Oil Filter Is Stuck!

Geez, nothing is easy. I tried my two different strap wrenches then bought the kind that fits on the end with a ratchet. It wouldnt budge and now the wrench is moving without budging the filter. Anyone have any suggestions how to get this bastard off?

Drive a screwdriver straight through the filter and then you'll have two handles to put some torque on that baby! It's messy but that will get it off quickly. Put an old cookie sheet under there first to ease clean up. (or don't tell your s/o and use a new one, just wash the crap out of it) :biggrin:

Had the same problem, then I purchased this type of wrench, http://www.bosstools...mp;ProdID=11970
The filter came off no problem, the harder you turn the harder is clamps, way better than the screwdriver method

[image: View Post]radar, on Feb 14 2009, 04:44 PM, said:

Had the same problem, then I purchased this type of wrench, http://www.bosstools...mp;ProdID=11970
The filter came off no problem, the harder you turn the harder is clamps, way better than the screwdriver method

That looks pretty nice. :cool:

[image: View Post]The mailman, on Feb 15 2009, 01:32 AM, said:

Drive a screwdriver straight through the filter and then you'll have two handles to put some torque on that baby! It's messy but that will get it off quickly. Put an old cookie sheet under there first to ease clean up. (or don't tell your s/o and use a new one, just wash the crap out of it) :biggrin:

:+1: :+1:

Caveman style mechanics, but it works great! Used the method a few times already.

Beck
95 VFR

[image: View Post]Beck, on Feb 14 2009, 07:55 PM, said:

[image: View Post]The mailman, on Feb 15 2009, 01:32 AM, said:

Drive a screwdriver straight through the filter and then you'll have two handles to put some torque on that baby! It's messy but that will get it off quickly. Put an old cookie sheet under there first to ease clean up. (or don't tell your s/o and use a new one, just wash the crap out of it) :biggrin:

:+1: :+1:

Caveman style mechanics, but it works great! Used the method a few times already.

Beck
95 VFR
I didnt know there was a different way.

[image: View Post]5speed, on Feb 15 2009, 01:17 AM, said:

Geez, nothing is easy. I tried my two different strap wrenches then bought the kind that fits on the end with a ratchet. It wouldnt budge and now the wrench is moving without budging the filter. Anyone have any suggestions how to get this bastard off?
You can grab it straight on from the front with a large pair of Channel Locks if you have a pair.

Screwdriver through the filter has always worked for me in that situation. Of course if you change your oil as often as you should............. :rolleyes:

I hope this is not too late: hammer the screw driver through the very front, first portion of the filter and NOT more towards the middle or you run the possibility of hitting the threaded male casting that the filter spins onto.

Draping foil over the header pipes will also lessen the mess.

How bout one of these? Its cheap and available at any auto parts store. Has worked perfectly for me every time.

http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m317/bluespecv03/Random%20Pics/oilfilterwrench.jpg

[image: View Post]bluespecv03, on Feb 14 2009, 08:18 PM, said:

How bout one of these? Its cheap and available at any auto parts store. Has worked perfectly for me every time.

I have one of those. Maybe not the same brand but it slips or crushes the filter when it is really, really stuck. Note: these are filters I didn't install. IIRC, Honda calls for a stupid high torque figure on filters now; probably a liability "thang". I can use either my kung fu grip or a small rubber pipe wrench on filters I install.

Happened to me the first time. It's in a nasty place compared to every other bike I've worked on. :mad: The only way I could get it off was, first, use a screwdriver to see if I could start the twist. After that didn't work, I carefully used a chisel to unfreeze the filter from the threads and, after a bit of careful chiseling, I finally got it loose enough to spin off. It was messy, but I didn't give a crap... I got the damn thing off. :beer:

Major lesson learned -- I now only use K&N oil filters with a bolt on the top of the filter. You'll never have a problem again, and it will be a piece of cake to reach every time. K&N oil filter from K&N site.

