Amazon: Oil filter will not unscrew

[MikeKiernan]

Any help or suggestions will be much appreciated.

Try as I might, I cannot move the screw on Volvo white canister oil filter on my B18 Amazon. I have spent 3 frustrating hours with a strap wrench (bent the canister out of shape) a chain wrench (scraped the canister but still will not move) and oil filter pliers. Plenty of WD40 was also applied.

Because of the limited access there just doesn't seem enough room to really give it a good twist. Short of removing the inlet and outlet manifolds, I can't see what to do next. I have not punctured it (yet !)

Does anyone have any suggestions for me ?

Thanks,

Mike

[123GT-AMAZON]

Originally Posted by MikeKiernan

Any help or suggestions will be much appreciated.

Try as I might, I cannot move the screw on Volvo white canister oil filter on my B18 Amazon. I have spent 3 frustrating hours with a strap wrench (bent the canister out of shape) a chain wrench (scraped the canister but still will not move) and oil filter pliers. Plenty of WD40 was also applied.

Because of the limited access there just doesn't seem enough room to really give it a good twist. Short of removing the inlet and outlet manifolds, I can't see what to do next. I have not punctured it (yet !)

Does anyone have any suggestions for me ?

Thanks,

Mike

Ok wrap a fan belt round it and use a thick short screwdriver and then twist & twist it will grip the sucker and then twist off when twisted in the correct turn motion once you get a turn it's free enough to take control in a more desireable fashion ....

The Key To It Is GRIP and that magic losen turn ! Plus better access is from below sometimes I find but is easier said when you have a four poster ramp .

Good luck mike

Kind regards
Robert.w

[Derek UK]

This type of removal tool works, grips well. Yes bashing a big screwdriver through it works as long as you don't mind the mess!

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TOOL-REMOV...cAAOSwLnBX3JYn

Should be hand tight on and hand tight off. Oil the sealing ring well. Yes, always harder to get off when warm, so loosen by hand if you can when cold and then retighten a bit before warming up the oil before draining.

[MikeKiernan]

Thanks Robert and Derek.

I tried the fan belt but nothing unscrewing that way either. I've ordered that tool you suggested Derek, and will see how that goes before resorting to a screwdriver.

One of the most frustrating afternoons yet......and all for an oil filter !

[VolvoFan]

Suppose the filter is so tight that if you were to punch a screwdriver through it and it still doesn't turn?

A method which has worked for me for many years of messing around with spin-on filters is to use a large jubilee clip on the filter and tighten it hard, close to the engine block. Then with a long screwdriver with the blade which extends through the handle, or other suitable drift, place it against the jubilee clip screw head and tap it with a hammer until the filter turns.

After the filter has turned a little, re-position the clip to get a better purchase for the next series of hammer strikes. You may have to do this several times before the filter gets loose enough to turn by hand. It demands patience, but is a cheap way of getting you out of trouble without the need for expensive tools - which shouldn't be necessary because the filter should only be hand tight!

Good luck and remember, if at first you don't succeed ...

[CLIVERALLY]

I worked on cars for a living and wish I had a £1 for everyone that I saw overtightened or rubber not lubricated . I use a filter wrench ( bit like a pipe wrench) had it for 30+ years and it has never failed me. All the other suggestions should work. Avoid the screwdriver thing as it may just serve to rip the filter and cause you more issues

[ChasesDragons]

I did mine just a few hours ago. I used the three armed type:

I was lucky. It was fitted by Dai Brace (Classic Swede) and came off with little force.

[MikeKiernan]

Success report !

Thanks for all your great suggestions. I don't know who tightened the filter and this was my first effort at replacing it. So, I thought I would report on the various methods and my views of their efficacy. It's a tight squeeze to get any purchase, so these comments are purely for the B18 twin carb engine.

6th place : The chain wrench: chain kept slipping off and handle too short leading to much cursing.

5th place : The strap wrench: with or without abrasive paper stuck to the filter canister it gave insufficient grip. It did a good job of denting the filter though.

4th place : The fanbelt. The one I had was just too stiff to twist it enough to grip.

3rd Place : The jubilee clip. Cheap, but for my situation not enough room to land hard enough blows to move the filter.

2nd place : The large filter wrench. Would rock the canister back and forth like it was going to unscrew, but ultimately not enough to move it. I think if the filter was only slightly tight, then this would work ok.

The Winner : Derek & ChasesDragons 3-armed tool. It started to unscrew straight away, and for a moment I thought I could resort to hand twisting. No way. A further 360 degree unscrew with the tool before I could move it by hand. Yes, I know I'm weak !

A couple of pictures of the offending article. New one nipped up half a turn by hand.

Thanks again for your help.

[ChasesDragons]

Glad it worked. I like the engineering idea behind it - the more force you use, the harder it grips.

Regards
Udhi

[VolvoFan]

You must be relieved now that you've finally succeeded in removing the offending blighter! I guess you didn't have a long enough screwdriver in order to have the space to give it some sufficiently heavy hammer blows - the one I use is approx. 18" long, with a 1/2" square shank running right up through the handle (ex-army surplus).

Hopefully you will never have to resort to brute force to remove your filters in future!