One more reason to NOT go to the quickie oil changers.

I was in a hurry for a trip last month so I went to a quickie oil change place. Now it's a month later and I decided to do an oil change.

The filter was so tight it actually ripped my strap style wrench. Then it broke the weld on the steel style wrench. ( Penzoils pro model)

OK, time to go shopping. Three stores and they all don't have a wrench big enough for the filter.

The plier type wouldn't open wide enough to get a great grip, and didn't budge it anyway.
Hmmmm. Back to the store. Two more stores, two more places that don't have a wrench big enough.

This time I got the trucker style wrench, smallest one they had, and a tad too big and slips, still won't budge. Argghhhhhhhh.

Time invested so far two hours.

I finally put the trucker style wrench with some metal shims to take up the slack. Finally two and a half hours later.
What did this moron use crazy glue, or thread lock on this thing.
The filter looks like twisted pretzel.:ro)

I do several pms on tractor trailers daily. Some bastards over tighten everything. I sometimes have to use a 6' cheater on the oilplug. They are only suppose to be tightened 65ftlbs.

My dad owns a plumbing company and I work for him. We always bring our trucks to the Valvoline just up the street. One time they didn't even tighten the oil filter and overnight it leaked all over the shop floor. :rolleyes:

Another time the check engine light came on, I went back there ...they checked the code....said something about the MAFS or something....cleared the code and it never came back.:confused:


Most the time they do alright...super nice guys and they check a lot of stuff....now they even check to make shure all your blinkers and lights are working for ya. Just kind of nice IMO.

If the oil filter is that stuck on you could have driven a large punch through the body of the filter and then unscrew. Just be careful of the leaking oil though...

Why didn't you just go back and have them take it off for you??

At least the filter is in a easy place to access it. My very 1st filter change was tighter than a mo fo. I've done every oil change since and I can remove the filter with the plier style wrench. I only put the filter on hand tight.

Hand tight was the way I was taught to tighten the oil filter..... never use a wrench...and always apply used oil to the seal....

But some of these clowns at the quickie oil changes crank the filter as tight as they can...

Thats why it's always handy to have a large pair of channel locks on hand when ever I have one on that tight I grab my channel locks and twist it right off.
I also had a bad experience with one of those quick lube places I was in really busy so I went to one and a week later my oil light cam on I stop and smelled oil burning my filter fell off it wasn't tight enough. Did I mention this was about 3 months after I bought my bran new 99 silverado in 1999. I was ticked...:mad:

A pair of channel locks that fit the Duramax's oil filter would be HUGE!!! Channel Locks that size are usually for plumbers..

try a rubber strap wrench if you still can't find a regular oil filter wrench to fit, should work..

Hand tight was the way I was taught to tighten the oil filter..... never use a wrench...and always apply used oil to the seal....

But some of these clowns at the quickie oil changes crank the filter as tight as they can...

That is the key ... put oil on the rubber seal .... if you don't it burns on and becomes one with the filter and the housing .... ask me how I know ... I was in my teens and friend was doing his own oil change ... I asked him
... did you oil the seal .... no he said ... I told him what would happen ... we drove it along enough to get a new filter ... and that thing was on so hard that it turned into twisted pile of metal before we got it out .... that was only about an hour or so later ..... I have seen the seals baked on so bad that I have had to get one sided razor blade to get the seal off the housing ... Thank God it came off the filter otherwise I would have been screwed.

Why didn't you just go back and have them take it off for you??

I thought of that, but the oil was already out,and the filter looked like a twisted pretzel. I didn't want to put the old oil back in and take the chace of starting it with a tweaked filter.

Besides each thing I tried I figured would work.

I don't know if Channel locks would have done it, slipping on the smooth surface.

Remember I had a good grip on that sucker with the normal filter wrench and it broke the weld. I don't think I could have grabbed it any better with a channel lock.

Rubber wrench, I used the nylon strap wrench and ripped th Nylon strap, I figured it would shred the rubber wrench.

