dailo

Stupid TSX and it's hard to reach oil filter!!!

I've tried everything I could think of for the past 2 hours, but my stupid filter won't budge. I've done this a million times and this is the first time I've had any problems getting the filter off. I tried drilling a hole (big mistake) and try to leverage it open, but it won't budge. Now I can't even fill it back up and bring it to the dealer to do it. Any suggestions? Thanks.

joerockt

Drilled a hole??? lol...

First off, take the passenger side front wheel off. That makes it much eaiser to get to.

What are you using to try to remove the filter?

drunkenbuda

you drilled a hole? WoW...just keep trying...it will come off.

dailo

It was a suggestion I found googling removing stubburn oil filter. The only thing is my filter wrench keeps on slipping from the filter. I don't know how to get a tighter fit on it so it will stop slipping. And my nearby auto store doesn't have a size in between. The next size smaller is too small.

San-AnT

how about some tape and bubble gum? ok, but something sticky and thin.

randomthought

Try to put something like a rag or glove inbetween the filter wrench and the filter. I did that myself on a frineds car and I have seen others do the same thing. Gives a bit of extra grip and holds relatively well. Good luck taking it off. I know how frustrating it can get.

greendestiny

a trip to pep boys and a 65mm oil filter cap wrench will take it off...atleast it somewhat fits the honda fram one and the honda filtech one...

aaronng

Get one of those rubberized kitchen gloves. Put the rubber side over the filter. Then put your filter clamp over that.

BTW, your filter clamp is the smaller sized one, right?

dailo

It's some generic one I got from kragen. It just says it's a #5 no idea what that means. It is a 65mm one. I'll have to try the ruber glove. I have the Mobil1 M110 so I'm not sure if I am supposed to use a different size wrench.

I'm not using a clamp. I'm using a filter wrench, maybe i'll try to buy a clamp tommorow, but those things dont' look like they grip very well.

A Cake On

Grab a large pair of channel lock pliers, they should do the trick.

dailo

Wow I'd have to get a pretty big pair to get it around the filter. Would it be able to fit to get into the filter. I have the tire off, but it's still a tight space.

A Cake On

I haven't actually tried the method myself but was told that the techs at my dealership do it all of the time. And yeah, they would have to be pretty big as my standard ones at the house were too small too. When I did my oil change I used a glove with a rubber lining on the palm to get mine off. It took a lot of elbow grease, but I got it.

dailo

Yeah I'm just going to have to get creative I guess, I've tried doing it by hand and I put quite a bit of muscle into it but it just wouldnt budge. Guess I couldn't just get a good enough grip from the angle. Guess I'll go to kragen tommorow and give it a try again.

LoveMyTL-S

I heard where one guy drilled a hole completely through the filter then inserted a screw driver or metal rod through the filter and was able to get some leverage that way. Yea, the first time is a bear........... Don't forget to just hand tighten when you put the new filter on. Good luck.

rza49311

iTrader: (1)

I did my first oil change about two weekends ago. I took the front passenger wheel off then grabbed the filter with these and it came lose on the first turn. Maybe I was lucky but most people claim its really hard to get off the first time.

jpt

Does anyone know if the genuine Honda filter wrenches ($18 on handa-accessories) fix this very common problem?

jiggaman

you get your mechanic advice from google?

sauceman

OMG! This thread gives me déja-vu on how a fool in a Neon back in 2004 tried changing his oil, but couldn't unscrew the oil plug, so he took the oil filter out and ran the engine dry instead and completely soaked his engine bay in the process.

Maybe this will strike back a few memories around here.

MadMac

i guess i should bring it back to the dealer and let them deal with it!? yikes.

Nakamichi

Try using one of the following adjustable ones:

aaronng

Drill a 2nd hole, put a set of long nose pliers into the hole and then twist! Make sure that the holes are not drilled too close to the centre so that you don't end up drilling at the male threads.

BulldogHockey

Since you've already drilled a hole in it, go ahead and try the screwdriver trick. It's worked for me in the past. Not the best option out there since you are confined to where it sits if it doesn't work. But you are anyway.

