I changed my oil yesterday and every thing went fine untill I attempted to install the new filter. I spent forty minutes trying to get the stupid thing to thread properly and when it did it seemed to screw on with some effort.
I know someone out there knows the secret... cough it up!!!

06MCS/DS/B/Bbonnetstripes/Whalen8ballshiftmachine

 

Try www.lonestarminiclub.com/forums. It has a very good DIY oil change forum.

 

Here comes the hairball, cough-cough. splat

The trick is to push the new filter down over the tube inside the cannister that is connected to the engine first. Before you do this wipe the inside of the cannister with a paper towel (not a necessity, but I'm ****). Then, with your finger wipe a small amount of grease on the top part of the inside of the cannister, about as much as putting on some chapstick.

Clean and inspect the threads of the cap. Grease up and carefully install your new o-ring. A little grease on the threads is also good, you are screwing aluminum to aluminum, can gall. Install the filter (remember the bottom end has been pre-stretched) onto the cap. Now insert the cap with filter down into the cannister. It will now drop down further than it did before allowing you to easily catch the threads. Tighten the hand tight only until you know the threads are going on properly, then finish with the socket and small ratched. It will go on smoothly and easily if all is correct. Then it will just stop. Now give it just a little tug and you are done.

The o-ring is making the seal, not the threads or how tight you turn it. Obviously, after you restart the engine with oil, the first thing you do is to inspect and rub your hand around the cap seam looking for oil leaks, then look under the front for oil drips. You should see nothing.

This does work, trust me.

YD

 

Yo'sDad
Thanks very much for information!! The next time I change the oil I'll follow your directions to the letter and I'm sure it will be a lot easier. In fact every time I change the oil I'll think of Yo'sDad help!! Thanks again!!

06MCS/DS/B/Bbonnetstripes/Whalen8ballshiftmachine

 

Another thing you can do is install the housing without the 0-Ring and the filter a few times for practice. That'll give you a feel for the proper angle, and it'll spin on when empty.

Rawhyde

 

Fact is there is no secret. It simply is a PITA. Yes, installing the filter in the canister first then sliding it on the engine side works for some. Others find that putting the filter in the canister first works better. And practicing without the filter helps too. On my first oil change I cursed that I chose to do it on Sunday when I too spent an hour frustrated. I think it has to do with getting the canister straight in line with the receiver which is cocked at a compound angle.

The bottom line is that 1-you are not alone in being frustrated. And 2-It will get easier over time once you know that it will eventually go on, you will even be less frustrated.

Rich

 

+1. It really does work. If you don't do the pre-fit, you will grow to hate changing the filter. Worst case, you might not get a complete seal and dump a load of oil and ruin your bearings. The only modification to the procedure that Yo describes is the part about applying grease - I use a film of new engine oil.

 

There are a few differences I do that may be useful tips.

1. I clean the cannister with carb cleaner or brake parts cleaner. I clean it until it looks like new.

2. I put a film of oil onto the O-Ring and install it onto the cannister.

3. I put a film of oil onto both ends of the paper filter around the hole.

4. I press and twist the filter onto the engine until it is seated. Then I remove the filter from the engine and fully seat it into the cannister while twisting it. (This step makes it easier to press onto the engine.)

5. Install the whole shebang onto the engine. With the O-Ring oiled up, and wearing clean latex gloves, I can screw the oil filter cannister all the way down onto the engine. (If it is cross-threaded, it'll hang up immediately.) Then, of course, I snug it down with a wrench.

It does get easier with time. I have 55K miles and I change my oil and filter every 2500 miles, so I have plenty of practice.

Rawhyde

 

Thanks to everyone for their help. I think the next time will be a lot easier
because of everyone great suggestions. I'm almost excited about trying it.
Well almost!!



06MCS/DS/B/Bbonnetstripes/Whalen8ballshiftmachine

 

Guess I'm Bass-Ackward's! I install the filter into the cannister first, making sure it's completley bottomed out. Then I just screw the whole thing on. Works fine for me!
Jim

 

where I got hung up the first time I did this is simply that I'm used to plain jane srew on filters where you never go more than hand tight

however to get past the o-ring on this beasty takes a lot more force and add to that working in the blind and your first time can be worrysome

"if it takes this much force I MUST be doing something wrong"

reviewing posts here I see that the average frustration time is about an hour where we finally crank down on it WITH A WRENCH and the canister turns in to the point where it pops past the o-ring and then we breath a sigh of relief - add three curses to the damn engineer that designed the POS and then u are in a position to help the next one experiencing this for the first time.....

of course for many the fun really started when they couldn't get the drain plug out after Mr Incred' Hulk at the dealer put it back in....I recommend all who ask me to help with their first DIY on this car to get the FUMUTO (sp?) valve. Never needed one b4 but highly recommend on MINI.

I'm curious to hear from someone who's DIY'd an 07-S .... how does it compare?

{Don't tell me everyone is accepting the long interval changes on the new engine....someone must have changed their own oil by now....}

 

Word. Must be a California thing.
Pre-fitting is a must.

 

The resistance you are feeling is NOT the O-ring going in, it is the bottom of the filter being stretched over the tube that is down inside the housing. This is the part that needs to be pre-fitted or pre-stretched. Once this is done, the rest is a piece-a-cake. Just slime up the O-ring and the inside of the housing.

If you change you own oil, you don't need a fumoto valve. I couldn't stand the thought of some gorilla cross threading and cranking the plug down anyway. I've seen oil changes by others where they don't even let it quit draining.... when it slows down, they slap in the plug and drop the hoist, time is money. Not to mention scratches on your fender from their pants and belt buckle, or the bottom of a fendor protector that just came off of somebody's grimy SUV.

I won't even be going back for my "free" oil changes. Sometimes 'free' is not worth the hassle and potential problems. Do this yourself, save money, save mistakes, save your engine. Just my opinion. To each, his own.

YD

 

Took me forever (perhaps an hour in a 100-degree garage) to install it the first time...I was being sooooooo careful not to cross-thread the canister.

Eventually, I realized that I had it pretty much right all along.

The last time I did it, it may have taken 15-30 seconds to install it.

Best of luck!

 

I had read so many posts about how hard the filter was that I pretty much did this exact same sequesnce on my own trying to make sure it worked ( I simply wiped the canister threads with shop towels instead of cleaning it). When I was done, I could not imagine why people had such a hard time it was so easy.

AS far as applying oil to teh ends of the filter, I poured some into teh cap on the Mobil 1 bottle and found one capfull was enough from pretty much everything.