[image: View Post]VFR4Lee, on Feb 14 2009, 06:50 PM, said:

[image: View Post]radar, on Feb 14 2009, 04:44 PM, said:

Had the same problem, then I purchased this type of wrench, http://www.bosstools...mp;ProdID=11970
The filter came off no problem, the harder you turn the harder is clamps, way better than the screwdriver method

That looks pretty nice. :cool:


It works better than it looks. I've had an identical one made by LISLE for, jeeez it must be 20 years. I've never had a filter defeat it. Worth every penny and more. :fing02:

was the engine cold when you started the oil change. I have found it is much harder to get the filter off if th engine is cold when I start (this is the case with any engine). I always take a lap around the block or just down the street to put a little heat in it, then it comes right off every time.

Does any one else have any thought about this?

Couldn't image a filter seizing. The cookie sheet thing reminded me of something funny I did when I was about 17. I had made some deer jerky in my moms oven and thought it would be a good idea to stick a cookie sheet under the meat to catch the droppings, well it did but being in the oven so long all of the drippings baked to the cookie sheet. I decided the easiest way to clean this mess up was a 3100 psi pressure washer. I was even bold enough to brag to my mother about the new way that I had found of doing the dishes. Next time she used that cookie sheet she discovered that I had washed the teflon coating right off of it. I couldn't deny it, I had bragged about it. Oh well lesson learned, you can't wash nonstick dishes with a pressure washer.

I bought an old full size Blazer about 15 years ago... when i got it home and I was doing all the service, I couldn't get the filter off. I tried the screw driver trick, and it just ripped the body... ended up taking off the body and filter media in pieces and I was finally able to drive off the base plate with a hammer and chisel... and that's when I saw it. Red silicone had been used on the oring where the filter sealed to the block. I don't know why... there was nothing wrong with the sealing surface... I was so mad... but, a new one spun on and sealed up just fine.


Hand tight with a lubricated seal/oring is plenty for any oil filter. My wife uses her Honda Fit for work and does about 35k miles per year. I change the oil in that thing all the time. I spin it on and off by hand now... works perfect. (It's got the grippy stuff on the end of the filter that helps though.

[image: View Post]unkjj, on Feb 15 2009, 12:07 AM, said:

was the engine cold when you started the oil change. I have found it is much harder to get the filter off if th engine is cold when I start (this is the case with any engine). I always take a lap around the block or just down the street to put a little heat in it, then it comes right off every time.

Does any one else have any thought about this?





I agree a warm filter will spin easier.

[image: View Post]bluespecv03, on Feb 14 2009, 09:18 PM, said:

How bout one of these? Its cheap and available at any auto parts store. Has worked perfectly for me every time.

http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m317/bluespecv03/Random%20Pics/oilfilterwrench.jpg



The little socket cups do work the best. However there are many diffirent sizes, even in the same filters. I have 2 at work, just to work on honda filters. I guess it depends on where it is made as to which tool works.

I have a set of oil filter pliers like that and I have not had a single oil filter that they would not take off. The kids at the oil change places put the filters on WAY too tight. These pliers always work.

Only saw one mention of this so I'll mention it again. Put oil on the filter seal before installing it.

[image: View Post]CBR_Rod, on Feb 15 2009, 10:50 AM, said:

Only saw one mention of this so I'll mention it again. Put oil on the filter seal before installing it.



Absolutly. It really does help the filter to come off. A dry seal will bind on the filter boss.

And don't use a 36" pipewrench with a 4 foot snipe to install the new filter. :rolleyes:

Common procedure listed by filter manufacturers is as follows:

Lube seal lightly, spin filter on until it touches down, tighten an additional 1/4 turn.

You don't need to be a gorilla to get 'em on...OR off.

Wow!.........22 posts already on how to deal with a stuck oil filter.....uhhh.....slow weekend or what!! :laugh:

Beck
95 VFR

[image: View Post]5speed, on Feb 14 2009, 07:17 PM, said:

Geez, nothing is easy. I tried my two different strap wrenches then bought the kind that fits on the end with a ratchet. It wouldnt budge and now the wrench is moving without budging the filter. Anyone have any suggestions how to get this bastard off?

I see you have all the "standard" replies including harpooning the filter with a screwdriver. Before going down that road - if it does not work you have to trailer the bike to a mechanic to get the filter off - try this....

