This oil filter is kickin' my assets.
I'm blessed with some measure of mechanical skills, I know all sorts of tricks to remove the protective metal caps from the primary valves on nuclear reactor piping, I have XXL-size hands (with scarred knuckles from dragging them on the ground), and I have substantial grip strength.
But I'm being laughed at by a tiny little oil filter.
It's our first oil change since buying this Prius. The maintenance receipts note that the oil & filter were last changed in February, 5000 miles ago, at the Servco Honolulu Toyota dealer. I wonder if their grease monkey gorilla-torqued the filter with an impact wrench, because I can't get the damn thing to move a millimeter.
The Prius oil filter is exceptionally [-]vulnerable[/-] accessible. It hangs within a few degrees of vertical at the bottom of the car, not even protected by the gravel shield. It's small and easily grasped. I have the car up on a couple of ramps so I have a good six inches above my face to get tools around the filter barrel. There's interference around it but I can get 30-40 degrees of rotation.
Yes, I'm going lefty loosey. (I haven't yet verified that the threads are in that direction but the manual doesn't specifically state that the threads are reverse. The new oil filter is threaded to go on righty tighty.) Yes, I have a filter socket that slides over the end of the filter, but it starts to slip before the filter starts to move. (The end bell of the filter is smooth, not pebbled.) Yes, I tried it with the engine/filter both cold and at operating temperature. The filter surface is too smooth for the teeth of my adjustable Ford wrench to get a good grip, and I'm a tad concerned that they'll cut right through the filter's sheet metal.
It's possible that the filter's (rubber?) gasket is somehow frozen to the metal seat. The filter has been torqued way too tightly but it doesn't look warped or damaged. Although I can get at the metal end bell of the filter with no trouble, I can't reach above that to the gasket where it seals to the engine casing.
I regret that I don't have a four-foot strap wrench. No, I'm not going to puncture the filter with a screwdriver and try to remove it that way.
No, I don't have one of those filter wrenches made from a loop of sheet metal, although I might buy one next week. I've never needed one before but maybe I need one now.
I hesitate to spray WD-40 around the gasket of the filter, especially on hot metal surfaces. I could spray 150-degree water directly from our solar water heater on to it, but I'm not sure whether that's worth the trouble.
Any other ideas?
I'm blessed with some measure of mechanical skills, I know all sorts of tricks to remove the protective metal caps from the primary valves on nuclear reactor piping, I have XXL-size hands (with scarred knuckles from dragging them on the ground), and I have substantial grip strength.
But I'm being laughed at by a tiny little oil filter.
It's our first oil change since buying this Prius. The maintenance receipts note that the oil & filter were last changed in February, 5000 miles ago, at the Servco Honolulu Toyota dealer. I wonder if their grease monkey gorilla-torqued the filter with an impact wrench, because I can't get the damn thing to move a millimeter.
The Prius oil filter is exceptionally [-]vulnerable[/-] accessible. It hangs within a few degrees of vertical at the bottom of the car, not even protected by the gravel shield. It's small and easily grasped. I have the car up on a couple of ramps so I have a good six inches above my face to get tools around the filter barrel. There's interference around it but I can get 30-40 degrees of rotation.
Yes, I'm going lefty loosey. (I haven't yet verified that the threads are in that direction but the manual doesn't specifically state that the threads are reverse. The new oil filter is threaded to go on righty tighty.) Yes, I have a filter socket that slides over the end of the filter, but it starts to slip before the filter starts to move. (The end bell of the filter is smooth, not pebbled.) Yes, I tried it with the engine/filter both cold and at operating temperature. The filter surface is too smooth for the teeth of my adjustable Ford wrench to get a good grip, and I'm a tad concerned that they'll cut right through the filter's sheet metal.
It's possible that the filter's (rubber?) gasket is somehow frozen to the metal seat. The filter has been torqued way too tightly but it doesn't look warped or damaged. Although I can get at the metal end bell of the filter with no trouble, I can't reach above that to the gasket where it seals to the engine casing.
I regret that I don't have a four-foot strap wrench. No, I'm not going to puncture the filter with a screwdriver and try to remove it that way.
No, I don't have one of those filter wrenches made from a loop of sheet metal, although I might buy one next week. I've never needed one before but maybe I need one now.
I hesitate to spray WD-40 around the gasket of the filter, especially on hot metal surfaces. I could spray 150-degree water directly from our solar water heater on to it, but I'm not sure whether that's worth the trouble.
Any other ideas?