BX23S engine oil filter accessible from below? (stuck oil filter)

[Mark_BX25D]

I'm not sure I ever actually liked crawling under vehicles. But I definitely am not a fan now, at sixty.

Try it on a gravel driveway @ 65. Fun stuff.


I drew the line on my son's transmission, though. Got it up on stands, started trying to get the starter undone. I found I could not even SEE the top bolt, and there was very little room to access it. I realized just how bad it was going to be to get it back in if I ever got it out. Then I saw that I would have to drop the exhaust on a 26 year old truck, just to get to the transmission cooler lines.

Nope. I'll pay the shop a grand to R&R that sucker.

 

[ejb11235]

Try it on a gravel driveway @ 65. Fun stuff.

I drew the line on my son's transmission, though. Got it up on stands, started trying to get the starter undone. I found I could not even SEE the top bolt, and there was very little room to access it. I realized just how bad it was going to be to get it back in if I ever got it out. Then I saw that I would have to drop the exhaust on a 26 year old truck, just to get to the transmission cooler lines.

Nope. I'll pay the shop a grand to R&R that sucker.

Man I hear you. I have a shop building, so the idea of having to crawl around on the gravel is not something I relish. My old 4x4 truck could really use a new clutch, and I've done it before, but it's not a job that fills me with joy thinking about, even in an enclosed garage. Fortunately I'm really easy on clutches.

 

[RalphVa]

The Motivx tool is the same concept as the Lisle, except it has the circlips, as I mentioned, and the jaws have teeth. It's possible also that the socket wrench might go in a little deeper, IDK. I'm obsessing over this because I want this damn filter off, and the filter is right at the low end of the range of both of these tools. As @DustyRusty points out, I might have to use some shim stock.

View attachment 81524 View attachment 81525

This is almost identical to the old NAPA one I have that works great on the B2601 oil filter that is very snug up against the lower radiator hose. Those other filter wrenches that others are showing just won't work.

On Youtube, The Cluttered Garage, guy, he used a strap wrench that will barely fit in one area around the B2601's filter to roll it up to get it tight. This 2 finger NAPA or Motivx one is about the best. Has a 3/8" square hole for a socket wrench or extension.

 

[Chanceywd]

Man I hear you. I have a shop building, so the idea of having to crawl around on the gravel is not something I relish. My old 4x4 truck could really use a new clutch, and I've done it before, but it's not a job that fills me with joy thinking about, even in an enclosed garage. Fortunately I'm really easy on clutches.

I will be 69 next month. I have been working on my own and others vehicles since a teenager. 19 years ago for my 50th birthday I put up my 32 x 40 shop with 12' high walls so I could have a lift. That was the end of laying in the driveway but the last 6 months I have paid for 2 oil changes my first. I had carpal tunnel done on first the rt then the left so wrench turning was a problem for a while. In the last month though I put a valve and top and tilt on my tractor so back in the saddle!

I hear you on the stuck oil filter problem and I always like to have a plan thought out and a back up plan and tools if it is a distance away. Hope you get that filter first try!

Bill

 

[GeoHorn]

Stuck Filters…?? STOP PUTTING OIL ON THE GASKET!

The reason the instructions tell you to do that is to lubricate the gasket so it won’t dislodge when you twist the filter onto the mounting pad. BUT THE PROBLEM is that oil will get hot and “coke” and STICK the filter to the mount… OR…only the GASKET will stick to the mount and then you may not notice and install a new filter onto the old gasket and will DUMP your oil while operating the engine…perhaps causing damage from oil-loss because you didn’t notice until it’s too late!

DO NOT OIL THE GASKET! Instead, use “silicone grease” such as you use on light-bulb bases…. or a product known as Dow DC-4 (a dielectric silicone grease). Then only install the spin on filter hand-tight. Don’t overtighten.

When you later try to remove that filter…you can probably do it by hand, but certainly with any brand or type of filter tool. The solution is using SILICONE GREASE and do not OVER-tighten (hand tighten only.) In aircraft spin on filters we use silicone grease and tighten only 18 ft-lbs.

Here is the actual installation instructions from Lycoming Engines:
To prevent damage to the converter-plate gasket, the oil-filter gasket should be lubricated with a thin coating of Dow Corning Compound (DC-4) before the filter is installed. The filter should then be installed and hand-tightened until the seating surface makes contact with the lubricated gasket. The filter should then be turned with a torque wrench until a torque of 18-20 foot pounds is reached. The 20-foot pound maximum torque should not be exceeded.

If you don’t care to use a torque-wrench… (because unlike aircraft filters, most auto filters do not have a “hex” to use a torque-wrench and socket )…. then turn the filter until the gasket contacts the mounting base and then only 3/4 to 1 complete turn ONLY.

 

[Mark_BX25D]

BUT THE PROBLEM is that oil will get hot and “coke” and STICK the filter to the mount…

If your oil filter is getting hot enough to coke the oil on the gasket, you have much bigger problems to worry about.

Nothing wrong with using dielectric grease, mind you, but engine oil works just fine and is NOT a reason for stuck oil filters.

