I have an 05 R53, the oil filter cap must have been put on by God himself cause its not budging. Breaker bars, better leverage, tried it all. I got to the point of being worried I might brake the housing itself if I got any nastier with it. So I purchased the whole filter housing complete with gaskets, cap, etc and looking to swap them out.

Is there anyone out there that has experience removing the housing? I know its 3 bolts, but were you able to get at it from the top? Should I get the car on a lift? Any other info about the removal process would be awesome! Thank you.

 

Was the motor HOT when you were trying to remove the filter?

If not you might try getting the motor nice and hot then try getting it off.

OR if you have a propane torch try heating the housing with the motor cold, but BE careful don’t set it on fire.

ab

 

Hot/Cold tried both. I tried isolated heat by torch. Thank you for those ideas but I've gone down that path. Pain in the *** for sure lol.

 

NOT FUN that’s for sure!

I drove a screw driver through the filter on an OLD Mustang for the first oil change.
Twisted it ½ way around before it broke lose, what a mess BUT what a feeling when it let go!

GOOD luck
ab

 

IMO, 1/2" drive, 3-6' pipe over it and go to town. No way the friction of the o-ring/thread is stronger than the bolts/metal.
Have you tried spraying with PB blaster or similar? Some penetrating oil couldn't hurt...

 

I have spent many years teaching people how to work on their cars and I have a recommendation. Find a friend who is mech savvy. Make some tea and take out the tools. One of you watch the other.

Knowing the mechanics of that canister, I know it is unlikely and a slim possibility, but perhaps you are cranking it in the wrong direction.

There is little there that can seize and if the o-ring was munged it would have likely leaked. So......give it another go and let us know how it worked.

///Rich

 

Oh I am very mech inclined. I have always worked on my own cars. From simple tune-ups to engine builds. For the amount Ive had to reef on this cap I bought the other housing as an insurance policy if things went very wrong. And no I'm not turning the wrong way lol. The only thing I can think of is the previous owner/repair shop cross threaded the cap but is still seated to point of not leaking.

 

I had the same issue with my oil filter canister..this is not an isolated issue. I did in fact use a breaker bar and it took a few tries to get it off. Best advice...have a friend hold the 36mm wrench in place use a breaker bar and a few taps from a hammer (on the end of the breaker bar) ...sometimes just vibration can be helpful vs. just constant force. Be careful putting it back on..it can get cross thread..also it was pretty tight putting it back on too.

Good luck.

 

having the same problem. tried all of the above. Will try again with breaker bar (18" steel pipe inserted over the socket handle. Why are these so damned difficult to remove? I know it torqued it properly last time removed.

 

This might be obvious but just incase it helps someone.

I always make sure the engine oil is hot before I change it.

As the engine cools it's possible that it could create a vacuum inside the filter, thus increasing the difficulty of unscrewing the canister.

There are other good reasons to get the oil hot before changing it, so most are probably already doing this. BTW, according to the Chrono Pack guages, it takes the oil much longer than it takes the coolant to get to operating temp if you start with a cold engine, and just idle in the driveway. -Go for a quick drive, 15 or 20 minutes at least.

 

Thank you Alex. Tried with the engine hot, but still no luck. Had it in the shop, and they replaced the gasket (did not occur to me to have them change the filter too...) Either they tightened way beyond the recommended torque, or if they torqued it correctly, it's just on there too well. The other issue I am having is one everyone else has-- trying to get enough space in there to turn it. I have before a few times now. Maybe also taking the oil cap off (in addition to hot engine), might work.

Appreciate the advice and your time to reply.

 

Been reluctant to try PB Blaster, but may be at that point. It's not the fix all solution as some claim, but it does have it uses and purposes. this may be one.

 

Bringing this thread back -- 05Whitey_Bulger -- did you ever get the oil filter housing off.. my gasket has been leaking for some time -- and its getting worse. Any guidance on this?

 

Ditto. I tried a 4' breaker bar. No dice. Ran the motor; used a torch; that sucker is not coming off. Also an '05 MCS.

Any thoughts? I'm about ready to pull the housing off and just replace the whole thing.

 

Take it to the dealer and let them deal with it? Maybe they have a special trick? My dealer only charges $60-70 for an oil change

 

We also recommend in our DIY here to use a 36mm socket with a long breaker bar to reach the nut cast into the top of the filter housing. It may take some effort to get the housing cover loose. From the sound of it yours is on there pretty good. The whole housing 11-42-7-563-522 is a pretty penny so it might be a viable option to take it to an Indy shop and see what they can do to get the cap loose/off.