Edit: I snapped this after I found it. That’s how I knew it was on so tight. It still took me a good few minutes to find it because I kept looking under the car. I wasn’t expecting the filter to be on top.
Are you taking suggestions or questions?
The oils filter is the bright blue thingamabob sticking out the side of the engine on the bottom of the screen.
To remove it, I risk I could, but only after sharing a piece of my mind with the loon that tightened it at that setting.
If you can get a screwdriver through it, you might be able stick a pipe on said screwdriver to give you a lot more torque. Just have an oil pan underneath, because it will start leaking oil when you put the screwdriver through it.
As others have said. Filter is blue.
I had to do this to get the factory oil filter off my motorcycle. Went through 3 different oil filter removal tools and all I achieved was rounding off all the edges of the filter.
Yep. I had that issue with my Jeep Patriot. Tried everything I could think of to not have to puncture the thing, but I couldn’t get it off any other way.
Devils advocate: As a mechanic, if I tighten the oil filter too little, I’m liable for thousands in repairs. If I tighten the oil filer too much, some rando curses me but I don’t hear it and continue sleeping like a baby. Or it comes back to me and I don’t care if it’s tight, Ive got the tools that make it easy.
So, sorry, not sorry. I’m gonna keep cranking those puppies down.
Also your PCV hose is starting to look pregnant.
Just as a another form of Devil’s advocate, going over the manufacturer’s recommended specs on it isn’t a good idea either and intentionally making a car have to go back to a shop in order to be repaired on something that should be as simple repair is the easiest way to make it so the customer doesn’t come back
I had that happen with my first vehicle, normally I change my own oil and filter because it’s about the most stupid easy job that you can do, but it was finals week and I already had way too much stuff on plate so I caved and under my parents recommendation brought it to a local shop
Everything went fine didn’t spend through the roof but the next time I went to change my oil oh my God those fuckers put that oil pan plug on there so fucking tight that there was actually signs that it was starting to strip/warp, I had to get my dad to help me with it which was super embarrassing and he laughed at me until he tried to do it himself and he fucking struggled with it.
It was clear that shop intentionally made it as tight as fucking possible because they wanted to make it so the next time it happened they wanted it to be brought in again. After we finally got it off we both agreed on one thing, neither of us are bringing our vehicles back to that shop again. That was over 10 years ago now and I’m still holding true to my word fuck them I’ll drive the extra 20 minutes to another shop
Okay, you’re a mechanic, great, you’re awsome, thank you for your input but oil filters do have a set torque strenght to be tightened to. Overtighten any screw can and will cause damage either to the screw itself or the socket it is being driven into and I’m sure you know it.
I had a mechanic do this - the better to overtighten than not - and strip the socket of the oil level sound: the mounting block was aluminum, the screw was steel. Guess what happened when the sound had to be replaced?
The cost to have that damage alone repaired made scrap the car. It was still in good shape but not worthy of spending that much to repair.
You see where that filter is. You damned well know it was tightened with just a hand and no tool was involved. OP just needs to pull out his man hand and power that sucker loose.
Shhhhhhhhh
We ignore little things until they’re problems. Tis the broke bitch car guy way.
Yeah, it’s pushing thirty years old. We’ve got some deferred maintenance items to tend to. This isn’t my daily lol
And no I totally don’t blame the techs and mechanics for super snugging filters. I was pissed off an hour ago, but now that I’m on the other side of this job, I get it.
I mean, I’m still pissed, but I get it lol
I wouldn’t sweat the PCV line until I had to remove it for some reason either.
Those old Civics are indestructible.
The danger in overtightening is that you ruin the seal. So maybe not quite as bad as loose, but an oil leak is still a problem. Much like anything with a crush washer, you want to get it snug, then tighten enough to squish it, but not so much that you ruin the very thing that keeps it intact.
That’s not really so much of an issue. Virtually all spin on oil filters are designed in such a way that you can tighten them until the metal filter body contacts the sealing surface and the o-ring will still be happy and protected from over-squishing in it’s little recess.
