Oil Filter Stuck. Options Please?

This is a first for me. I can't bunge the oil filter(PH16) on my 97
Avenger. I've tried different types of wrenches, but I'm afraid I'll
crush or tear the filter. There isn't much room to work. Should I
leave it alone and change the oil more often (the car has140000k and
is driven about 100 miles a week)? Bring it in to a oil change place,
etc.? And will they have any better luck? Or a chrysler shop ($$)?
Thanks.

 

Yes, it absolutely has to be changed. Unless by "more frequent" you
mean every 500 miles or some such.

Crushing an oil filter while getting it off is no big deal -- I've got
a couple of oil filter wrenches in different sizes that I call the
"jaws of death". You use a ratchet on them, and they just keep
getting tighter until the filter starts turning. Probably half the
filters I take off are partially crushed as a result. I think I got
them at Sears.

If you've got room (I know, you said you didn't have much room, but
maybe there's side access somewhere...), you can drive a screwdriver
through the filter sideways and use that to get serious leverage. But
I've never had a filter that the wrenches I mentioned above wouldn't
take off.

Take a look at the filter flange on the block when you've got the
filter off -- if it's that hard, I wouldn't be surprised if you left
some of the filter gasket behind, and you'll need to use a
Scotch-Brite pad to clean it up or else it'll leak (I'll bet you can
guess how I know this...).

If you've been following this newsgroup for any time, you'll know how
the quick-change places will make sure they get it done: they'll give
it a try, and if it doesn't turn leave it and charge you for a new
filter.

 

There is really no room for the "screwdriver or visegrip technique,"
but I'll try my strap-rachet again. I'm just leary of crushing it, but
you guarantee it works, right?

 

If you use the screwdriver method, be advised that it seems to work
better the nearer the oil filter base you can punch through the
screwdriver (although I wouldn't go any closer than about 1" above the
base, because you might hit the standpipe on the filter mount). If you
punch it through way out at the end of the filter, my experience is that
the screwdriver acts more like a can-opener than you really want it to :-/

 

When I'm posting on usenet, I'm not going to "guarantee" that
*gravity* works. I'm not sure what a strap-rachet is (I've seen
strap-type oil filter wrenches, but not in combination with a
ratchet) -- the "jaws of death" I use is one heck of a lot more
agressive than any strap wrench I've seen, and routinely crushes the
filter.

 

When did they change their standard policy and start trying? LOL!

 

You may also want to get a rag with solvent on it, and be sure the
filter is clean. If there is an oil/grease film on the filter, it may
prevent the strap-wrench from gripping. You could also try roughing
up the filter with emery cloth for even more grip.

 

Just make sure your turning it the right direction. I had one on
my Nissan years ago that wouldn't turn and I used the punch screwdriver
through it method and it still wouldn't turn. Then I realized I was turning
it backwards.

Ted

 

Righty tighty lefty loosey, Ted.

Yep - being upside down messes with the mind.

 

Except for the drivers side wheels on old Chryslers!

--

 

In the early 80s, I bought a '69 Barracuda 340-S convertible that had
frontend issues, with front tires that had the steel belts showing. I
swapped a pair of decent tires on '70 rallye wheels onto it. When I came
home from work the next day, I found the front of the car dangling on a
bumper jack with only the right front wheel & tire missing... and the lug
nuts for the left front were pi$$-tight.

Bryan
PS: My ragtop is NOT for sale.

 

Sometime in the late 1970s, I broke a breaker bar by putting a cheater
on it and jumping up and down. Yep, it was the left side....

 

Kind of a twist (literally) of that scenario: Many years ago, before I
had a sense of how much a given torque value was, I had an OHC Subaru
that I changed the timing belt on. The tensioning involved putting a
certain amount of torque on one of the cam sprockets - in the
*counter-clockwise* direction - and holding that tension while you
tightened the tensioner pulley bracket.

Well, I set the torque wrench to the correct value, and went to apply
the torque - increased the torque waiting for the click - it never came.
Applied more and more torque - no click. I applied so much torque,
it's a wonder that I didn't bend or break something or ruin the belt. I
couldn't figure out what was going on - felt like I was in the twilight
zone. Long story short - I had one of those cheap 1/2 torque wrenches -
the kind you still buy in the cheap tool stores today - it only clicks
in the CW direction - CCW: no clicky!

 

Yet another reason I'm glad that I've only bought beam-style
torque wrenches!

Ted