 

[GeoHorn]

If your oil filter is getting hot enough to coke the oil on the gasket, you have much bigger problems to worry about.

Nothing wrong with using dielectric grease, mind you, but engine oil works just fine and is NOT a reason for stuck oil filters.

I disagree because I’ve witnessed it… But what cause do you suggest makes this such a prominent problem? Not everyone overtorques filters.

 

[Mark_BX25D]

You have not witnessed motor oil turning to coke from heat on an oil filter. The temperature required to turn motor oil to coke would destroy the engine and melt the gasket. We're talking about temperatures in excess of 1,000 degrees C.

You can often see motor oil becoming varnish at normal operating temperatures. However, varnish formation requires oxidation. That isn't going to happen very quickly in the space between the gasket and the block, but if it's left long enough, it certainly could happen.

So there's your answer: It's either because the filter was left on too long, or because it was over-tightened, NOT because engine oil was used as a lubricant.

I suspect that dielectric grease would allow a filter to stay in place much longer than engine oil, without forming any varnish.

So, while I agree that dielectric grease is probably the better choice theoretically, it's really a solution in search of a problem.

Properly tightened filters which are changed at reasonable intervals will come off just fine when lubed with engine oil.

Of course, if my son puts them on hand tight all bets are off. That filter will be permanently welded to the block!

 

[ejb11235]

I will be 69 next month. I have been working on my own and others vehicles since a teenager. 19 years ago for my 50th birthday I put up my 32 x 40 shop with 12' high walls so I could have a lift. That was the end of laying in the driveway but the last 6 months I have paid for 2 oil changes my first. I had carpal tunnel done on first the rt then the left so wrench turning was a problem for a while. In the last month though I put a valve and top and tilt on my tractor so back in the saddle!

I hear you on the stuck oil filter problem and I always like to have a plan thought out and a back up plan and tools if it is a distance away. Hope you get that filter first try!

Bill

Happy birthday in advance! I'm not really sure yet how stuck it is, because I didn't have "proper" tools with me on the first go-around ... just a nylon band-style tool that ripped. I'm going up tonight with four different tools, and 2 additional backup plans if needed. I'm going to laugh my ass off if I put the first real tool on the filter and it starts turning. I have been mind-f**king this thing all week, with the help of the people here on OTT, but that's only because of the distance ... and every failure basically means another week.

 

[ejb11235]

Stuck Filters…?? STOP PUTTING OIL ON THE GASKET!

The filter I am having trouble with was put on at the factory. I am doing the 50 hour service.

 

[RCW]

The filter I am having trouble with was put on at the factory. I am doing the 50 hour service.

Yep. Every factory oil filter I’ve dealt with has been snug.

Worst was my new 2005 Harley FXDI. Real tight, and no room to work with.

I got it….always have…

You’ll get yours too….remember the power of positive thinking…

Trust me, I’m no Philosopher. I’m more a redneck former farm boy with a “Get it done” attitude….

 

[ejb11235]

The arsenal is assembled. Not shown are the lag screws I can run through the holes in the cap wrench, or the hose clamp for tightening down the jaw cap tool. Or the sandpaper and sardine can lids for shims. If none of this works then the backup plan is to cut the end off the filter, extract the element, then "approach" the filter base with either a punch (very carefully) or a purpose-built tool to engage with the holes. With luck, I've completely overthought this. But that is my nature, and I'm ok with it.

 

[Fordtech86]

The suspense is killing me

 

[GeoHorn]

The filter I am having trouble with was put on at the factory. I am doing the 50 hour service.

The factory installed them too tightly AND sealed them to the engine with paint.

 

[RCW]

The suspense is killing me

I feel like we should have the Rocky theme playing.....

Seriously - - best of luck ejb11235!!

 

[GreensvilleJay]

missing in the 'arsenal' picture, is the tractor 'rotissery' to spin the tractor upside down for EASY access to the filter ! Everyone with bifocals like me KNOWS why it'd be GREAT to have....

 

[lynnmor]

missing in the 'arsenal' picture, is the tractor 'rotissery' to spin the tractor upside down for EASY access to the filter ! Everyone with bifocals like me KNOWS why it'd be GREAT to have....

Option 1, get some drug store reading glasses and change to them with your greasy hands when working overhead, much cheaper than a rotisserie and the oil stays in the tractor.

Option 2 is to get cataract surgery and have mono-vision lenses implanted. Be sure to wear safety glasses.

I have experience with both options and know how difficult it is with bifocals. Now all I need is a lift to get me back up without depending on my new knees.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

re 1... awww, it'd be fun though, to 'spin' the tractor..... I did that with the cab off my 57 willys pickup...
re 2..nope, last surgeon screwed my hernia operation,last doctor...well still waiting answer to my SIMPLE question I asked in 2008

knees, yeah, you HAD to mention them ,didn't you !!! thanks..... getting old SUX.

 

[DustyRusty]

Good thing that the Kubota doesn't have spark plugs..........

 

[Mark_BX25D]

The factory installed them too tightly AND sealed them to the engine with paint.

Yeah, that'll do it!

Nothing like a little Sherwin-Williams to keep that filter from falling off!