Changed the oil in my truck yesterday. Took me an hour to get the stupid oil filter off:mad:. Had it torn in half before I could get it loose. The bad part is, I put the thing on there so I know it wasn't that tight in the beginning. Does anybody make a really good oil filter wrench or know a better way to get these things off????:confused:

strap wrenchs work well, just don't get the one Bob Vila uses, they tend to strech rather then tighten. I got mine from snap-on and the strap is kinda like a synthetic leather. Also remember when tightening the filter, the gasket is going to swell when exposed to oil, and remeber to lubricate the gasket before tightening, and the filter does not need to be torqued down super tight, if you put it on hand tight it will be plenty. And once you refill the pan, start the engine and crwal back under and make sure it is not leaking, I put every spin on oil filter I have ever changed (hundreds) on by hand and I have not had the first one leak. Hope this helps,
Jesse

I have always gone hand tight + 1/4 turn. lube the rubber o-ring before installing, and I put a little oil in the filter before installing (helps with dry starting a little)... Never had a oil leak (from the filter)

One of these days I am going to get a remote oil filter setup, and have the filter straight up and down, then i can fill it full before installing.

strap wrenchs work well, just don't get the one Bob Vila uses, they tend to strech rather then tighten. I got mine from snap-on and the strap is kinda like a synthetic leather. Also remember when tightening the filter, the gasket is going to swell when exposed to oil, and remeber to lubricate the gasket before tightening, and the filter does not need to be torqued down super tight, if you put it on hand tight it will be plenty.

X2 on the strap wrench...that's what I use, too. Thin film of oil on the gasket, and hand tighten - about 3/4 turn of the cannister after the gasket makes contact with the base, or about 1/4 turn after tight as christopherglenn mentioned.

I use one that has a swivel handle and it also works great with getting the fuel filter off also

I have always gone hand tight + 1/4 turn. lube the rubber o-ring before installing, and I put a little oil in the filter before installing (helps with dry starting a little)... Never had a oil leak (from the filter)

One of these days I am going to get a remote oil filter setup, and have the filter straight up and down, then i can fill it full before installing.
When you find a remote, let me know where you got it-that's what I want..

Maybe I'm just using the wrong oil filter. I always use either the GM on or a Fram tough gard. Should I be using something else? I always just hand tighten these and then they collapse when I put a filter wrench on them. ALWAYS end up having to do the screwdriver thing and that's messy.. What am I missing???/

Maybe I'm just using the wrong oil filter. I always use either the GM on or a Fram tough gard. Should I be using something else? I always just hand tighten these and then they collapse when I put a filter wrench on them. ALWAYS end up having to do the screwdriver thing and that's messy.. What am I missing???/


Probably just over-tightening. I too hand tighten, lube the o-ring with the fresh oil and install.

X2, and stay away from the Fram filters. Almost everything else is better than Fram filters.

I use a Mobil one filter. On my first oil change I picked up a Fram filter with the oil ( Mobil one 5w-40 td )I bought at Wally world. The next day before I change my oil I stoped at checkers auto to buy some grease. I checked out the Mobil one filter and could not belive how much heavier and beefer it was. The Fram is still sitiing on my shop bench. I used fram for all my gasers, not any more.

Frank

FWIW ... silicone grease works well on the filter gasket -doesn't get absorbed by the gasket like oil does .. oil absorption by the rubber gasket during use is what causes the filter to be tight coming off than when it was installed .. I also remove the gasket from a new filter and coat both sides with silicone grease ... as others have said a metal strap wrench works well to remove the filter .. it that doesn't work use a vise-grip chain wrench

x2 on the GM or Mobil 1 filter. I sometimes use Pure 1 filters on some of my other vehicles. Fram is about 1/2 the weight and is just about as sturdy as a beer can. Either end of a filter is stronger than the middle, so it helps to position the filter wrench accordingly.

I tighten the filter by hand, then go 1/4 turn with wrench. Never had a problem. I know that may not help much since everybodies "hand tight" varies by strength, grip, etc.

Oil filter pliers works good.
Also like others said, it's good to put a little oil on the O-ring and also put some oil in the filter.
There are also better filters than Fram. Baldwin, Wix, Purolator, Luber Finer are just a few.

The Amsoil Ea Oil filter is about thre best spin on oil filter money can buy, I am not a fan of amsoil so it suprised me when I read about them. Do a search there is a good read about it on this site. If you don't want to shell out $17 for a filter then I would use wix, or a napa gold is the same thing with a different sticker. I have cut open the napa gold and a fram both brand new and compared, the napa had about twice as much media as the fram, and it looked like alot better quality media.
Jesse

A little silicone grease on the gasket helps the filter come off easy when changing... SI grease will not be absorbed by the gasket like oil will ... it also wont dissipate with heat.. you can also remove the gasket on a new filter and lube both sides .. a metal strap wrench works well for removing a filter... for a filter that's stuck use a vise grip chain wrench near the base of the filter.

I like the K&N filter, not only is it a good filter,but, it has a 1" hex welded on to the end for easy removal.