It’s time not to talk about something that has bothered me for years: excessive tightening oil filters. They drive me crazy, often turning what should have been 10 minutes into arduous, oil-filled performances. So allow me to suggest a solution: stop squeezing your oil filter.
This story was first published on May 4, 2018
It seems like every time I buy a new car, I struggle to remove its oil filter because the previous owner decided to put that straw down. chop. Talking to my friends, it seems that FMT (“face strain”, if you don’t fit the squirm lingo) is the generally accepted torque spec on these things. But I must disagree; I assume the spec is indeed GNT – preferably not tight -.
I’ll start by saying that, in choosing between a loose oil filter and a tight one, I’ll check again; Damaging the engine over this silly thing really isn’t worth it.
It’s also important to reiterate that too tight oil filters shouldn’t really be a problem when the filter is in a good position; My 1992 Jeep Cherokee’s filter, shown above, points straight up, allowing excellent top-down access. To remove that filter, I could simply smack an oil filter outlet and simply screw the oil cleaner cartridge out with a ratchet.
On my Jeep Grand Wagoneer, shown above, there are multiple entrances next to the filter, so if that thing gets too tight, the move would be to use filter oil filter or oil filter pliers, and solve that problem. Easy as pie.
But the real problem comes down to not being able to easily reach the top or sides of the oil filter, as was the case with my 1995 Jeep Cherokee (shown above), which has a tightly packed filter. next to the engine, between the block and the coal box.
Finding a wrench, pliers or a socket on that filter was a pain, as there was no room to screw those tools in that tight spot. So what a lot of people end up doing is take a flat-head screwdriver and a hammer, and unscrew the filter the messy way, like this guy does with his Nissan:
I had to do this great number ofand, while I really don’t mind messing around, what pisses me off about all of this is that it easily avoidable. Just don’t spin those filters down too hard!
Popular oil refining company Wix recommends only 3/4 turns on some of its filters, starting after that filter’s gaskets have touched the oil filter housing. That’s it. Purolator, one of the oldest names in the refining business, recommend three quarters to one turndepending on the filter.
A full turn after contact with the pad is actually pretty tight, and I usually go somewhere just over 1/2 turn in my Jeep Cherokees (this obviously depends on the vehicle) ; the filters on my XJ still seem to look nice and fit even after 4,000 miles of driving. The point is to make sure that the rubber o-ring is ground enough that it seals the filter and that the filter is tight enough to stay in place over time, even if the motor vibrates vigorously trying to loosen it.
I can’t tell you how satisfying it feels to just be able to reach into my engine bay with one hand and screw the oil filter out without having to assemble some kind of machine or damage the filter with screwdriver. .
As a regular oil changer, fighting over-tight, poorly packaged oil filters is a waste of time, I refuse to reprocess. And so should you.
