Stuck Oil Filter, will not turn for tuneup...

[guru944]

Delema;

1989 Carrera SE Oil change with a problem..

The purolator oil filter will not budge, or turn for oil change/service.
Purchased oil filter wrench tool, but slips now what?
Oil was really black...probably has not been serviced from previous owner in years...
What do i do to remove the oil oil filter?

Any ideas would be greatfull, Thank you in advance...

[wildcat077]

You would most likely have better luck if you used an old fashioned metal strap type filter removal tool that slides over the filter and get it as close to the base as possible for added torque.

Cheers !
Phil

[PCA7GGR]

Put it out of its (your) misery - just stab the filter (not you) with a screwdriver. Then use the screwdriver to start it spinning.

[James Brown]

ugg, purolator filter?? black oil? who does this?? when you get the filter off, get two mahal filters and 24 quarts of the correct oil and run the car for several hundred miles and change it. then that will be the new baseline millage for oil changes in the future. Bullet proof engine only works if correct scheduled maintenance is preformed. who was the PO?

[Noah930]

Originally Posted by PCA7GGR

Put it out of its (your) misery - just stab the filter (not you) with a screwdriver. Then use the screwdriver to start it spinning.

+1. Skewer the old filter with a large screwdriver. Make sure you're not too close to the base, as you don't want to hit the male end threads (the car end of what the oil filter screws onto). Then use the screwdriver as a lever to unscrew the filter. Makes a mess, but it's what I do when all else fails. BTW, this is why I do my own oil changes, I have yet to find a shop that doesn't overtighten the oil filter.

[80-911SC]

screwdriver or big channel locks ... grab or stab and twist ...

put a rag under it to catch the crud coming out of it ...

[sailchef]

This happened to me once. I took one of the strap type filter removal tools and taped some fine grit sandpaper around the inside of it. Once its clamped down it won't slip.

[rusnak]

I use one of the filter wrenches that looks like a small channel lock plier. It will crush the old filter, but you want to do this to get good purchase on the filter housing.

I also second the advice of using Mahle filters and do a few oil changes.

[HarryD]

I use a strap wrench (with some sandpaper if it slips) to get mine off.



I also have one of these that seems to work as well.

[rusnak]

this is my El Cheapo filter wrench. It has never failed me yet. Works on everything except for my mongo El Huge-o oil filter on my Ford 7810 tractor.

[SilberUrS6]

Originally Posted by HarryD

I use a strap wrench (with some sandpaper if it slips) to get mine off.

This one or the Channel Lock kind work great for stuck filters. The kind you have pictured above is the one I used to get one off my brother's car - he drove it around for SEVEN years, only adding oil - a quart every 6000 miles or so. Thank goodness it was a Ford and not a Porsche, lol.

When I went to take off the filter, I had to use both hands and the strap-type wrench. Holy crud, what a job that was. I had to use an impact wrench on the drain plug.

[john walker's workshop]

take the three bolts out of the a/c compressor, lift it up and lay it on top of the engine. now you have some working room. i would recommend big channel-locks or that red oil filter wrench posted above (flotool). stabbing with a screwdriver can tear up a real tight filter and still not budge it, then there's nothing to grab. messy as hell too.

[manbridge 74]

You could also try a heat gun to heat the filter up to break the bond but large channel locks should also work if you want to avoid a mess.

[Dueller]

Errrr..."lefty loosey, righty tighty?"

Seriously sandpaper between wrench and filter will make it grip and not spin.t

[SilberUrS6]

Originally Posted by john walker's workshop

take the three bolts out of the a/c compressor, lift it up and lay it on top of the engine. now you have some working room. i would recommend big channel-locks or that red oil filter wrench posted above (flotool). stabbing with a screwdriver can tear up a real tight filter and still not budge it, then there's nothing to grab. messy as hell too.

I've seen this happen, too. Especially when the screwdriver is stabbed closer to the closed end of the filter than the mounting end. Not only that, a strap wrench near the closed end can actually make the filter metal distort. You want to grab the filter as close to the mounting end as possible.

[Baz]

Scewdriver method would have to be the VERY last resort.

I like the sandpaper technique with oil filter wrench. Great idea Sailchef and Harry.

[Noah930]

Originally Posted by Baz

Scewdriver method would have to be the VERY last resort.

Yes and no. Yes, it often makes a mess (though, in my DDs where the oil filter usually hangs in an inverted position, I've used a small punch to knock a hole in the lowermost part of the filter, let the oil drain out, and then used the screwdriver method with a minimum of mess). But in those times where my cap-style filter wrench just spun and I had no other vehicle in which to run mid-oil change to my FLAPS to buy a strap-type filter wrench, the screwdriver method has sufficed.

I suppose I could just stop being a CAPP (cheap a** penny pincher) and buy the strap-type filter wrench when I'm buying the oil. Instead I've learned to avoid letting shops from doing my oil changes and overtightening the filter & drain plug(s) in the first place. I'm no super-mechanic, but it's funny how I never have to resort to the screwdriver method when doing an oil change after I was the last one to have done it.

[47silver]

I use an old leather belt. Wrap so belt tightens when pulled. I also used a 30" pipe wrench but the belt trick is less prone to damage

[Kidasters]

I use these ---

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/cnl-209?seid=google&gclid=CK6H_qK0u7UCFQKoPAod0lQA-Q

[KFC911]

First time I changed oil in mine, I encountered this. All strap types, etc. failed, and a screwdriver just began ripping the filter to shreds. "Big Azz" (seriously, that's the name) channel locks did the trick...hth.

ps: Never had an issue when I've installed the filter ever since. Damn gorillas