Oil Filter Agony

mass-hole · **Posted:** Mon Jan 05, 2015 9:03 pm

EVERY TIME I do my oil, which is every 5000 miles, i have a battle to the death with my oil filter to get it off of the engine block. This is the 4th or 5th change I have done on the Jeep so far and every single time but one I have had to pound screw drivers or a chisel through the can to give me enough leverage to twist the filter off. I have a filter socket and i put so much torque on it that the end of the filter crushes. I oil the filter gasket before I put it on and only tighten it 3/4 turn after the gasket contacts the block.

Am I the only one this happens too? I have never had an issue like this on the 5 other cars I have owned. If it were not for the filter, the Jeep would probably be the easiest car I have owned to change the oil on but instead it becomes a giant PITA with oil getting all over me and my tools.

DOC4444 · **Posted:** Mon Jan 05, 2015 9:24 pm

Having used only OEM filters, I have never run into this. What brand of filter are you using?

DOC

CRD05il · **Posted:** Mon Jan 05, 2015 9:33 pm

It's better then the problem I have. Mine keeps coming lose and I am losing oil. So every few days now I check my oil filter because it backs off.

flash7210 · **Posted:** Mon Jan 05, 2015 9:39 pm

I have a large pair of channel lock pliers made specifically for removing oil filters.
Works every time.

gmctd · **Posted:** Mon Jan 05, 2015 10:11 pm

The oil-filter mating-surface on my aluminum pan had burrs and projections left during the molding process - locating and removing them allowed easier filter removal

Far as I can tell, these pans are injection-molded, rather than cast - molded surfaces come out smooth, requiring little-to-no additional machining, where cast pan surfaces require full machining to spec

crasher · **Posted:** Mon Jan 05, 2015 10:24 pm

flash7210 wrote:

I have a large pair of channel lock pliers made specifically for removing oil filters.
Works every time.

Yep, works, but it can really crush that sucka trying to get it to start to move.
Scared me the first time, I kept thinking I was going to tear the can off the base, and I was wondering how much of a PITA it was going to end up being.

CIMARRON13 · **Posted:** Tue Jan 06, 2015 2:21 am

I always have issues with getting filters off on all my vehicles. I use a screwdriver sometimes as well. It not only helps wrench it off but also helps drain them. My 7.3 filter holds 2 quarts of oil and is easier to handle if drained.

95Z28A4 · **Joined:** Sun Mar 30, 2014 9:53 am **Posts:** 297

mass-hole wrote:

EVERY TIME I do my oil, which is every 5000 miles, i have a battle to the death with my oil filter to get it off of the engine block. This is the 4th or 5th change I have done on the Jeep so far and every single time but one I have had to pound screw drivers or a chisel through the can to give me enough leverage to twist the filter off. I have a filter socket and i put so much torque on it that the end of the filter crushes. I oil the filter gasket before I put it on and only tighten it 3/4 turn after the gasket contacts the block.

Am I the only one this happens too? I have never had an issue like this on the 5 other cars I have owned. If it were not for the filter, the Jeep would probably be the easiest car I have owned to change the oil on but instead it becomes a giant PITA with oil getting all over me and my tools.

I have only changed the oil twice since I purchased the CRD in May 2014. I have not had any problems removing the filter. I use a KD oil filter strap wrench that I've had for approximately 30 years. When I install the filter, I tighten it with a 2 hand grip until I can't turn anymore. I then tighten the filter exactly 1/4 additional turn with the strap wrench. I use a WIX 51515 filter.

WWDiesel · **Posted:** Tue Jan 06, 2015 6:24 am

I simply use a filter strap wrench designed for filter removal on all my vehicles. Never had a problem removing any of them, large or small...

I have noticed in the past that some filter manufacturers use a much thinner metal on their filter cans that would be prone to crushing as opposed to the much thicker metal filter cans used on premium grade filters like Pure One and a few others... :wink:

CIMARRON13 · **Posted:** Tue Jan 06, 2015 9:32 am

I have only heard that filters that use an O ring instead of the flat gasket come off easier.

dirtmover · **Posted:** Tue Jan 06, 2015 10:01 am

Maybe your judgement of just touching the block before the further 3/4 if off and you're over tightening it?

