digdug18

Well, I used to live in colorado and I got my oil changed when i was there, i drove home and I went to change my oil and the filter is so tight that I cant get it off, I tried a couple different tools to try and spin it, but it seems stuck on.
I've changed my oil twice now, and its not as if the place the civic's filter is located at is easy to get to either...

Any suggestions?

Andrew

Kyles ej1

screwdriver

graveltravel

uhhh. hummsss
just drive to your local express oil change place. yeah thats the ticket.

komat

stab the filter with a screwdriver then turn

Kyles ej1

why?!?! so they can rape you in the *** with theire prices?

Kista20

have you tried an oil filter wrench that fits over the end of the filter that uses a 3/8" ratchet? If not get one of those and take that thing off

Do_Ster

sometimes those oil filter wrenches don't get such a good grip on the filter after awhile. i suggest an oil filter plier. same thing happened to me with my filter and i picked up a plier from autozone for 8 bucks and viola

Bimmer99

either get the wrench from your local parts store or what i use on aftermarket type filters is my set of channel locks i have pretty much the biggest set you can get and I never get stuck in ur situation

Bror Jace

As long as the filter is intact, you should NOT puncture it to get it off. That is a last-ditch method only ... a real shade-tree-mechanic-old-school technique.

The best way to get these filters off is with a cap-type wrench which fits snuggly over the end of the filter.

Finding one from K-D or some other brand is a bit tough unless you have a filter in hand when picking out a wrench ... and different brands of filters (for the same car) may require different sized wrenches.

Once it's off, be extra sure that ALL the old gasket material has been removed. That base mounting surface should be spotless for the new gasket ... which should have a thin film of clean oil on it.

Put the new filter on hand-tight only.

ekcivic9

thats how we had to get the filter off my friends filter on... lol. the removal tools were all too big for his filter.

ghetto? yes. did it work? yes.

vosburgtransport

screw driver an hammer

Eyal 951

guys, if the thing is super tight, you stick a screwdriver in there and turn, you'll just tear it open... now you'll have a filter that wont come off, a huge gash in it, ans oil everywhere.
Something that I though I would never admit:
When my freinds filter was stuck on, and we tried the screwdriver and tore a gash in it, thats after we realized the socket was just stripping the filter... We took the filter socket for the 3/8 ratchet, and put superglue on it, all around, hammered it onto the filter. Wait about 10 minutes, get your 3/8 on it, turn it off, remove filter from socket, clean up, and don't ever tell anyone you did it.

ekcivic9

my friends didnt tear

Do_Ster

when working with cars, situations do differ. some times filters may tear (has happened to me) and some times they won't (happend to me also.) like i said earlier, the filter plier IMO works best just because it's unlikely to strip the filter like the filter socket and it won't tear open like the screwdriver and hammer method. the filter will crush a little bit, that actually makes it even easier to get off, here's a link for what you should look for

http://toolrage.com/prodView.asp?idproduct=892

EK45VTi

I would go with the screwdriver too... the easiest and the quickest way to get that sucker off...

Then when you install your NEW filter, before you do it, grease that RUBBER SEAL on the filter with some oil and then install the filter...

That way, that rubber seal will not seize until your next filter change...

And don't overtighten the filter... OEM filters have instructions written on them... those instruction are there for people to READ...

So read the instructions and tighten the filter according to them...

Bror Jace

When I hear of a vampiric oil filter, I will pierce it with a screwdriver ... numerous times. Maybe also a wooden stake.

Until then, I do such things as a last resort ... something I've not yet had to resort to.

tech8

I also agree the filter may tear. It happened to me when I was a teenager, and I didn't have much money for good tools. Ended up towing my friend's car to a shop after that, as the filter was still stuck with a gaping hole.

But it seem to depend on the type of oil filter though, because the first time I tried it, it worked easily. But on my friend's car with a different brand of filter, it tore.

These days even with better tools, if the tools I have don't work to get something off, I just bring the car to a shop to get it done. Don't want to FUBAR it, which would end up costing more.

Hope you get it off with whatever you try though.

SL!M

A screwdriver is for an idiot in my opinion. The caps that are for 3/8s do tend to slip, there is a tool I use at the shop that has 3 arms and connects using a 3/8s, the little arms grab the filter and may crease it but will give it som grip so you can torque on it. Someone may have mentioned it, I just stopped reading after i saw the screwdriver picture. Take care.

EK45VTi

What if THERE IS NO TOOL?!?!??

What if there IS a tool and the guy has NO CAR to go to buy it cos his car is on the jack stands...

And WHY BUY A TOOL when you can easily get it off with a screwdriver??? Nothing can go wrong... you will never reuse the old filter so it goes to garbage and WHO CARES how you took it off as long as you did it...

Smart man can have a stuck filter only once in car's life... so when you take off the stuck filter, you lubricate the rubber seal and not overtighten it and that's it...

92civichatch1

simple solution and it was said above take it to a jiffy lube place and pay 20 dollars for them to do it. if they mess it up then they pay for everything. make a mark on the filter so u know they changed it. next time the filter goes on remember its only gotta be hand tight. i also think the filter wrench working in this situation. good luck

ek9vboi2

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 92civichatch1 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">simple solution and it was said above take it to a jiffy lube place and pay 20 dollars for them to do it. if they mess it up then they pay for everything. make a mark on the filter so u know they changed it. next time the filter goes on remember its only gotta be hand tight. i also think the filter wrench working in this situation. good luck</TD></TR></TABLE>

duh! STOP BEING A CHEAPASS!

flood

I had a problem getting my filter off when I bought my car. (First oil change)

1. Warm it up first. Try to remove when the engine is hot. Metal expands when hot, it may slip right off.

2. Wear some gloves. Leather yard gloves work well.

Good grip and heat it up, should come off.

I wouldn't do the screwdriver "trick" unless your prepared to make the situation much worse. Could work too, but.

Sijray21

god...i remember when i had to use a screw driver...took 4 hours and a whole lot of oil everywhere.

After about 3 hours trying to use the screw driver it mangled the metal and it was very thin so i used a butter knife and a hammer....lol...slowly nuging the filter loose.

Be ready to have a lot of paper towels and something to clean it all up with.

i learned next time to coat the rubber seal with oil before reinstalling the new filter. ...so do that next time.

undertheradar

As has been suuested, do it when the engine is warm...even hot.

Sijray21

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by undertheradar &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">As has been suuested, do it when the engine is warm...even hot. </TD></TR></TABLE>

it will be better to get it off, but PLEASE be careful. The oil will be hot and you WILL get burned...i've tried .

One thing though, if you've already drained the oil don't start the car up. usually you take the filter off once you've drained the oil. Obviously you could refill the engine with oil and start it to remove it, but it's really not worth the cost...