All bets are off if you’re buying no-name filters tho.
Manufacturers should make it so that it’s not possible to overtighten it. Like the grip of the screw will start to rotate freely around the base of the screw when the torque exceeds the correct tightness
Adding a clutch mechanism would likely make oil filters more expensive by introducing new manufacturing challenges depending on the style of clutch mechanism they use. The more economical approach might be a torque wrench with a special socket shaped to grip the filter. That way you can tighten to spec without overdoing it, and most consumers wouldn’t have to bear the increased cost of filters since most folks just go to a shop that will do it for them.
A lot of manufacturers are starting to go with the cartridge type oil filters which are much better, but still not perfect.
I detect Honda B-series engine. Damn, if only I hadn’t spent the last 5 years of my life exclusively working on my own Honda of identical build.
Your oil filter is accessed from underneath the car, you will need a set of ramps or a floor jack and jackstands.
It is on the rear side of the engine block, horizontally screwed onto the side of the block. Basically trace your exhaust pipe straight back as it goes under the oil pan, then go up. It’s not terribly hard to reach.
Get yourself a locking chain wrench like this to try and get it off. I’ve been able to get off even the most fucked oil filters with one
It’s an H22A in a Prelude Type SH. But the valve cover between the B and H do look very similar.
engine pics
There is no room to get to the oil filter from the bottom. Believe me. I tried. This engine mounts it up top to make room for the ATTS unit. The base Preludes, however, do have side-mounted oil filters that are significantly easier to reach. The filter on my R-series Civic is bottom-mounted and super easy to reach. But yeah, this guy was a true PITA.
I snapped this after I found it. I’m a fairly honest dude. I wouldn’t say find the thing that isn’t in the picture lol It’s the blue canister in the center bottom of the pic. You’ll see it just left of the brake master ;)
H Series Gang! There have been a lot of times I’ve been happy my Prelude is not an SH, and I enjoy my T2W4 swap! I’ve got a DC2 Integra with an H23 VTEC swap that’s pretty fun, but I would’ve kept the B18 personally! I can live without power steering but no A/C in the south is rough.
Lean over with a good grippy glove and wrench that little blue bitch out.
Or buy Honda Part number 07AAA-PLCA100 and a ratchet.
found it!
This is an amazing joke. Really fucking funny once you find the filter in the original picture
ha, thanks! i thought so too!
It’s suspended 😮
Looks like it’s going to be a bitch, good luck!
Oxyacetylene torch. It cannot be tight if it’s liquid.
I would hesitate to take a tirch to an oil filter.
What could go wrong? It’ll be fine
After all, a stubborn oil filter will be the least of your concerns then 😅
I’m always nervous when I hear that in the shop.
Just close your eyes and let it happen
I’ll back up to a safe distance and dial 91
Just let the apprentice do it. Boss can’t be too mad at someone just learning.
Tin snips would be a better option if you just absolutely can’t get it off.
I’ve had a few where I was forced to crush it with some vice grips then turn the handle on the grips with a long cheater bar
I’ve seen another desperate option of hammering a screwdriver or a long punch through the can, and then twisting off with a pipe/cheater.
I love the way you think. Fire always solves something lmao
Just remember Newton’s first law: Fire is fucking awesome
Cender bottom, the blue thing. I’d use this:
But yeah, it’s not quite easy.
I’m not a mechanic, so please bear with me
What the living hell is that thing of a tool? OoI’m no mechanic either, but it looks like you can tighten the chain around a stuck cap and then use the red handle as a lever to apply a large amount of force, “unsticking” the stuck cap
Thanks!
Yeah, I still can’t really visualise how this is working
I get that you use the chain and the handle as a lever, but I just can’t wrap my mind around how this can work, without the chain just slipping around the stuff I want to unscrew.
How do I get the chain like stiff, when I get it in place?Really sorry if I’m kinda slow here …
No worries! I don’t think the chain needs to be stiff, just tight. From what I can tell, these are called a chain wrench, and I found a demo video.
