Blooming oil filter!

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Sat 17 Jul 2010 23:14
Blooming oil filter! - Diamond

Planned to do the oil change plus filter on my Carina E that I bought in February this morning. It started well enough with the Pela pump removing 3 litres of used oil.

The car had always been serviced at a Toyota main dealer and I did wonder how tight they put the filter on - they put it on VERY tight in fact!! Tried to get it off just wearing latex gloves which have a fair grip but that didn't work. Then a neighbour lent me his old leather strap filter wrench, that was hopeless in fact!

After a couple of hours and blistered hands I phoned my girlfriends brother in law who does a lot with cars and he said he would have it off in a jiffy - he did using a chain filter wrench.

I had to fill with the new oil to get round there but fortunately with the placement of the filter on the Carina no oil from the sump came out on removal.

Job done now but why do people have to put these things on soooo tight in the first place?

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Sun 18 Jul 2010 00:28
Blooming oil filter! - slowdown avenue

just had the same thing . what would be the best tool to remove a toyota yaris diesel FUE L filter.. when yoyu fit the oil filter wipe a smear of GREASE around the seal , works a treat

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Sun 18 Jul 2010 00:56
Blooming oil filter! - Lygonos

I remember having to spear a long screwdriver through the filter body of a few old cars - modern ones rarely allow for this luxury due to space restrictions.

Never had any problems with engine oil on the seal - just removing filters others have put on.

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Sun 18 Jul 2010 02:26
Blooming oil filter! - Rob C

I don't think people put them on tight to start with, something must "happen" to the thread to make it stick. Maybe t odo with heat cycles or something.

Every filter I've fitted has been nipped up by hand, but come 6 or 12months later its "illegitimate child" tight and will deform under the grip of the filter wrench.

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Sun 18 Jul 2010 02:28
Blooming oil filter! - Rob C

By the way, Lygonos, you're not a doctor are you?

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Sun 18 Jul 2010 11:40
Blooming oil filter! - piston power

Over time it does become harder to remove i use large water pump pliers, The filter is always hard to remove and besides i have seen them drop off and the results are expensive so better to nip up correctly.

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Sun 18 Jul 2010 15:29
Blooming oil filter! - Simon

I wouldn't have attempted to start the oil/filter change without having the appropriate tools to hand in the first place. Surely expecting to undo the filter using just the power of a latex glove was being a little optimistic...???

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Sun 18 Jul 2010 17:41
Blooming oil filter! - pullgees

I wouldn't have attempted to start the oil/filter change without having the appropriate tools to hand in the first place. Surely expecting to undo the filter using just the power of a latex glove was being a little optimistic...???

Not really, they often undo by hand, I've ocassionally had to use a tool.

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Sun 18 Jul 2010 15:32
Blooming oil filter! - madf

For ecalcitant oil filters, I find the rubber strap plus handle device that is used by cooks to open jars is ideal. It works very easily and very importantly requires MINIMAL space..

I use it on my Yaris diesel...chain wrench will not fit. Otherwise it's remove undertray!

PS I always clean it . SWMBO does not know...

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Sun 18 Jul 2010 20:25
Blooming oil filter! - slowdown avenue

i ll buy one of them . saw on utube a mechanic releasing one with a tool that fitted up from the bottom of the filter after releasing rermoving the plastic screw top [from under neath the filter ] but i cant fre this either . BLOOMING THING

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Sun 18 Jul 2010 20:26
Blooming oil filter! - slowdown avenue

i ll buy one of them . saw on utube a mechanic releasing one with a tool that fitted up from the bottom of the filter after releasing removing the plastic screw top [from under neath the filter ] but i cant free this either . BLOOMING THING

the tool was a 3 fingered thing

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Sun 18 Jul 2010 20:02
Blooming oil filter! - jonny1

I think that the rubber sealing ring swells after time and this is what tightens the filter.As for putting a screwdriver through to untighten I have done this in the past and ended up with just the end of the filter still attached and ended up chiseling the remains away.THis of course was in the days when you had the luxury of a bit of space to play with.On my present car you can just about touch it with your fingertips.

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Mon 19 Jul 2010 11:12
Blooming oil filter! - Diamond

Thing is, I've done umpteen changes on my old Mk2 Escort and the filter has spun off with no problem each time so I was innocently expecting the same to happen here!! I've never had to use any sort of tool in the past.

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Mon 19 Jul 2010 18:56
Blooming oil filter! - John F

As for putting a screwdriver through to untighten I have done this in the past and ended up with just the end of the filter still attached and ended up chiseling the remains away.THis of course was in the days when you had the luxury of a bit of space to play with.On my present car you can just about touch it with your fingertips.

Likewise. Clean the casing with detergent, then wrap a thin rope [that blue stuff found by the roadside used to tie down loads is good] anticlockwise round and round and round several times then pull really hard. Good for confined spaces.

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Mon 19 Jul 2010 23:38
Blooming oil filter! - bazza

The infamous screwdriver trick must be one of the worst pieces of advice ever! If it doesn't work, you've put your own functional car off the road!!!!

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Tue 20 Jul 2010 20:00
Blooming oil filter! - ianjoh

One day soon in every filter there will be some electronic monitoring devise coded to the ecu, then most of us will not be worried how tight it is as it will become a dealer job only!!

Watch this space!

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Wed 21 Jul 2010 09:33
Blooming oil filter! - Lygonos

The "trick" was to use a very thick screwdriver - thin ones could often slice through the filter body if it was too tight.

As mentioned it's impossible on most modern cars as there is no room around the filter - remember, say, a Ford Capri with a 1.3 engine - now there was an empty engine bay!

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Wed 21 Jul 2010 11:36
Blooming oil filter! - John F

The "trick" was to use a very thick screwdriver - thin ones could often slice through the filter body if it was too tight.

Thick or thin, even if no room it stands a good chance of not working because I don't think the filter casing is as thick as it used to be. Like modern beer cans, they are as thin as can be. So use the rope trick first - always works for me!

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