Replacing vehicle oil filters spilling oil

Stan in Oly, WA

Well-known Member
I'm starting to have trouble removing the oil filter during an oil change because my hands are not as strong as they used to be. My wife's car has good access to the filter, but it is very small---2.375" in diameter---and not accessible to a standard oil filter wrench. The access to the filter on my pickup is much worse. I can hardly get my hands on it, much less a filter wrench. Is there a way to do this that I haven't thought of, or don't know about?

The other issue is how do I prevent spilling oil from the filter when I remove it? The male threaded stub that the filter screws onto guarantees that the filter can never drain completely, and also that oil will pour out of it when it is unscrewed and lifted off.

Don't bother to tell me to have it done at a garage if I don't like it. I've thought of that already.

Stan
 
I use channel locks. I would think someone makes a band type wrench for the smaller filters. If you could find one, modify the handle to get it up in there...

Haven't found a way to stop the oil from pouring out other than punching a hole in it and letting it drain. I just grin and bear it. LOL
 
On the wife's car I use a strap wrench made for oil filters, on my Blazer I use a regular filter wrench that works with small bites after I worm it on, truck no problem as I can see it as well as getting two hands on it. For the spillage problem I just locate the drain pan under it and try to not get the oil running down my arm.
 
I have the same problem with a couple newer rigs that have the plastic panels under the engine.

On both, we make sure the filter brand we buy has the flat notches around the end of the filter so one of those cap type filter wrenches will fit, then use a ratchet and extension to loosen the filter.

For the spilled oil, loosen the filter, then slide a plastic shopping bag over it and unscrew the filter. Most of the oil will end up in the shopping bag with the filter.
 
Stan,

The filter on my son's F250 was on so tightly that I destroyed my best filter wrench trying to get it loose. Obviously, my hands were not nearly strong enough to get it loose.

I bought a HUGE Channel-lock like pair of pliers at Advance Auto that is designed specifically for oil filters. The jaws are offset from the handles so you don't need a large access area to grip the filter. I've used it many times since then on tiny filters that are nearly inaccessible and on big old standard filters with good access.

I love that tool. I'd never go back to standard oil-filter removal tools.

Tom in TN
 
If you have a large animal vet in your area, get some of the plastic gloves that reach all the way to your shoulder. They work great for removing filters and oil pan drain plugs without getting an oil bath.
The vet uses them when pregnancy testing cattle.
 
(quoted from post at 12:05:03 02/18/15) Are you using a wrench, or a socket? Socket on a 3/8" breaker bar works for me.
Filter Socket

Charlie, that style works pretty good, but there is another style that looks kind of like a spiral. Has a provision on the bottom for a socket. It slips up and onto the oil filter, and the spirals get tighter as the socket is turned. Comes in several different sizes. Think mine came from NAPA.
 
Stan, the filters on my boat are almost inaccessible, and mounted horizontally so that once you break the seal they drain. I slip a 1 gallon ziplock bag over the filter before I break it loose, then spin it off while it's in the bag. The bag contains the oil, and any small amount that gets out I trap with an absorbent pad. A lot of extra effort, but it keeps my bilge relatively clean.
 
Sounds normal to me ? Hot oil running down your arm ! I mainly use the end cap style tool with a ratchet to remove and install them. The cars I have now actually give a torque spec. for the drain plug and oil filter so I use a torque wrench on them.
 
Wouldn't know. Have not changed oil in any vehicle in years. My dealer does my oil changes.
 
Next time you buy a filter, buy it at an auto parts store and ask if the store carries a wrench to fit the new filter, most will. You can take the new filter out of the box and verify that it fits the new filter before you leave the store or return it on the spot if it does not fit.

I keep a pair of elbow length rubber coated gloves just for oil changes. They were about $4 at Northern Tool a few years ago.

