Filter wrenches.

[Cougsfan]

I too own a extremely large variety of filter wrenches. I think one of the reasons they make so many different kinds is because there is always a filter installation where the ones you have (no matter how many that is) won't work.

 

[jyoutz]

I remember when these things came out in the late eighties and early nineties. They look cool, but don't work well. Use a chain wrench.

I bought one of those for my 5.9 Cummins truck motor because there’s no room to turn a lever type handle due to the way the filter is positioned. I had no luck with it. It kept slipping so I returned it. I bought a cup type wrench that I can attach a ratchet and extension to. It works great, but it takes some searching to find the correct pattern and size cup wrench for your filter.

 

[mikester]

Look at the ratings...they don't fit and they break.

OMG cheap chinesium products at amazon break???

I find the metal cups grip better than the plastic ones that tend to deform.

 

[5030]

I'll stick with a long blade screwdriver myself. It always removes the filter.

 

[jjeff]

It's a darn racquet between hard to reach unspinnable oil filters and filter wrench manufacturers. Lol why can't they just put a six point nut on end like some do? I look forward to the day when I can clean this drawer out and use a socket with ratchet with all filters.

 

[MinnesotaEric]

OMG cheap chinesium products at amazon break???

I find the metal cups grip better than the plastic ones that tend to deform.

The original ones were made by OTC and they sucked back then too. The tool just slips.

Insofar as filter wrenches go, the only cool thing I've seen happen in the last 30 years is adding a grip surface to the filter wrench, like Lisle is doing (a chain wrench is still the right tool for painted on filters).

FWIW,

Lisle 57030 Standard Oil Filter Swivel Wrench

Lisle 57040 Large Oil Filter Swivel Wrench

 

[Cougsfan]

It's a darn racquet between hard to reach unspinnable oil filters and filter wrench manufacturers. Lol why can't they just put a six point nut on end like some do? I look forward to the day when I can clean this drawer out and use a socket with ratchet with all filters.

I put one of those with a 6 point nut on my Triumph motorcycle which has a recessed filter. When I tried to change it the nut rounded off and I had to resort to the pounding a screw driver through it method.

 

[Cougsfan]

Actually, if they would just put filters in places where they are easy to access all these weird tools wouldn't be necessary. Some of them are not only difficult to access, but drip oil in places while changing where you can't clean it up. I am sure in vehicle design that the filter location is quite often an afterthought that is deemed not worth changing once they realized they screwed up.

I had a VW Scirocco one time where original owner installed a kit for a remote oil filter with easy access. That was nice.

 

[jjeff]

I put one of those with a 6 point nut on my Triumph motorcycle which has a recessed filter. When I tried to change it the nut rounded off and I had to resort to the pounding a screw driver through it method.

I've never had a problem with these type of filters, some napa gold, a few [AFFILIATE=1, nofollow=true, newwindow=true, title="Kubota"]Kubota[/AFFILIATE] hydraulic filters, the hiflo and K&N I have used anyway. I have deformed the outer case trying to remove on conventional filters causing it to spin on its base that was a messy headache. Only thing I can think of why manufacturers don't put nuts on end of filters is cause some folks may over torque the heck out of them?

 

[Avenger]

Actually, if they would just put filters in places where they are easy to access all these weird tools wouldn't be necessary. Some of them are not only difficult to access, but drip oil in places while changing where you can't clean it up. I am sure in vehicle design that the filter location is quite often an afterthought that is deemed not worth changing once they realized they screwed up.

I had a VW Scirocco one time where original owner installed a kit for a remote oil filter with easy access. That was nice.

My 2nd gen Tacoma has this. The oil filter is just under the hood, angled down wards. Very easy to get to. It even has a cup around it to catch the oil that spills out, this oil drains down a tube right next to the oil drain plug. Easy as pie and no mess.