Oil filter wrenches - when did they get so good?

You're right. Tightness shouldn't be anymore than this. That's my biggest complaint with shops doing oil changes. They always over tighten.


Edit: I have no idea why there is a frowning face at the top of my reply.

 

Yeah - but it's a real pain in the ass to tighten 'em that way.

 

You should only tighten by hand, you should not be using a wrench to tighten the filter on...

 

That'll tighten them up just fine.

Starting the engine is another issue....

 

It'll start just fine also

Just sayin...

 

.
. . .
.

 

Whatcha eating popcorn for?

 

my horror story. i offered to help my neighbor do her oil change. about 15 years ago. honda CRV. taking off the filter with my old school wrenches..i hear a "click"..wtf? i look and i broke some sending unit down there. the cussing didnt fix it, so i went to the dealership. the unit cost me $85 bucks!! i finished up the oil change after buying one of those big socket things..to get the filter off (and on). i gave the girl back her car, and (fake) smiled.

that free job cost me!! but now i use those socket things every chance i get. no more ham-fisted jobs.

still pisses me off thinking about it.

 

I have been hand tightening oil filters since I was 16. On only one occasion I found the filter a little loose for comfort prior to a oil change. No oil was leaking out, but it only took about a quarter turn to loosen enough for oil to drain out! I usually over tighten by hand especially now since I go 5k between oil changes.

 

Ya, I go a full turn after contact, but with a gloved hand, I can get it.

 

I use my 5 fingers wrench ...!!!lol. hand tight filter til it snug then 1/4 turn work like a charm for me. I've never over tight the oil filter on all vehicles that i had owned. No needed
Oil filter wrench for me.

 

Those are awesome to use on filters! I love using those pliers on them.

I used to use a metallic band strap wrench like the OP has (except it's metal of course ) with some custom home made "teeth" on it... needless to say the strap wrench was pretty damn effective as well. Either way, all these tools work fantastic, some take a little modifying and tinkering to get them to work as good as the others though, that's all.

 

There're still some issues with the filter sockets. They're not an exact fit and it's stamped metal so there's always some "give" and the socket gets locked onto the filter. I'd pay for an actual socket that was milled.

 

haha, this made me think of this movie:

"but they make porno movies that start out like that too man!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMIErV7wW7c

 

The toyota filter will be metal-to-metal down to the flange at about 3/4 turn, which I can get to by hand every time. The o-ring isn't very thick, unlike aftermarket ones we're used to using with their fat silicone gaskets. I bet this is what led to the OP crushing his first filter.

Honda OEM filters are the same way, their o-rings crush completely, even though they're built by Fram (or the special ordered S2000's Toyo Roki).

 

X2 If I cant take it off by hand I usually break out the big fucking screw driver.

 

Not sure exactly when they came out, but I bought my first one in '87. I had a new 4Runner and there was no clearance to use my old school filter wrench. I'm still using that same wrench today on my Tacoma.

 

This, except I have had to use wrenches to get them off if it is the first oil change as they tend to be tight or if someone else has done the oil change which hasn't been too often as I usually do my own.

Although I have hand tightened them so tight to where I almost couldn't break them back loose.

 

OK - so I'm a bit confused. I read the subject line and thought cool, a new tool to get those dang burn over tightened oil filters off! Instead I see the black octagon cap thing that I've never got to work worth a darn.

My son's car was assembled by Hobbits with long skinny arms. He and I are more . . . substantial (yeah that's a good word for it, substantial ) On his first oil change we couldn't get the filter off with my normal strap tool, so I bought one of those black cap tools. It fit perfectly, but all it did was round the end of the filter. In the end I had to pound a screw driver through the filter to get it off. Made a mess and spilled oil all over the exhaust manifold . Maybe if the previous own hadn't gone to the quickie lube and its cheapo filters it might have worked.

I haven't had my Tacoma long enough for it to need an oil change yet, but with the oil filter sitting right there in the open, a little catch basin for leakage, I'm thinking its going to be a pretty easy and relatively clean oil change. (don't tell Murphy that I said that )

 

That's so true! I am not too proud of the filter sockets and would rather use the pliers.

So agreed with hand tightening! I don't know who took it upon themselves to say you need some sort of tool to tighten the filters back up, but they have their heads so firmly planted up their asses its not even funny. The fact of the matter is that when you tighten a filter all you need it to be is hand tight, I usually go to the point where I can't tighten any further and stop. The vibrations from the engine as it runs usually welds the bastard within the 3000-5000 miles from then anyways, I have never had a leak hand tightening a filter as long as I lubed up the o-ring before hand.

Using a tool to tighten it can cause some serious issues, one being warpage of the gasket on the filter which can cause leaks, or physically puncturing the filter. It's just bad stuff.