Am I responsible and obligated for the damage in helping.....

[Car-Guy]

If I ever felt an obligation to pay "any amount" when I was asked for help to fix something that was already broken, I'd be reluctant to ever help anyone with anything. It was "messed up" when "they ask for help", you tried and it's still messed up.

If the shoe were on the other foot, there's no way I would accept money from a friend that "I asked for help" because he couldn't fix it or even made it worse.

 

[pacergal]

It was very kind and thoughtful of you to pay for part of the repairs. You were under no obligation, he asked for help, others had tried and failed. Obviously, the part was not coming out without a problem!
You are a good friend.

 

[freedomatlast]

Are you saying that there is a good reason that the instructions say hand tight?

Yes, there's a concept....follow the instructions!

Lube the gasket or O ring and hand tighten 3/4 turn for most thread pitches.

 

[YellowSubmarine]

So someone over torqued the oil filter. Anyone who works on engines knows there's always a chance something .like this can happen when trying to deal with someone else's mistakes. If he had taken it to a mechanic and the same thing happened, there's no way the mechanic would foot the bill for the part or labor to replace it. OP has no obligation to pay, but it was a nice gesture for him to pay for half the part.

I had a similar situation getting an oil filter off of a friend's second generation Camaro. Same deal where the can was completely ripped apart when I got there. In that situation, I made a tool with a handle with bolts that fit into the drainback holes. It took a little time to make the tool, but it worked great and luckily nothing broke during removal.

Lesson for amateur mechanics: Don't over torque oil filters!

Yep...filters are like hanging house siding, i.e. secure it only.
BUT, no you are not responsible for the ills of a nasty situation where you did your best to help out. In fact there's a law that parallels your situation, i.e. in a car accident, you assist to render medical help until the pros arrive, you are exonerated in the event of bad outcome.

 

[Koolau]

Street, there’s no doubt that you are one of the good. The world could use more like you.

Amen!

 

[gauss]

My understanding is that "the law" generally holds those who engage in activities for profit (ie businesses) to a higher standard than non-professionals (ie consumers).

As others have pointed out, if a shop broke it, they in all likelihood would not offer to pay for it.

As you were not pushing him to let you help him, that puts this even more in your favor.

Hopefully the shop will properly credit his account and make him aware of it. If he doesn't bring it up, perhaps you could mention it in passing (assuming that you received a receipt for your payment.) If no receipt is available then I would let it be unless your buddy brings it up.

-gauss

 

[rmcelwee]

My question is am I responsible and obligated to pay for the part and labor to get it back in service??

I ALWAYS return things better than I found them and 100% would pay for it if I borrowed it and broke it. This is not what happened. You are a good guy for trying to pay for it but if it were my mower I would refuse your generosity. If he doesn't then you have just learned something very important about him. I would be interested in hearing how this turns out.

 

[Time2]

I would chalk it up to, it took more torque to remove the filter than the strength of the stud it was stuck to. He ask you to do it, you tried, it didn't work out. Very sorry.

 

[trukfixer]

Are you saying that there is a good reason that the instructions say hand tight?

yeah.. some folks are gorillas, some are kittens.. what's hand tight to one may be over-torqued to others.. and then there's the ones that don't get it tight enough and oil filter falls off going down the road.. would you buy them a new engine?

 

[surprising]

No help now, but I wonder if penetrator fluid would've helped. I know when I'm working on my cars I always use it on potentially rusty or stubborn bolts.