?

New Zealand man had cockroach trapped in ear for 3 days

 

[Ron H]

Next Month's article... Same guy changes spark plugs

Was thinking the same thing; next headline: Guy takes three weeks to remove plugs.
When I bought my '63 the car had been in storage for 6 years...had fun getting the filter off...only time with all the oil changes I did that the can started collapsing to get it off.

 

[khryslerkid]

You kind of get that feeling when you go to change a filter and you notice paint missing where a filter wrench was used to install it.

 

[Tony Tee]

Hand tighten only? Who's hand Is doing the tightening? And why we don't trust our own Kung Foo grip?
Personally I use a band type wrench to tighten it a little bit beyond my oily hand grip can muster. Because it's usually oily!

 

[khryslerkid]

I'll make it simple. 1/2 to 3/4 turn after the gasket contacts the flange, one full turn can be too tight in most cases. Put a thin film of clean oil on the gasket first and make sure the flange is clean. This is stated with most filter manufacturers on their filters.

Some filters are a bear to get to so using a wrench or a filter socket is not out of the question if you watch how far you turn the filter after contact.

 

[Don Frelier]

I've always gone about a 1/3rd of a turn after the gasket starts to catch.
Never had one leak yet but I always check for leaks when I fire it back up.

 

[Ron H]

Yeah, I had a major oil leak encounter in my folk’s garage eons ago with my Challenger. All nice and full, fire it up and see a puddle of oil spreading out from beneath the car. Looked like a major artery bleed out, lol. Come to find the retaining nut had backed out slightly, that’s all that took. Ever since my ritual became more ****, I put the last qt in after I start the car to save the qt if there’s a leak (just a thing to ease the extent of pissed-off-ness) and also double check the retainer before screwing on the filter.

 

[SlinktRR]

I think the hand tighten and oil on the gasket rules of thumb were the first car things I learned from my dad in grade school. He also warned me against the fram/allied signal filters. Can't imagine what happened here, rusted and seized on the threads? I suppose any nightmare is possible with a fram filter.

I got a free super fram xp3 whatever filter recently. Inspected and briefly considered, then threw it in the garbage and bought the WIX.

 

[BB BELLA]

these were fun, good part was most of the trucks

with them usually ran 6 months on an oil change because of the oil volume!

 

[myfeather626]

I sure hope he didn't put a Fram back on it!

This is what happens when someone doesn't use a thin smear of oil on the gasket and then over tightens it.

I put a dab of Earl all the way around the rubber gasket!

 

[toolmanmike]

I put a dab of Earl all the way around the rubber gasket!

Oil.or a smear of grease.

 

[eldubb440]

At times the hole will tear. You may have to go to a 2nd hole.

I hate it when that happens......I was always told the hole is designed to stretch a mile before it rips an inch