Never had any issues with any of my vehicles. Spin them on, hand tighten and they come back off with a chain wrench with minor deformation.

Always used a Wix 51516.

Burrs or damaged mating surface certainly sounds plausible.

mass-hole · **Posted:** Tue Jan 06, 2015 10:37 am

I have been using Fram Ultra XG8A's, which seems to be a favorite over at BITOG, but I also had this issue with a Napa branded Wix filter and an OEM filter that the dealer had put on when I bought the car.

I have tried strap wrenches to no avail. They end up just crushing it and I cant get leverage.

I dont think the surface has burs either. I always wipe it down with a paper towel after I get the filter off and it never tears those up.

Could it be something to do with location in proximity to the downpipe causing to much heat and the gasket to "weld" itself.

mass-hole · **Posted:** Tue Jan 06, 2015 10:50 am

dirtmover wrote:

Maybe your judgement of just touching the block before the further 3/4 if off and you're over tightening it?

Never had any issues with any of my vehicles. Spin them on, hand tighten and they come back off with a chain wrench with minor deformation.

Always used a Wix 51516.

Burrs or damaged mating surface certainly sounds plausible.

This is probably it. What i usually do it free spin the filter until it catches itself with the friction of the gasket, and then i start my 3/4 turn. Usually its by hand though.

thermorex · **Posted:** Tue Jan 06, 2015 9:37 pm

3/4 is a bit much as I remember, I torque it very light, then about 1/8-1/4 more and then I unscrew 1/8 to make sure it's not too tied, then I screw it back 1/8. I never had a problem with mine this way, neither leaks nor overtied.

cevans · **Joined:** Wed Aug 24, 2005 12:48 pm **Posts:** 278

Perhaps a stupid question - are you oiling the o-ring before installation?

thermorex · **Posted:** Wed Jan 07, 2015 12:13 pm

cevans wrote:

Perhaps a stupid question - are you oiling the o-ring before installation?

He said he does on his initial post. I think he may not realize that he's over torquing, may seem easy for him to tie another 3/4 turn but I think that is too much.

kissfan79 · **Posted:** Wed Jan 07, 2015 7:50 pm

I use the oversize Mobil filter M-301 and have never had a problem with it on the Jeep. I tighten the filter by hand and when it comes time to change it I can still get it off by hand. There have been a couple of times I had to put a towel around it for grip and use 2 hands but I never have to use a filter wrench on it.

Jim

lars0247 · **Joined:** Sat Oct 12, 2013 12:09 am **Posts:** 98

Just get an ordinary oil filter wrench with the circular metal strap (not a chain type though, they tend to tear the filter can). They work very well and there is no reason to use anything else on this vehicle as it is easy to access the filter.

Hexus · **Posted:** Thu Jan 08, 2015 12:20 pm

I've always just used my hand (been able to palm a basketball since 6th grade, so there's that) but yeah...

I believe I had one FRAM filter (don't judge me bro, Wix ever since) that got stuck on one time, and I ended up using a rubber filter wrench to get it off of there.

I'm not sure why you're having such an issue, do you clean the area prior to putting the oil filter on? I've always wiped off the surface area that the oil filter gasket is going to touch before applying the new filter, so it's always shiny and metallic looking instead of covered in brown goo.

Just my :2cents:

mass-hole · **Posted:** Thu Jan 08, 2015 6:05 pm

thermorex wrote:

3/4 is a bit much as I remember, I torque it very light, then about 1/8-1/4 more and then I unscrew 1/8 to make sure it's not too tied, then I screw it back 1/8. I never had a problem with mine this way, neither leaks nor overtied.

I only do that because the box says 3/4 to 1 turn. My guess is I am going to far before I start counting turns, so once i get to 3/4 maybe its actaully 1+.

Its annoying though because this is the only vehicle it happens on. This has not been an issue with anything else and i use the same technique. Maybe just the size of the filter as my subaru has a fitler the size of a shot glass.

Oil Filter Agony

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