I'm tellin ya, this thing was part of the engine block.

Yea, there was no need for those guys to crank on it, till it welded itself to the block.

Brings up another point. when I went to pay last time, they said it was $90.00 ( ..and I brought my own fluids in and filter).

I said "why" she said because it takes more work on a diesel HUH!!!
" lemme see the manager"

I asked him how much more work on my diesel than on my wifes Yukon at $30.00. I said on both vehicles you have to unscrew the drain plug and replace it, unscrew the filter and replace it, and then fill it up with oil.

Now, where's the "more" work

He had no answer, then charged the $30.00 - minus $2.00 for my own filter and fluids, but said "next time it would be $90.00"

I said no it won't - there will be no next time!.

Live and learn.

Brings up another point. when I went to pay last time, they said it was $90.00 ( ..and I brought my own fluids in and filter).

I said "why" she said because it takes more work on a diesel HUH!!!
" lemme see the manager"

I asked him how much more work on my diesel than on my wifes Yukon at $30.00. I said on both vehicles you have to unscrew the drain plug and replace it, unscrew the filter and replace it, and then fill it up with oil.

Now, where's the "more" work

He had no answer, then charged the $30.00 - minus $2.00 for my own filter and fluids, but said "next time it would be $90.00"

I said no it won't - there will be no next time!.

Live and learn.

Wow. I've never had any issues like that. Gone to "Great Canadian Oil Change" a number of times and never had a problem. Ends up being just over $40.00 Canadian including oil and filter. Plus they grease all of my zerks.

I thought of that, but the oil was already out,and the filter looked like a twisted pretzel. I didn't want to put the old oil back in and take the chace of starting it with a tweaked filter.


Brings up another point. when I went to pay last time, they said it was $90.00 ( ..and I brought my own fluids in and filter).

I said "why" she said because it takes more work on a diesel HUH!!!
" lemme see the manager"

I asked him how much more work on my diesel than on my wifes Yukon at $30.00. I said on both vehicles you have to unscrew the drain plug and replace it, unscrew the filter and replace it, and then fill it up with oil.

Now, where's the "more" work

He had no answer, then charged the $30.00 - minus $2.00 for my own filter and fluids, but said "next time it would be $90.00"

I said no it won't - there will be no next time!.

Live and learn.

You should have told him you cost more then the Dealer !! I would have told him least at the dealer they would smile when they scr*w me !!

That sux. I had a similar problem on my first oil change when I bought mine. I guess some moron at the dealership tightened the hell out of the filter and it wasn't budging. I really tried all my wrenches, bought a wrench, and even broke a few trying to get it off. I then proceeded to jab a screwdriver right through it. After all the oil spilled out, I bent the screwdriver in half by trying to turn it. My dumbass ended up cutting the canister open with a hammer and chisel (bad idea!!! never do this). I ended up notching what was left of the filter (just the base) and using a massive flathead screwdriver and the truck's jack, I used the leverage from the truck's weight dropping down on the screwdriver to turn the oil filter base loose. What a nightmare. Moral of the story, hand tighten the filters and oil the gaskets when replacing them.

oil those seals. when you get in a situation where it breaks filter a wrench just find a good sized pair of channel lock pilers, squeeze the filter and spin it off. The round wrench filter remover works quiet well sold at most parts places

That is the key ... put oil on the rubber seal .... if you don't it burns on and becomes one with the filter and the housing .... ask me how I know ... I was in my teens and friend was doing his own oil change ... I asked him
... did you oil the seal .... no he said ... I told him what would happen ... we drove it along enough to get a new filter ... and that thing was on so hard that it turned into twisted pile of metal before we got it out .... that was only about an hour or so later ..... I have seen the seals baked on so bad that I have had to get one sided razor blade to get the seal off the housing ... Thank God it came off the filter otherwise I would have been screwed.

You beat me to the punch. He probably didn't apply oil to the rubber gasket. Good call.