Question: Oil Filter Wrench (for a 3.0)

[Greedo]

I do apologize if this is a dumb question, but for the life of me cannot find a solution to this "problem". I have been to nearly every auto store and have emailed Metal Nerds and cannot seem to find an oil filter wrench or socket that works for this oil filter. I tried a few sockets I found in town, but they were too shallow or didn't have enough teeth to catch. I then purchased a wrench (and I hate these with a passion) that was supposed to fit the filter. The first wrench was too big (even though the smallest size was supposed to fit). I went back, bought the next size down, but this was too small.

Why can I not find anything that works on the filter for a 3.0? I'm running the Mann filter (Mann W 930/21).

Does anyone have any helpful insight? Getting the filter on as tight as possible by hand has not worked without a slow leak that has drained almost all of my oil (bah)!

[scarecrowe]

I dont know how much clearance you have to get at the filter using a 3/8" drive and this wrench, but I have used this with good results on many different applications.

It can be found here CLICKY CLICK

[B6JoeS4]

^I use one of those on my 3.0 when it is being a pain in the ass to get off

[Greedo]

Thanks guys. I'm going to head to Sears and pick one up!

[kwan]

Use one of these:





And it shouldn't be really hard to take off. When you go to install the new filter, just lube seal with clean oil and tighten so that it's snug. Don't gorilla grip it on. Hopefully you have a set of channel locks to hold the oil cooler housing if it's really that tight. Very easy to spin and damage seal if filter is over tightened.

[ThreePointOhh]

x2 ^

[[email protected]]

These work great for taking a filter off...not so much for putting it on.

[Greedo]

The old filter came off with ease, it was getting the new one on that didn't work so well. I managed to get the old one off by hand. Since I was having no luck with putting the new filter on with a wrench or socket, I put it on as tight as I could by hand. Well clearly that didn't work, hence why my oil has slowly leaked out and now I'm getting a minimal oil warning. Lovely! That's why I want to get a wrench of some sort so I can make sure the filter is snug and not leaking.

[JeffM03]

Those adjustable-band oil filter wrenches work great. Why would you hate them? They make a quick job even quicker.

Well clearly that didn't work, hence why my oil has slowly leaked out and now I'm getting a minimal oil warning. Lovely! That's why I want to get a wrench of some sort so I can make sure the filter is snug and not leaking.

Have you noticed it actually dripping out of the filter housing, or are you just guessing? Did you clean the filter mounting area before putting on the new filter?

[Ill 3.0]

The old filter came off with ease, it was getting the new one on that didn't work so well. I managed to get the old one off by hand. Since I was having no luck with putting the new filter on with a wrench or socket, I put it on as tight as I could by hand. Well clearly that didn't work, hence why my oil has slowly leaked out and now I'm getting a minimal oil warning. Lovely! That's why I want to get a wrench of some sort so I can make sure the filter is snug and not leaking.

That is concerning, you should only have to hand tighten the filter (firmly obviously), just add a little new oil to the seal as kwan said. I've changed my 3.0 filter this way for over 4 years and never had any leaks at all. I'd take a close look at those threads. Can you see the oil leaking from the filter seal?

[B6JoeS4]

That is concerning, you should only have to hand tighten the filter (firmly obviously), just add a little new oil to the seal as kwan said. I've changed my 3.0 filter this way for over 4 years and never had any leaks at all. I'd take a close look at those threads. Can you see the oil leaking from the filter seal?

This. I though you were having trouble taking off the old one. the new filter should spin on very easily and you dont have to turn it too hard at all for the rubber gasket to form a good seal. I have hand tightened all oil filters i have done with no problems what so ever. Which filter are you using?

[scarecrowe]

Thought you were having trouble getting the old one off as well. I've only ever put any spin-on type filter on hand tight and I only use a wrench on truck applications (V large filter, different story)

+1 on checking the threads, and the gasket...

Also, I wouldn't use the wrench I recommended for tightening purposes. I know when using it to take off stubborn filters it usually digs in/squashes the filter pretty good.

[Greedo]

Those adjustable-band oil filter wrenches work great. Why would you hate them? They make a quick job even quicker.



Have you noticed it actually dripping out of the filter housing, or are you just guessing? Did you clean the filter mounting area before putting on the new filter?

I haven't noticed an actual leak. I changed the oil about 2 weeks ago, but haven't driven the car much since. I took a look last night and it seems to be from the filter area. It's moving across the oil pan. I need to look closer to see if it's the filter, the filter housing or the gasket (which was replaced less than a year ago).

I did pick up the Craftsman wrench this afternoon; didn't cost me anything since I had saved points. I have little girly hands, so there is a good chance I didn't get it on tight enough.

[Greedo]

What thread should I be checking?

I just got home and took a closer look. The oil is definitely leaking from the filter. The oil is clearly coming out of the lower corner where it connects to the housing. I looked to see if the housing itself may have been leaking (because I had this go bad on my old B5 2.8), but no signs lead to a leak coming from there.

I think I just didn't get it on tight enough, which explains the leak being as small as it is and having taken this long to become an issue. As I mentioned in my post above, I have little girly hands and didn't have a lot of leverage under the car, which could, and probably did, lead to the filter being just loose enough to have a leak. I'm going to pop the filter wrench on and just twist it the slightest bit and hope this solves the problem.

Thanks again for the help everyone. Regardless of the current problem at hand, I was having issues finding a tool to properly work for the filter. Now I have one in my tool collection which is beneficial.

[B6JoeS4]

i dont use a torque wrench, but i would guess that the oil filter is only tightened to about 20 ftlbs

[JoshDub]

I use hulk hands to do the oil filter

[jpg323s]

Dishwashing gloves - I've always used a pair when removing/replacing oil filters... no problems yet.

[scarecrowe]

and as a last resort, the one beneficial tool in my toolbox.....


smashing something makes anyone feel better

[kwan]

You shouldn't need to use any tool but your own hand to install a filter. Clean off the entire filter area and let the vehicle idle, then check for leaks. If you can move the filter housing back and forth with your hand, the nut is probably loose. You can try tightening it, it's a 27mm super shallow nut so be careful. As for what threads to check, the threads that the filter spins onto. Hopefully it didn't get cross threaded some how.