Removing Oil Filter Tips

Okay guys, I just got raped trying to take off my sisters stupid oil filter. It's so damn fuckin' tight that it won't budge...AT ALL!!!! You guys have any tips that could possibly help me get it off? And yes, I was using a stinkin' oil filter wrench but still, nothing..... :(

you said that you were using an oil filter removal tool???

is it really cold in your area...you may want to try warming the car up just a tad. when you get it off and you put the new one, always dip your finger in oil and rub it around the seal of the oil filter. this keeps it from getting stuck...

good luck!!!

i am having the same problem with a spark plug...its in there damn good and i dont want to put too much force on it becasue i dont feel like removing my heads to get the broken plug out. that would suck...

Yeah, umm there's oil filter pliers that work pretty good, pick up a pair of those.

If that's not an option take a flat head screwdriver and a hammer, and hammer at the base of the filter in the direction you want it to turn (always works).

Also if you happen to have a big adjustable wrench or a monkey wrench that you can tighten down on the filter and turn it with, that might work.

Last resort, hammer a big screwdriver straight through the filter and use it as lever to turn it. But not straight through the center, you don't want to damage the threads you screw the filter onto.

Also when you do get it off and put the new one on...turn it until the seal first touches the base and then turn it ONLY another 3/4 of a turn. Then it won't get stuck...most filters say to do that on them, but just in case you didn't know.

is it really cold in your area...you may want to try warming the car up just a tad. when you get it off and you put the new one, always dip your finger in oil and rub it around the seal of the oil filter. this keeps it from getting stuck...


I can't turn the car on because I already drained the oil. :( Also, if anyone else has any other tips please keep 'em coming. I can't work on it anymore tonight because it's too dark but I will be out there tomorrow so yeah.... I don't want to spend the whole day doing it beause I have other things to do. But yeah, I will try the suggestions. I'm feelin' so hopeless right now....ugh!!! Thanks for the help guys.

Oh yeah, one more thing.....you know when we're down there facing the oil filter? We're supposed to turn it COUNTER-CLOCKWISE right? I know, stupid question but I remember I was turning it the wrong way one time and didn't realize it. :o/

take a look at the threading on the filter you bought, the new one you will be putting on after you get this one off. by looking at the threading you can determine which way to turn. if you filter removal tool didnt work its probably because its floating and the filter is too small, just use a rag wraped around the filter to make it a little wider, then the removal wrench will be able to get a better grip on it. try to find some rubber or leather gloves too, get good grip with those. if nothing works take a long ass screw driver and drive it through the bottom across and twist and yell out BOOYAAH!

Hehe Thanks Musashi! When....IF...I get it off, I'll be sure to yell a loud for ya. Then I'll get up and chuck the stupid filter accross the parking lot into the fire lane wall. :p Thing is though, I tried that one sticking the screw driver through the filter before and didn't turn. That's why I didn't try again today.... :o/ Any thoughts?

I can't turn the car on because I already drained the oil. :(

do you have a torch??? :evillol:

wow...if you stuck a screw driver through that thing and it still didnt budge. its really on there. that screwdriver trick is usually a sure fire thing. i would still try heating it up a little bit...if you dont have a torch maybe a heating pad might help or soemthing like that.

Just count your blessings that your not shoveling and blowing out of 3 feet of snow.... that keeps getting blown back into place by the gale force winds.

Okay guys, here's what happened today.... I got up at 7 in the morning and went back under my sister's car. After trying for another 30-45 minutes, I decided to call it quits. Who cares if I would have to pay money for a stupid oil change....I just wasn't gonna deal with it anymore. So I packed up, put the old oil back in the car, came back into the apartment broken, and moaped around as I waited for the oil changing place to open. After about 3 hours of waiting and calling around, my dad calls to see how everything was going. I told him that I couldn't do it and that I would just go and get it done at a shop somewhere. Instead of saying "yeah, okay go" (which is what I thought he'd say), he replied with "GO back down there and keep turning. It'll move...eventually." LOL Shocked and somewhat inspired, I went to lunch and headed back down there yet again. So there I was trying to remove the stupid filter but still, NOTHING. The oil changing place wasn't open today and since my sister needed the car by tomorrow, I relented and decided to go to Walmart to have it done (I didn't want to go to Walmart because they changed my friend's oil once and did something wrong so her engine fried). Well, when I turned on the car and looked under....yep, you guessed it....oil was dripping from the filter. Don't know if it was busted or if I moved it, but I knew I wasn't gonna make it to the shop. So yeah, I went back down (oh my gosh, that routine have gotten so redundant by this time), heaved and shoved and pushed and pulled and finally, it budged. So there you have it....the moving of a oil filter that broke me more times than once...

