Andy Gargagliano Posted June 9, 2014 Posted June 9, 2014 Was planning on doing a simple oil change on my 72 monte today.As usual not the case.It has a 350 with headers so not much ciearance for oil filter.To make a long storey short oil filter is destroyed and it wont come loose.I took header off for more clearance but I cant get it off.I have done many oil changes over the years and never had this problem and yes I put it on myself hand tight.I guess I don't know my own strength.Gratiot cruis next weekend so I have to get this back together.Any help is appreciated. thanks Andy. Quote
7tonemonte Posted June 9, 2014 Posted June 9, 2014 My first oil change on my Monte went like that, drove a long screwdriver all the way through it and that worked, it made a huge mess and was a lot of shredded metal to cut yourself on. I remember having to use a hammer and screwdriver to drive the base around using the holes in the filter. Guess whoever did it before me didn't put any oil on the gasket. I've also heard of working a single edge razor blade in a scraper around the base of the filter, it's the gasket stuck to the block, not the threads stuck They also sell a damaged filter removal tool Quote
SPLATT71MC Posted June 9, 2014 Posted June 9, 2014 Get yourself a strap style filter wrench that fits on a ratchet. The harder you turn them the tighter they get. http://www.autozone.com/autozone/accesso...fier=72843_0_0_ Quote
stangeba Posted June 9, 2014 Posted June 9, 2014 OKAY, this will sound really dumb but I remember trying to remove my first spin on oil filter and couldn't get it off. I later found that I was turning the wrong way. Don't laugh, it happened! Bruce Quote
Sam (Bones) Posted June 9, 2014 Posted June 9, 2014 as Tony said...you might need a long screwdriver and a hammer, working as close to the base as possible, use the screwdriver like a chisel and try to loosen it little by little Quote
black07ss Posted June 9, 2014 Posted June 9, 2014 I bought one of these 20 years ago and it has not failed me yet oil filter wrench linky Quote
Big Jim Posted June 9, 2014 Posted June 9, 2014 We call that a claw and it works pretty good. There is the oil filter plyers,Band Wrench, Cap Wrench, Strap wrench as mentioned. details from Walmart TLE. Remeber righty tighty lefty loosey. Quote
overdrive Posted June 9, 2014 Posted June 9, 2014 If you've done like I did years ago, all of the sheet metal and filtering material is now in the trash, and you're left with the steel base plate and rubber seal still on the block. I had to drive a chisel between the block and the filter base. I bent it down enough so that I was able to put a pair of vise grips on the edge. I hammered the grips and got it to turn. If you do it this way, be careful to not damage the block. You can try hammering on a chisel on the edge of the base to see if it'll turn, before you bend it down. Good luck. Â Dan Quote
footballubet Posted June 9, 2014 Posted June 9, 2014 I've seen this so many times. Depending on how much of the filter body is left as to which way to go. The web strap works wonders if you can get a good bite. If not you may be down to chisel and hammer. Just be careful. Quote
Rob Peters Posted June 10, 2014 Posted June 10, 2014 I think we have all had this issue at on time or another, if not sooner or later we will. Once I went from one that cradels the indentations (knurled) bottom of the filter....when that tool rounded the knurled bottom I switched to a steel compression strap which only twisted it. Finally, I tapped it lightly with a hammer up near the top in as many areas as were accessible, drove a screwdriver through it and it broke free. Rob Quote
72jrfan88 Posted June 10, 2014 Posted June 10, 2014 Im in the same situation...I always do oil myself but I had a free oil change coupon at Pennzoil..I had them do it. They t orqued it on so tight. Im thinking they didnt lube the o ring gasket. Im not to happy but I just drained oil kept filter for now. I want to get it off now however. Does that 3 legged oil wrench work for our filters? Our filters seem large Quote
MC-71 Posted June 10, 2014 Posted June 10, 2014 I have always used the AC Delco Long filters PF35, PF35L and PF1218. You need to add a little more oil but the filter will hang lower and it makes it much easier to remove. Yes always fill the filter with oil and oil the rubber gasket. Also buy a oil filter cap wrench. Advance Auto sells the better ones that are made of steel. The wrench fits the bottom of the filter and you use a socket wrench to turn the filter. Works every time. Quote
72jrfan88 Posted June 10, 2014 Posted June 10, 2014 Yes I currently have the steel oil cap wrench...problem is the filter was so tight the filter stripped where the rough edges are on bottom of filter are now rounded. So the filter cap wrench spins a bit without much resistance. Thats why I was wondering if anyone had any luck with that claw looking wrench. Thanks for the long oil filter tip! Quote
Sam (Bones) Posted June 10, 2014 Posted June 10, 2014 quit screwing around with cheap tools and get one one these, been using them for over 20 years with no issues, I have 4 different sized ones, best to grab it as close to the base as possible  Quote
Rob Peters Posted June 10, 2014 Posted June 10, 2014 quit screwing around with cheap tools and get one one these, been using them for over 20 years with no issues, I have 4 different sized ones, best to grab it as close to the base as possible  When I talked about the Steel Compression type strap this is the one I tried second on the one I was working on and the filter twisted but the base remained stationary so it looked like a twisted chuiro but that is the type I have always had the most luck with. I also have several of them, including an adjustable one. Rob Quote
7tonemonte Posted June 10, 2014 Posted June 10, 2014 FYI my car had a long filter on it when I got it, it interfered with the headers, it actually was worse to remove than the short one. Every point on the bottom edge actually pushed out on the header while removing it. I have one of the cap wrenches that fit on the bottom of all my cars filters, never had an issue with them either Quote
cbolt Posted June 10, 2014 Posted June 10, 2014 A strap style wrench should work most of the time. Similar to the one in the picture except it utilizes a nylon strap and gets tighter the more you turn it. I have used the screwdriver/hammer concoction in the past with a slight twist... You hammer the phillips head screwdriver through the filter, creating a nice handle to use for leverage. Through and through is the only way so the longer the screwdriver the better in this case. Either way good luck! Quote
footballubet Posted June 10, 2014 Posted June 10, 2014 The nylon strap wrench works when others don't. It is always my last resort wrench but the one that does the job. The 3 claw wrench is a favorite too. Quote
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