My "Grade 8" Oil Filter Wrench

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dibbons

dibbons

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The little Fram would just crush under the teeth of the chain auto parts store oil filter wrench (three times using various starting points), then still would not budge after driving a Craftsman flat blade screwdriver through its heart and hammering on the handle. Finally resorted to some high-caliber artillery, a six-inch grade 8 bolt and a yard-long persuader used for leverage. Even so, just barely got it to break free by the skin of my teeth.

grade 8 oil filter wrench 2JPG.JPG


grade 8 oil filter wrench.JPG
 
good thing there are no fenders around that engine

i use one of these

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USUALLY does the trick
 
Man that sucker was on there. Idk why people feel the need to tighten them down so much. I always tighten mine till it touches then just barely turn it. I can always remove mine the next oil change by hand only I dont use a tool. I remember I ran into the same issue with my mercury mountaineer the first time I changed the oil in it. I couldn't budge it I used every tool I'm my arsenal and couldn't budge it I ended up ripping it in half trying to do the screwdriver trick and ended up needing stitches Haha I cussed the mother that put that thing on there for days.
 
Sometimes it’s not how tight they put it on but don’t lubricate the seal with fresh oil.
I’ve tried it both ways (dry and wet)and honestly when the seal is lighted wetted with oil they “Break loose” then spin easy off.
Just my humble opinion.
 
dibbons said:
The little Fram would just crush under the teeth of the chain auto parts store oil filter wrench (three times using various starting points), then still would not budge after driving a Craftsman flat blade screwdriver through its heart and hammering on the handle. Finally resorted to some high-caliber artillery, a six-inch grade 8 bolt and a yard-long persuader used for leverage. Even so, just barely got it to break free by the skin of my teeth.

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Where'd you learn to use an oil filter wrench? You learned wrong. You don't grab the filter on the end. You grab it up high, right next to where it screws on, right at the threads. They will come loose every time and cannot crush right there.
 
I thought about that after the fact, thank you for the reminder. What fooled me is the fact the Fram puts an "easy grip" black ring at the back of the filter which I believe is put there to install/remove the filter by hand.
 
dibbons said:
The little Fram would just crush under the teeth of the chain auto parts store oil filter wrench (three times using various starting points), then still would not budge after driving a Craftsman flat blade screwdriver through its heart and hammering on the handle. Finally resorted to some high-caliber artillery, a six-inch grade 8 bolt and a yard-long persuader used for leverage. Even so, just barely got it to break free by the skin of my teeth.

View attachment 1715586914
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How was that filter installed? Sounds like they tightened it with a filter wrench. Beleive it or not, hand tight is plenty.
 
Syleng1 said:
Sometimes it’s not how tight they put it on but don’t lubricate the seal with fresh oil.
I’ve tried it both ways (dry and wet)and honestly when the seal is lighted wetted with oil they “Break loose” then spin easy off.
Just my humble opinion.
Click to expand...
I always lube the seal with fresh oil I usally fill the new filter about half full then spread it on the seal before I twist it on. The only exception is my mountaineer I can't put oil in it without dumping it out all over me so I just lube the seal and put a tiny bit in the filter. I remember in auto mechanics in trade school they tought us to always put oil in the filter to eliminate dry starts idk that may be a myth but it always stuck with me.
 
67Dart273 said:
Your first mistake was using a Fram
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I use to be a die hard fram guy until I watched the video of the guy cutting them open. Those things are crap. Now I use only mopar in my dodges and motorcraft in my mercury and Nissan
 
I recently took apart a Fram HP1, it wasnt bad like in that video. Maybe the HP (Hi perf) is different?
 
Joey4speed said:
I recently took apart a Fram HP1, it wasnt bad like in that video. Maybe the HP (Hi perf) is different?
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I always liked fram because of the little grip on the outside it's sad they put more money into the outside of the filter than they do the filter itself
 
dibbons said:
I thought about that after the fact, thank you for the reminder. What fooled me is the fact the Fram puts an "easy grip" black ring at the back of the filter which I believe is put there to install/remove the filter by hand.
Click to expand...

Well, you got it off and that's all that counts. Of the literally thousands of oil changes I've done over the years I've only encountered maybe three filters where I've had to do something as drastic. It happens when people don't lube the gasket at all and then tighten it with a filter wrench WAY too tight.
 
These cups seem to work pretty well with a 3/8" fine tooth flex head ratchet for removal. I haven't split one .................... yet ..........

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We started using the Fram HP1 for 2 reasons, cause its larger capacity and, believe it or not, because its very close to the same color as our Mopar engines so it blends in nicely.
Lol.
(HP1 has no hand grip).
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To hell with that noise. When I found out how bad Fram standard filters were likely around 1974, I never touched another. I don't care how good the HP ones are supposed to be, that's no excuse for building the standard ones like crap.

There are plenty of 'at least decent' and good brands. Hastings, Baldwin, Fleetguard, Wix, most OEM to name a few.
 
I heard Purolater was pretty good across the board, even make the Pep Boys brand. Grease the seal, spin it on then 3/4 more with the grappler. I use a rubber strap wrench on the new ones, no marks and infinite ratchet action. My SC400 has the oil filter under the motor in front bu there is almost no way to get any wrench on it, from the front or around it so the strap style works.
 
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