I can't believe how hard it was to remove her filter. It's kinda always like that with her Eclipse...you guys have any ideas why? It's just her car. Mine, my mom, my dad's, everyone elses comes off except hers...UGH!!!! Just glad it's over with....

Oh yeah, Musashi, after the filter came off, I gave a nice "BOOYAH" salute and chucked it across the parking lot into the fire lane wall. Hehe :biggrin:

HELL YEAH! I am so freaking proud of you man! :grinyes:
you can get a real nice set of filter pliers for $7.00 at autozone. I'll take a pic of mine and post it tomorrow.

Do those pliers really work? My buddy was telling me how he uses a water heater plier but it's because he has a truck lifted high up. I have those filter caps that goes right under the filter but they didn't fit the old filter I had on. But yeah, I probably will need to invest in one of those pliers if they really work. :)

i think it came loose becaue it warmed up a little bit and got a little warmer oil moving over the filter, making everything expand and loosen. i hate to say it, but i told you so...:lol: j/k!!!

im glad it came off for you...did you remember to put the oil around the little rubber seal befroe you put the new one on??? that will keep the rubber from getting stuck on the block...hence your stuck oil filter.

Yeah k3smostwanted, I put oil around the little rubber seal area before screwing it on. I'm sure it was done last time too but I think my dad just overtightened it because he was mad. But yeah, do you really think the filter came lose because it was warmed up? It seems kinda weird that that would be needed because after I moved my car for a minute and went under, the exhaust piping was so hot that I couldn't even get to the filter (my arm kept touching it). And the Eclipse filter is right next to the exhaust piping too. :o/

Yeah they usually get stuck because of overtightening, the oil on the new filter keeps the gasket from sticking to the base when you take it off. And heating it up is probably what loosened it up a little. The pliers haven't failed me yet definitely worth buying.

Are the pliers really long? Because the ones my friend had were LONG and would not be able to fit under the car unless it was raised up! LOL But yeah, I'll definitely get some. They'll hold any size filters, right?

Yeah k3smostwanted, I put oil around the little rubber seal area before screwing it on. I'm sure it was done last time too but I think my dad just overtightened it because he was mad. But yeah, do you really think the filter came lose because it was warmed up? It seems kinda weird that that would be needed because after I moved my car for a minute and went under, the exhaust piping was so hot that I couldn't even get to the filter (my arm kept touching it). And the Eclipse filter is right next to the exhaust piping too. :o/

well, im sure you starting the car and getting the fluid moving and warmed up just a tad helped alot with loosening it. im not saying you need to remove the filter after the car is piping hot. but when you have trouble removing things like that, warming it up a little usually helps a little.

Hmmmm....so do you loosen/remove the oil filter before you drain the plug when you change your oil? I've always drained first then removed the filter next. But yeah, I'll keep that in mind next time. And yeah, I know you're not saying that the piping has to be all hot but I was just point out that I drove my car about 100 feet or so and when I went down, the exhaust was burning me everytime my arm touched it. :o/

Hmmmm....so do you loosen/remove the oil filter before you drain the plug when you change your oil? I've always drained first then removed the filter next. But yeah, I'll keep that in mind next time. And yeah, I know you're not saying that the piping has to be all hot but I was just point out that I drove my car about 100 feet or so and when I went down, the exhaust was burning me everytime my arm touched it. :o/

:lol: no, i drain the oil then remove the oil filter. but i always wait about an hour after the car is fully warmed...

you shouldnt have the problem again...you used the oil on the rubber ring and you didnt over tighten it. so you should be fine...