Stuck oil filters! Help!!

rosssavage said:
Tried that.. Thanks anyway :)

Off down to the boat for round two tomorrow.
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had same issues last year with TAMD75. Tried everything so have a boat load of filter tools on board now ! What eventually worked was the Halfords one which is a like a steel bank you tighten onto the filter but I had to put a big screw inside it so when it tightened it forced the screw into the filter and prevented the band from slipping, If the filter head is easy to take off that might be the best way though
 
Got lots of ideas, mainly thanks to people here.

Plan a - friend is coming over with BIG snap on style strap wrench.

Plan b - jubilee clip, hammer and drift. Considering a couple of pop rivets through jubilee clip into filter housing if it slips a lot.

Plan c - thin junior hacksaw blade through the rubber gasket (possibly Stanley knife blade, but the gasket is so compressed I favour the hacksaw as it will remove material as it goes)

Plan d - remove filter housings, into big vise, cut off canister and drift off filter base using holes in filter base

See how it goes...
 
Oh yes, fully aware of that!! Lots of care will be taken, don't worry..

During my apprenticeship (admittedly many moons ago now..) I had to hand finish some steel jaws to +5/-0 thousandths of an inch, using nothing but a hacksaw and files.. About the same thickness as a sheet of A4 copier paper :)

There was no use for the jaws, just an excercise in hand skills. If you were 1 thou off, the instructor binned the job and you started again.

Teaches you to focus, if nothing else!!
 
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A variation on "c" would be a cheese wire ... a plain one with handles at each end.
Depends on if there's enough of a gap between the filter and the housing.
 
Go round the edge of the filter with a large screwdriver and prize it away from the engine, bit like trying to take the lid off a tin or loosening the lid of a jam pot. The filter is only tin so bends easily.
This breaks the seal caused by the rubber ring so it will then screw off easily.
 
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Use a lump hammer and cold chisel (blunt-ish is better) on the top rim of the filter, where the metal is folded over and there's more thickness.

The shock, and force will shift it without piercing through the filter and making a mess.
The old screwdriver method is very messy and doesn't work very well because the filter metal is so thin and is very weak. So all it does it make elongated holes in the can without shifting it.

On the top rim works without fail every time, but you need to be accurate and confident with the chisel. Don't dig in, apply the force at an angle to make the filter turn.
As I said above, it helps if the chisel isn't too sharp. It'll dent the can to provide purchase without going through.
 
rosssavage said:
Got lots of ideas, mainly thanks to people here.

Plan a - friend is coming over with BIG snap on style strap wrench.

Plan b - jubilee clip, hammer and drift. Considering a couple of pop rivets through jubilee clip into filter housing if it slips a lot.

Plan c - thin junior hacksaw blade through the rubber gasket (possibly Stanley knife blade, but the gasket is so compressed I favour the hacksaw as it will remove material as it goes)

Plan d - remove filter housings, into big vise, cut off canister and drift off filter base using holes in filter base

See how it goes...
Click to expand...

Plan b will work
 
Done.

Bit of plan a with some plan c thrown in for good measure.

Stbd filter went with my mates huge strap wrench, port filter started to crush (and this is by the rim!) before moving, so new blade in the Stanley and careful and repeated passes through the gasket and it went.

Dear Santa - for Xmas can I have a Snap On A91E please?
 
Always oiled, like I say, ninth year of ownership and I do all my own work - never had them this stuck before!

But yes, extra oil this time, and gingerly hand tightened!!
 
Well done. I have never had a problem with filters until removing a tiny Onan filter. I assume no one else had bothered to service it. Screwdriver, oil every where and eventually I got it off.

This thread has bought out some useful tips!
 
This thread has bought out some useful tips![/QUOTE]

+1. Have always had a job undoing our,s. Been nipping them up to tight :)

Always afraid they will start leaking or worse come off
 
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As I posted before, try prizing the edge up with a screwdriver like opening a tin. You can screw it off by hand then.

The old ideas are always the best........
 
These filters have really thick bases unfortunately. I cut one open when I first got the boat just out of interest..No way to bend the lip away from the engine without some serious force.

The strap wrench worked well, so that's what I'm going with next time.

Thanks for the idea though :)
 
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