Oil Filter Removal Tips

• Removing an oil filter is a lot easier when you know the tricks of a mechanic. Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images

  A simple oil change can turn into many wasted hours when you are confronted with a stuck oil filter and can't figure out how to remove it. Not all car manufacturers have ease of owner maintenance in mind when they design car engines, and as a result the oil filters in some models are virtually inaccessible, making the process of removing and replacing them all the more difficult.

Band Wrench

• The easiest way to remove an oil filter is to attach a band wrench around the body of the filter and twist it off. If your oil filter hasn't been on for too long, and if it's accessible and has enough space around it to turn the band wrench, you're in luck and this method will probably work.

Spider Wrench

• A spider wrench is a specialty tool for removing oil filters. It consists of a handle and three or four extensions that grip the sides of the oil filter when the wrench is fitted over its end. A spider wrench may be able to access oil filters that a band wrench can't, just as a band wrench might get into spaces that a spider wrench can't. If you perform oil changes on a lot of different cars, you would benefit from owning one of each.

Screwdriver and Hammer

• Home mechanics with stuck oil filters often resort to a hammer and screwdriver, a barbaric but usually very effective solution. Before doing this, place the drainage pan beneath the filter because oil will be going everywhere once you start. The method is simple: hammer the screwdriver through the oil filter in order to provide yourself with a handle you can use to twist off the filter. This works best if you can get the screwdriver all the way through both sides of the oil filter, as this allows the screwdriver to push at two points on the filter and gives you some leverage.