Oil filter wrench recommendations

Vegable said:
Suprised no-one's mentioned a pair of Marigold washing up gloves. It's amazing the amount of grip you get with them. My filter is fairly inaccessible and I get mine off one handed. Dead cheap and even cheaper if you can slip them into your pocket when in the kitchen!
Mike
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Tried that trick, including wrapping the other glove round the filter for extra grip. I’ve never had much upper body or arm strength:nonchalance:
 
Avocet doesn't have an oil filter, but for the car, I have a big "Jubilee" clip with a bolt welded to it, such tha tthe bolt sticks out at 90 degrees to the surface of the clip band. Use a 7mm socket on a 1/4 drive wobble bar and ratchet to tighten the clip, then push or pull on the end of the bolt until the filter is loose enough to undo by hand.
 
pvb said:
There's really no need to screw filters on so tightly! A smear of oil on the sealing ring, spin on, then another half turn should be fine. And it'll undo easily by hand when it needs replacing.
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That's certainly the norm, and may be universal for spin-on filters on small boat engines, and widely elsewhere. But in some applications considerably more force is needed, in which case there should be a torque spec. (I've seen over20Nm specified, which is way beyond hand-tight.) A cup wrench is then the only option.
 
macd said:
That's certainly the norm, and may be universal for spin-on filters on small boat engines, and widely elsewhere. But in some applications considerably more force is needed, in which case there should be a torque spec. (I've seen over20Nm specified, which is way beyond hand-tight.) A cup wrench is then the only option.
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Yes, Yanmar 4JH4AE oil filter fitting instructions state that final tightening should be to 20 - 24 N·m (177-212 lb-in).

First step is normal:
"Coat the new lubricating oil filter seal with lubricating oil and install the lubricating oil filter manually turning it clockwise until the seal touches the mounting surface, and tighten it further to 3/4 of a turn using a filter wrench."

I must admit that I just tighten to 7/8 - 1 full turn and that is more than sufficient to avoid any leaks. I don't check with my torque wrench as that would be tricky (and require the style of filter wrench with a fitting for the torque wrench). I've never seen oil filter torque as something needing a high degree of accuracy.
 
PaulRainbow said:
In 40+ years i have never tightened an oil filter with a filter wrench. I've never had one come undone yet.
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Ditto for about 50 years. I usually follow manufacturers instructions closely for most things but Yanmar's 20-24Nm seems OTT. 7/8-1 turn is about as tight as I can get. That usually requires rubber gloves or degreasing filter and hands to get some grip.

It used to be about 50:50 getting it back off again without a wrench. I'm getting older, filters are getting harder to reach with both hands and now always need a wrench. :D:D
 
I used a Snap-on strap wrench at last service for filter removal - which was excellent . However not my wrench unfortunately.
The Draper / Toolstation strap wrench looks like a fair bet at a poor mans alternative
 
PaulRainbow said:
In 40+ years i have never tightened an oil filter with a filter wrench. I've never had one come undone yet.
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That's very true .... but a filter wrench is necessary for removing filters. In 40+ years I have never bought a second hand vehicle which did not have an overtightened oil filter so garage mechanics are either using filter wrenches or have arms like gorillas ..... or both. :(

Richard
 
davidjackson said:
I have quite the opposite experience with this type of removal tool. Mine looks the same but came from Pound Land. Very easy to use with 100% success. The trick, as others have said, is to lubricate the seal and only hand tighten the new one.
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Sadly I was up against the previous owners idea of "hand tight" and he is clearly a man with an impressive grip and presumably treated the installation as if it were one of the labours of Hercules. It didn't leak though.

I used the rubber strap thingy with a car where there was reasonable access and it was ok, not great, but worked. However the boat space was an awkward angle in my wrong hand and it was hard to get the strap to grip.

I wonder if there's much to gain from changing these filters so regularly, if they aren't reducing the flow then they're not really letting any more dirt through than a fresh one are they?
 
JBJag27 said:
I wonder if there's much to gain from changing these filters so regularly, if they aren't reducing the flow then they're not really letting any more dirt through than a fresh one are they?
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I guess it depends upon how often you are changing the filter. It's certainly worth changing at least as often as when you change the oil although when I started using synthetic oil in the 1970's I was extending the oil change to 4X the recommended mineral oil change period but still changing the filter at the normal mileage, 5000 or whatever. This was recommended by Mobil at the time and seemed sensible to me.

Richard
 
I once used the screwdriver puncturing technique on my car and it still wouldn't budge - then I was really knacked!
KevinT1 said:
The Oil Filter on Catre is impossible to get at, it's underneath the MD22 at an angle fore and aft and at 45 degrees sideways, I have tried different many Oil Filter wrenches - all without success.
1) Belt / Strap
2) Chain
3) Oil Filter Pliers

You can barely get your hand on the Filter and if you can get a wrench on then you can't get any leverage or motion. Even after removing the Alternator Belt and swinging that away there is barely enough room to get your arm through and grasp the filter

For the 1st service after purchase I got the local independent Marine "Mechanic" to service and winterise the engine and was horrified to see him use a long Screwdriver and Hammer - after 4 years I've come to the conclusion that a 2ft "Hammer through" screwdriver or cold chisel is the easiest and cleanest way to remove it. The trick is to make a indentation in the rim of the Filter at 90 degrees and then use that to "tap" the filter anticlockwise.

No puncturing of the filter is involved - I definitely don't do the screwdriver through one side and out of the other method. And the filter is dropped into a plastic bag in the bilges to save any spillage
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RichardS said:
That's very true .... but a filter wrench is necessary for removing filters. In 40+ years I have never bought a second hand vehicle which did not have an overtightened oil filter so garage mechanics are either using filter wrenches or have arms like gorillas ..... or both. :(

Richard
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If you tighten one by hand as tight as you can, it won't easily come undone next time you change it. I tighten mine up until the seal touches and then about half a turn, you get a feel for what's right.

As you say though, some garages employ gorillas, they are very good at tightening wheel nuts up too.
 
Guys...

Let's be honest, this is a pretty pointless thread. It's a bit like saying "I have a 17mm nut, what's the best tool to undo it?" It very much depends on access, room around the item, angles, your mobility, whether your hand will get covered in oil depending on the tool chosen, etc etc. I have several different tools for different jobs, and the three armed claw thing works perfectly on my Land Rover, but is hopeless on the boat. And of course the use of that claw depends on which ratchet I use...a full sized one may not fit, however a stubby jointed one may be perfect.

However, I will add that the metal strap/lever combo that looks like a piston ring compressor is universally hopeless, I'll take a hammer and screwdriver over that any day. Or possibly just use my teeth.

However, rather than the choice of tool, the most important thing is technique. Please watch this helpful video...OK so it is car related, but the principles are the same.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtypxVmEYg4

DISCLAIMER-for any of you, erm, more senior lot out there, please ensure that your pacemaker is fully operational before viewing.
 
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