Hope that helps!
Ah, ok, thank you very much
I somehow imagined the chain hanging sloppy down and around the filter, and somehow the lever above still brings some force down there
That mechanism now is very obvious.
Thanks!
where's my quarter? 🫴
Edit: To get it out, you can use one of those tools that has a band that wraps around the filter and tightens as you try to unscrew the filter. If you need more torque, use a long bar that can go over the handle of the filter tool. If you don’t have a long bar, you might be able to use a wrench. Place the circular side around the handle of the tool, to create a longer distance between the filter and you push with your hand on this make shift lever to increase torque.
One time, I didn’t have the filter tool, so I hammered a screw driver through the entire filter, creating a handle on each side which I could use to unscrew the filter. If nothing you try works, the ultimate piece to unscrew is that bare metal (no paint) piece that screws on. Rip everything of the filter off until you get to that piece, spray it with silicone lube, and see how you can twist it off.
You have fifteen minutes in the game, son. Go score a backrub or whatever they call it idk I don’t coach football.
I’ve heard of punching screwdrivers through them. I didn’t have any screwdrivers I wanted to get oily since I use those on my PC. I did grab some oil filter pliers from the parts store and those finally did the trick.
I won’t use them much, but I’m sure they’ll come in handy again one day
The screwdriver trick is mid imo - you run a major risk of just shearing the filter body wall and now your problem is a leaky oil filter that’s much harder to grasp with other hand tools. Go buy a strap wrench that you can use to install and remove.
Or for the very stubborn filters, these kind of tools are very much a one trick pony that only takes the filter off, but it’s a good trick - it has worked every single time for me.
If you’re too sissy to use a screwdriver, you can always use a punch. Those are the true bottoms of the tool chest, made to be used hard and put away filthy.
I feel weird, dad. What’s that feeling? It feels like you noticed me trying and value my contribution. I don’t trust it. 😵💫
Are we allowed to take out interference items?
OP offered $60 if someone can do it for them, so as long as you get the job done and everything reinstalled and running, sure, go for it.
Lmao yeah I just grabbed some oil filter pliers from the parts store. That did the trick. So many interference items just for an oil filter. I got maybe two degrees of rotation with each squeeze.
Oof, gotta hate the engineers that design shit like that! Engineers must hate mechanics, so the feeling is mutual…
I feel you, but the reality is probably more like “Project Manager said I need to save 13 more cents on materials or he’ll murder my children, so if I move the oil filter from this nice easy to access location and remove the lip that catches any drippage it’ll get us there.”
90% of the time it’s the bosses.
On the plus side the top mounted filter was kinda nice. I didn’t have to worry about spilling a filter’s worth of oil on the garage floor.
Not like it matters because it already leaks. But hey, we take the good with the bad.
Reading this comment made something click and now I feel dumb.
When looking at these cars with top mounted oil filters, I’ve always thought “gee, that must be annoying, every time you change the filter it’s gonna dump oil all over the place!”
The filter is empty. It dumped oil all over the inside of the engine. Where it’s 'sposed to be.
It also probably causes a huge itch with all of the guys that say you absolutely must prime your filter each and every time you change because you never want it to run dry or the engine will literally explode.
You cannot prime a top mounted filter. I mean, you can try, but you won’t get the results you want lol
This car has 257,000 miles, and I promise you this thing has never received a primed oil filter. I bet the bearings are in great shape. I bet the rings fail long before the bearings do.
Is that a b20 in a CRV? It looks like where it was on mine anyways. Bitch to get out when tight because I had to reach up over the subframe and power steering rack to get to the damn thing.
Nope. H22A in a Prelude. There’s no way to get it from the bottom, unless Gilderoy Lockhart just “mended” your arm or you are Mr. Fantastic in the flesh. You must get it from the top.
The H22A4 that comes in base Preludes has the filter on the side. It’s much easier to reach, but you will spill. This top mounted filter on the Type SH drains back to the pan every time you switch the engine off, but it’s a real pain to get to.