I added up the cost of 5 quarts of oil and a good filter, it's only about $5 less than the price to have someone else do it. For the extra $5 I get a chassis lube, a quick vehicle inspection and a free cup of coffee while I read the newspaper. For me that beats out me crawling under a low car on a frozen concrete floor to drip hot oil around the garage, LOL.
 
Part of my reason used to be that I could count on being more careful than oil change places. Maybe it was never actually true. Now, though, I seem to get some new piece of evidence every day that I'm not as careful as I used to be.

Stan
 
Stan, The kid unerneath in the pit at the oil change place has a bucket of stripped out drain plugs down there. Although in the cold I have wimped out to an oil change place. I always feel it is better to do it yourself if you can. They done tell the customers when they put the rubber plugs in the drain holes.
 
You might try one of this type. I have not tried one, but may have to pick one up and try, as it looks like it might work, and using a extension on a ratchet would help the reach. On the filters that are easy to get to, I just hand tighten and most times I can remove with my hands as well. This is one reason I never have someone else change my oil, as they over tighten the filter, or drain plug or both. As you can tell, I have not had good experiences with having shops do anything. My wife is having the dealer change the oil in her truck now, but only because Toyota has free maintenance for 25,000 miles. After that, I plan on doing it. I did instruct her to not buy into their "upselling" tactics, as most of the reasoning for offering those free services is so they can sell other services.
 
This method is messy so it won't address your spill problem but it does work very well on really tight filters .
For years I suffered with oil filters that seemed to tighten themselves to extremes on an old Nissan engine .The Australian bush mechanic's fix was to get the biggest screwdriver that would fit into the area , use a hammer and punch the driver right through both sides of the canister and then use it as a lever to loosen the filter . Of course oil went everywhere but the otherwise ' welded on ' filter never failed to come off .
 
Hi Charles;

I've done that more than once as a last resort, but now I'm crippled by conscientious environmentalism. Anyway, setting up to contain a messy spill and then having to clean up afterwards takes the fun part out of an activity that already has no fun part.

Stan
 
Stan in Oly, WA

In answer to why not get some else to do it

For me almost new 67 chevy II oil all over every thing on a trip from Toronto to Windsor had to stop at a service station they said valve covers leaking they tightened them, bought a bunch of oil.
Where I got the oil change they hadn't tightened the oil filter -two wrongs.

also almost new 89 Toyota truck great truck (had it with chev)
Pit stop Forgot the Oil - tap tap tap until I scrapped it 2002

so who do you trust.
yourself or check the filter is tight and check the oil.
 
That looks interesting, but I'd want to get a close look at it (Harbor Freight, you know). Did you click on the link CharlieNJ included in his reply, below? That looks like it might be the thing, but more expensive. I called Autozone where I bought the filters yesterday and asked if they had that kind of wrench. They do, supposedly, and sell them for between $4 and $6. They're close, so I'll go over and take a look.

Stan
 
Stan I owned a tire shop-oil change shop for 22+ years. I have change oil in hundreds of cars in those years. If you ever figure out a way to do it please post it on here for all of us. We never did, just kept a lot of oil dry in stock. I still have burn scars on my arms from trying to reach around or over hot manifolds.
 
Two ways to keep the oil from running down your arms....for years I did my own AI work on the cows....still have long plastic gloves left. If I didn"t I"d use bread wrappers....unscrew the filter and peel the plastic off the arm, with the filter inside of it.
 
I use special wrenches, channelocks, or a strap wrench for most. Some, I use the chisel tip of a snap-on pry bar to drive the outer crimped rim in a counter clockwise spin, works every time. depending on space, I sometimes punch a hole in the bottom and after it drains pound a golf tee in the hole before removal
 
Fantastic idea...wish I had heard or thought of that before.

With 4 loader tractors, 4 forklifts, several trucks and misc pieces of equipment with multiple oil / hydraulic filters...I've considered just putting in a 1 foot concrete sump just to catch all the drips and gushes.