Using a standard worm gear hose clamp with a combination slotted and hex head for tightening the clamp. Install the clamp close to the base of the filter and tighten with a socket wrench. Position the worm gear hex head so you can tap it with a hammer using the socket on an 4-6 inch extension. The force from hammering on the clamp is tangential to rotation of the filter and will break the filter free. BTW, it usually only takes a couple of "taps" to get the filter moving. Once it starts turning you can use any of the other filter wrenches. I have had very good luck removing stuck filters this way without making a mess or destroying the filter.

Stuck filters are usually the result of not oiling the filter before installing.

I can't claim credit for this solution. I found it on the web while trying to get a stuck filter off a GL1800

/Jack

[image: View Post]cbennett5199, on Feb 14 2009, 09:14 PM, said:

Happened to me the first time. It's in a nasty place compared to every other bike I've worked on. :mad: The only way I could get it off was, first, use a screwdriver to see if I could start the twist. After that didn't work, I carefully used a chisel to unfreeze the filter from the threads and, after a bit of careful chiseling, I finally got it loose enough to spin off. It was messy, but I didn't give a crap... I got the damn thing off. :beer:

Major lesson learned -- I now only use K&N oil filters with a bolt on the top of the filter. You'll never have a problem again, and it will be a piece of cake to reach every time. K&N oil filter from K&N site.
I have been using the K&N on my Ducati for a decade and swear by them. They work great going on and coming off.

How can one possibly get a filter so tight so a standard filter wrench would not unscrew it?
http://www.etoolcart.com/ProductImages/specialty/KD-3253.jpg

[image: View Post]cbennett5199, on Feb 14 2009, 10:14 PM, said:

Major lesson learned -- I now only use K&N oil filters with a bolt on the top of the filter.
And how this is better than a standard Honda filter and a standard Honda filter wrench?

[image: View Post]CitizenOfDreams, on Feb 15 2009, 10:33 PM, said:

[image: View Post]cbennett5199, on Feb 14 2009, 10:14 PM, said:

Major lesson learned -- I now only use K&N oil filters with a bolt on the top of the filter.
And how this is better than a standard Honda filter and a standard Honda filter wrench?
Because the nut on the K&N will never come off and that Honda filter wrench is kind of a pile of crap that may or may not grip.

[image: View Post]1996900sp, on Feb 15 2009, 11:44 PM, said:

Because the nut on the K&N will never come off and that Honda filter wrench is kind of a pile of crap that may or may not grip.
I must be doing something wrong, because the aforementioned "pile of crap" grips perfectly every time I need to replace my filter. For a fraction of K&N's price, too.

[image: View Post]CitizenOfDreams, on Feb 15 2009, 11:00 PM, said:

[image: View Post]1996900sp, on Feb 15 2009, 11:44 PM, said:

Because the nut on the K&N will never come off and that Honda filter wrench is kind of a pile of crap that may or may not grip.
I must be doing something wrong, because the aforementioned "pile of crap" grips perfectly every time I need to replace my filter. For a fraction of K&N's price, too.
Ok dude relax, you are lucky you have not come upon one of the dreaded stuck filters like many of us have.

Anytime I've ever had to use the Honda oil filter tool (b/c the dealer shop installed the old filter on too tight) it always gets stuck on the used filter. Installing the new filter finger tight - with a light coat of oil on the o-ring - is best IMO.

I do wish the VFR's oil filter placement was a bit easier to access tho. :mellow:

So I'm probably the only person on Earth who uses the manufacturer recommended tool and torques the filter to manufacturer recommended values. Coincidentally, I am also the only person whose filters don't get stuck so badly so you'd have to use a pipe wrench to get them loose.

I typically only put them on hand tight. When it comes time to change them a good solid grip and grunt gets it off pretty easily. Haven't needed a wrench for a bike filter yet...and I haven't had one fall off either.

[image: View Post]Trinith, on Feb 16 2009, 01:48 AM, said:

I typically only put them on hand tight. When it comes time to change them a good solid grip and grunt gets it off pretty easily. Haven't needed a wrench for a bike filter yet...and I haven't had one fall off either.
Same here. Of course I also oil the seal before installing and warm the engine for a couple of minutes as well. Works on bikes and cars. The only time I have had to hammer a screw driver through a filter is if I have the work done at a dealership/oil change shop (which is something I haven't done in years). Hand tight and 1/4 turn extra. Over torquing a filter is also a good way to strip the seal.