Filet_Show

Man, I had the same problem a few months ago when I changed the oil myself for the first time on this car. I too, had an oversized oil filter wrench that wasn't gripping the filter. My solution was simple... POUND the !@#$ out of the top end so to close the gap a little on the wrench so that it can grip the filter.

leftride

iTrader: (1)

the genuine honda filter wrench worked perfectly for me.....never an issue. i was also using genuine honda filters.

gogozy

it they are too big... cut a few piece of wood wrap some same paper around wood chips, then stick those piece in the filter cap to imporve adhersion. if you are drilling hole in the filter, i suggest the hole go through both side of filter so you can insert a long nail or stick (someone mention earlier) be careful not to damage the oil filter thread. good luck!!

Lone Starr

I don't think you can be 100% sure that the Mobil-1 filter has the exact cap dimensions as the OEM filter, so an adjustable wrench (channel locks, cap wrench, etc) may be your best bet. Oh and FYI if in the worst case, you damage the threads on the filter mount, you can replace just the threaded fitting (according to the FSM).

dailo

Embarassing, but I'll share with you guys for a good laugh.

So after buying crap this morning I still couldn't get it off after spending an hour, so I gave in and brought it to jiffy lube down the street. I ducktaped the filter (didn't do much obviously) and cruised over to jiffy lube as I left a trail of oil behind me. By the time I got there I probably had no oil in my engine.

The mechanic there couldn't help but laugh obviously. He then tried to get it off himself, but could not get it off with his normal techniques. He probably spent half an hour trying to get it off, but finally he got it to budge. It was just in way too tight which I should of guessed would of happened, because my last oil change was at the dealer because I didn't have time to do it myself.

So cost me 60 buxs for the oil change (synthetic) but at least my car got vaccumed and car wash with it. The lady at the desk felt bad for me so she gave me 5 buxs off. Now my car is up and running, next time no more drilling holes into filters. Thanks guys for all the help, I hope you at least get a good laugh.

Savio

Tsx536

Nice...ducktape never fails....

Seriously though, congrats on getting it off. At least it's all behind you and you can laugh about it now.

peterjedi

Get the Genuine Honda Filter Wrench cap. It fits well. The other filter cap that accessories sells, locks on tight with the filter, but it would not stay on the socket wrench.

You can get a cheapo Autozone filter wrench cap for like $3, but if you put too much force with the wrench it will spin on the filter and if you are not careful it can come off the filter wrench too. However if you are a good mechanic or that you are pretty coordinated, then you should have no problem getting the filter off with this filter wrench cap.

I would go with the Genuine Honda Filter Cap or the cheapo Autozone.

gsrthomas

How long did you ride the car for? From you house to Jiffy Lube??

That is crazy I would of never duck taped an oil filter and drive it! Of course it would leak.

If I were you I would high-pressure wash your engine because oil probably was squirting everywhere under your engine.

sauceman

I would have rathered pushing it down for a block than running it dry.

But oh well, we all have our not-so-smart times don't we?

And I agree with the pressure hosing the engine bay. Soak it up with Spray Nine, it's a mild degreaser, strong enough to get the oil out of an engine bay, but not enough to corrode meatl parts, especially AC line. Then use the pressure hose to rinse it off THOROUGHLY.

Lone Starr

I've had bad experiences with 2 different vehicles and pressure washing the engine bay- one on my old G20, and the other on a US Army Black Hawk helicopter. in both cases, certain electronic components were not properly protected during the washing, and caused all kinds of random crap to go wrong. on the black hawk, i had to hang out the window every 5 minutes to make sure the fire warning indicator was busted due to the water and not that we had an engine on fire, and on the G20 when i went over bumps it looked like i had police lights, because they'd all flicker on and off randomly... just be super careful when you wash it.

HBspeedx

OMG!!!! II would have not done it, but I guess all you can do now is look back and take some of the TSX owner's advice on what to do next.

I would save me the effort to try to do an oil change, spent $30 buck and have a professional do it.

LoveMyTL-S

Now that you've taken care of the problem, your next change should be a snap! Remember, just a half turn once it's snug and put oil on the gasket. I can almost take the filter off by hand. Glad you didn't hurt the car........

gsrthomas

I have had the opposite experiences.

I have and still own a 96 Acura Integra gsr. All stock. I have pressure washed the engine bay 30+ times in the cars lifetime. Yes over 30 times. I NEVER covered anything, not the distributor cap, wires, nothing before pressure washing the engine. Every single time the engine started up fine like it hasnt been touched with water, no miss fire, no nothing.

I j