The worst was last week when the JD parts guy told me I only had 18.7L of TDH in my tractor. Lucky I had an extra bucket down there to catch the filter element drain... There was more like 38 L of hydraulic oil.

Grant
 
(quoted from post at 19:05:55 02/18/15) forgot the link...
oil filter wrench

Yep this one here, very few filters that this won't remove.


mvphoto16484.jpg
 
Getting the filter loose is not my problem! Trying to keep the oil from running down on the frame is the problem. Fords are the worst I have.
 
When I change oil, I lay down a blue tarp under the vehicle before I start. I drain into an oil pan, but just in case there is a spill it is much easier to clean up off the tarp than the concrete floor. Doesn't seem to hurt the tarp at all if it's wiped clean.
 
Getting the filter loose is not my problem! Keeping the oil from running down on the frame and steering linkage is the problem. Mostly on my Fords.
 
I loosen mine with a strap wrench. Once loose I have a 2 letter pop bottle with the neck cut off that I put over the filter and turn it off letting the oil drain into the bottle. Saves a lot of spilled oil if you can get it in the right place.
 
(quoted from post at 19:09:54 02/18/15) I'm starting to have trouble removing the oil filter during an oil change because my hands are not as strong as they used to be. My wife's car has good access to the filter, but it is very small---2.375" in diameter---and not accessible to a standard oil filter wrench. The access to the filter on my pickup is much worse. I can hardly get my hands on it, much less a filter wrench. Is there a way to do this that I haven't thought of, or don't know about?

The other issue is how do I prevent spilling oil from the filter when I remove it? The male threaded stub that the filter screws onto guarantees that the filter can never drain completely, and also that oil will pour out of it when it is unscrewed and lifted off.

Don't bother to tell me to have it done at a garage if I don't like it. I've thought of that already.

Stan

On my Freightliner with a detroit I had this problem. To solve it, I now warm up the engine enough to get the oil flowing and punch a hole in the bottom of the filter. Much much less messy than letting it run around the seal of the filter. This might not work for all vehicles, but will work on most.
 

2014 Camry requires a special oil filter wrench. $32 from MATCO. The MATCO guy went the extra mile exchanging a 3/8 ratchet for me so I didn't feel too bad about getting one. The Toyota filter comes with a little gizmo you screw into the bottom the filter and drain the oil out of the filter first. Haven't tried it yet, just took the whole thing off an let the oil run into a pan. What burns me up is that Toyota just went back to the old 1940s system where you took off a cannister and replaced the cartridge, cheaply, but the price now is more than the spin off metal filters.

BTW, that tool is not pictured in the ones shown above.

KEH
 
Stan,
Below is a link to a metal oil filter socket, we made ours, and it works good. You can use extensions and swivel to reach the filter and be able to spin them off. The one we made is not as wide, but the link one should work for you. It grips the canister circumference, full grip. For your oil spilling, we used small containers, such as cool whip bowls to set below the oil filter to stop the oil flowing down on frame and engine parts. Anything small in a tub will work, even a small piece of aluminum or thin steel sheet to direct the oil flow to the container. Just a few ideas to help.

LOU
poke here
 
I have 3 filter sockets, all different sizes. Auto store sells them. However there are filters that are rounded on the end. I have a tool that has a spring like device that grips the filter. It attaches to a ratchet. Then I have another device for removing hyd oil filter because there is no room for the spring like gismo and the filter is rounded on the end, socket won't work on it.
 
Here's an assortment of filter wrenches and I use a plastic plastic pan with a pour spout on an edge to pour in a 5 gal. pail, however some cars are impossible to remove the filter without a mess.
a183578.jpg
 
(quoted from post at 00:31:41 02/20/15) Here's an assortment of filter wrenches and I use a plastic plastic pan with a pour spout on an edge to pour in a 5 gal. pail, however some cars are impossible to remove the filter without a mess.
a183578.jpg
hat one thing that jumps out at me about this whole long thread; some people need more problems! :(
 

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