Stuck oil filter housing

Someone at the dealership was educated in public school.
The lowest of the low are given these menial tasks.

 

They did not torque to 200. They most likely skipped on lubing the o-ring

 

I tighten my filter with one ugga, no duggas. The fact that I couldnt get the filter drain cap off yesterday pissed me off at the guy who overtightened it (me, 6500 miles ago)

 

This is the ticket.

https://www.matcotools.com/catalog/...th-locking-flex-ratchet-with-ergo-handle-teal

 

I deal with o-rings, torque settings all the time. There is no way an o-ring can cause the problem. Also, you should not lube threads at all (I read some people do). And when you lube o-rings you make them shiny. Taking a finger-dab of oil and smothering it all over the o-ring surface is not how you are supposed do it.

While I doubt that someone intentionally set torque settings to 200ft/lb, the dealership has a spotty service quality history. It was likely an overlooked issue and, perhaps, someone tightened the the cap by hand using a longer-than-necessary wrench. In either case, I am not going back there.

 

1st of all, there are no maintenance parts that require 200 torque. There are a few areas where you need such torque -crankshaft pulley, steering knuckle, some driveline/diff/axle components.
Get back to us after your next oil change and share how much torque you used to get it off. Hint, it it will take a breaker bar to get it off if you did not lube o-ring and threads enough.
I let o-ring to swim in the oil and drizzle threads with the oil. Then I can take the cap with this setup. Been doing it on 2 mine cars with this type for a decade

 

So what do you use for thread lubrication?

 

KY

 

Yeah, dude, so no. You don't lube threads with KY or "a dab of oil" like shown in many YouTube videos. If you want to prevent threads from freezing, use proper lubrication. Otherwise, you'll end up over tightening the cap and, possibly, breaking the o-ring which is the _real_ sealant in the assembly. You'll be surprised how easy it is to over-torque bolts when applying an improper lubricant, which I guess is a part of the reason why people struggle taking the oil filter housing caps off after dealer service.

 

Look carefully at the design of the housing and the cap. You suppose to stop cranking when 2 surfaces are met. No need to torque

 

Don't put any kind of "lubricant" on threads of filter housing.
Light bit of clean oil on outside of o ring to keep it from binding and lifting out of groove.
There are few threads that need "lubricant".
Maybe a little anti seize to wheel lugs.

 

Yeah, I learned to be mad at myself for over-tightening with my hands.

The darn housing things expands!

Definitely put a little dab of new oil on the o-ring on the housing unit...and put o-ring in the correct slotted area:

Also, I use a 27mm socket on the housing wrench (circled) instead of the 3/8 slot in the middle and a breaker bar...makes for much easier twist off.

Yes, I keep my composite housing as a back-up.

 

My joke flew over heads

 

Did you add an "lol" after making statement?

That's what I've learned after many years of being on a Forum.

 

KY is actually a good lubricant for silicone o-rings ;-)

 

You are lucky it did not break. I hope you inspected it for hair line cracks!

 

Oh, this was my second attempt. The after applying ~30ft/lb to the cap and not getting it off, I bought a second, genuine OEM aluminum part fully expecting the plastic housing to break off with more torque. I'll get another metal cap so that I can prepare a filter be ready to go while under the car. That or convert the whole system to a proper oil filter.

 

Once the o ring sets into place, it gets increasingly harder to remove. That's not a dealer problem, that's an expectation problem.


I just changed my oil today. 3rd time. I use the motivx wrench, and keep two composite filter housings so I can swap as I'm under there. I used a normal-length 3/8" ratchet(10"), and had to put everything I had into getting it off. Was seriously contemplating a ratcheting 2' breaker bar. I retightened with my hand halfway up the wrench to snug the new cap on. I'm probably not even hitting 10ft pounds.

When I change it again, I expect it'll be another fight.

Still an adjustment from spin on filters for me...

 

I changed oil in wife's RAV4 today. I had converted her car to the aluminum housing in 2019. No problem taking the housing off with the MichaelPro cap tool and a 1/2" wrench. Put it back by hand, till O-ring hit the engine mount, then snugged up with the MichaelPro and a wrench till housing touched the mount.
I think composite housing tends get tighter as car used. Different expansion rates?

 

Aluminum thermal expansion rate is greater than Delrin thermoplastic