General LSX Automobile Discussion - Longest Oil Change. Ever.

So today I think I successfully set the record for the longest oil change ever.

So the day starts out by washing the car the clay barring the washing the polish. Well my arm was sore so I decided to change the oil and go back to waxing later. I jack the car up, roll underneath, remove the drain plug and watch the juice flow out. I then go to twist the filter off. Damn its tight. Run to Autozone (AZ) and by a grippy tool. I told the guy my headers are in the way he says o ya this will work anyhow. I take it home and it doesn't work. I get mad throw tool across garage (break it and then throw it in the trash) and go to Advance Auto. Buy tool there. Piece of shit and reminds me why I never go to Advance. Anyhow return that and go to AZ again. I buy a remover that fits a socket wrench. This one:
http://www.autozone.com/images/products/grn/grn25401003.jpg
Get home and its to big for my filter. Go to AZ buy the same thing except smaller. This time its to small and won't fit over the bottom of the filter. Go back to AZ and buy a weird grabby thing that when you turn the wrench looser the teeth dig into the filter. Finally it is removed. I put new filter in replace drain plug and fill with oil. I then run back to AZ to return the first oil filter cap wrench (the one pictured) that I bought because I decide to keep the last thing I bought. So I started changing the oil at 2:15 and was done at 5:50 Not counting the last trip to AZ.

Cliff notes: I didn't have the right tools, had to go to AZ or Advance Auto 6 times and it took me a little over 3.5 hours to change my oil. :bang:

sounds like a PITA...at least you havve the right tools do change youre oil now!

right tools make all the difference and tool bags at AZ dont normally help

Yes it was a big PITA. The first guy at autozone I thought knew what he was doing because I told him I only have about 3 inches he claimed once it grabbed it will turn right off. Ya... NO it doesn't. Dumb ass. Should get him to come change my oil next time and I'll show him....

Wow this is funny. I basically had the exact same thing happen to me yesterday!

I've never had an oil change take more than forty minutes. If my filter is stuck I just get a pair of liner locks and grip it til one side caves, then twist it.

I like my strap wrench. It works on everything.

lol i was gonna say... i used a strap wrench last weekend... had it changed with a damn mini jack that was the only thing i could use in my friends's garage in like 45 minutes... and that included running back to autozone to exchange my oil cuz i was in a hurry the first time and grabbed synthetic on accident

The oil filter pliers work good also.

next time i would just get a k&n filter cuz those are easy to remove all you need is a wrench.

yea the old one gets thrown away so you might as well use big ass pliers and take it off! i use the fram tough gaurd so its on there hand tight but i double check it with the ratchet

Hmm my K&N oil filter was always really easy to get off ;).. Ofcourse the nut welded on the bottom made it even easier :D.

Ya tried two different kinds of strap wrenches. There is just not enough room there to use them. What I got now is pretty sweet and works good.

Poke a screwdriver in it and turn.

I'm probably the only one here that removes and installs my oil filters completely by hand? They don't need too much torque anyways.

yea i never have a problem turning them off by hand. but i also tighten them only hand tight... they dont need to be very tight to seal.... but if for some reason one is being a bitch it is thoroughly stabbed with a screw driver and removed.

the worst oil change i have experienced is on my 95 pathfinder. The filter is on the side off the engine behind the exhaust manifold... No room for tools. Hardly any room to squeeze your arm down and forget about getting any leverage. Its wrist power or nothin baby. Once you thread it off thats the easy part. The filter will barely squeeze out between the inner fender and the exhuast header. Has to be turned and tilted just right. This usually requires you getting burned by hot oil and your arm getting baked by the manifold because you didnt feel like waiting for it to cool off... lol Then try getting one back in... HA. Takes about 30 minutes sometimes just to finagle the filter into the threads... well not 30 minutes but it sure feels like it takes that long! damn japan, they did it on purpose!

yea with headers I always had to poke a screw driver into it and it will start to tear and turn, that was my only regret from doing headers

its all about the flathead, just set it up so that it works like a pry against the oil pan. works like a charm

Poke a screwdriver in it and turn.

Works every time

That reminds me of when I first bought my car and decided to change the oil. Of course you change the oil yourself when you buy a new car so thats what I did...or tried to do! The previous owner must have had Walmart do it because it was a Fram filter and it was on there TIGHT! I swear I made 10 trips back and forth to parts stores trying to get a wrench or anything that would get that filter off. None of them worked and so I tried the screwdriver and just ended up twisting the filter like a soda can. I finally got it off with the screwdriver but it was a bitch! The filter also looked like a twisted soda can! But I swear I had every kind of oil filter wrench on the market.

K&N Oil filter.. and put a socket on the bastard

Poke a screwdriver in it and turn.

exactly...anyways live and learn:chug:

Hmm my K&N oil filter was always really easy to get off ;).. Ofcourse the nut welded on the bottom made it even easier :D.

Haha this is exactly why I get the K&N filter for our cars. That and it is a good filter. :D

Get home and its to big for my filter. Go to AZ buy the same thing except smaller. This time its to small and won't fit over the bottom of the filter.
Cliff notes: I didn't have the right tools, had to go to AZ or Advance Auto 6 times and it took me a little over 3.5 hours to change my oil. :bang:

haha that does suck

but i guess you didn't think of grabbing a filter off the shelf to make sure the filter wrench you were about to buy was the right size:bang:

Wow this is amazing, are you aware that just today I changed my oil also and I think I successfully set the record for the longest oil change ever.

So the day starts out by washing the car the clay barring the washing the polish. Well my arm was sore so I decided to change the oil and go back to waxing later. I jack the car up, roll underneath, remove the drain plug and watch the juice flow out. I then go to twist the filter off. Damn its tight. Run to Autozone (AZ) and by a grippy tool. I told the guy my headers are in the way he says o ya this will work anyhow. I take it home and it doesn't work. I get mad throw tool across garage (break it and then throw it in the trash) and go to Advance Auto. Buy tool there. Piece of shit and reminds me why I never go to Advance. Anyhow return that and go to AZ again. I buy a remover that fits a socket wrench. This one:
http://www.autozone.com/images/products/grn/grn25401003.jpg
Get home and its to big for my filter. Go to AZ buy the same thing except smaller. This time its to small and won't fit over the bottom of the filter. Go back to AZ and buy a weird grabby thing that when you turn the wrench looser the teeth dig into the filter. Finally it is removed. I put new filter in replace drain plug and fill with oil. I then run back to AZ to return the first oil filter cap wrench (the one pictured) that I bought because I decide to keep the last thing I bought. So I started changing the oil at 2:15 and was done at 5:50 Not counting the last trip to AZ.

Cliff notes: I didn't have the right tools, had to go to AZ or Advance Auto 6 times and it took me a little over 3.5 hours to change my oil. :bang:

haha, coulda just taken a new oil filter outta the box and seen what size it was the first time. :)

I've never had an oil change take more than forty minutes.

Even forty minutes is crazy. 15-20 tops is all it should take.

I'm changing mine tomorrow. I got under my new t/a and saw that the oil filter is in a little harder to reach area. I hope I don't have your luck on my first oil change on this car.

Thats why u dont overtighten oil filters! 3/4 of a turn past snug by hand is more then enough.And dont forget to put a little bit of new oil on the seal before u put it on thats another reason why they are a pita to take off cause the rubber like melts to the metal. Live and learn

The tool pictured in the original post works very well if you have the correct size. :nod:

The longest oil change I've ever done was about 1hr 30 minutes. It was my first time changing the oil in my SS and I basically did the same thing. The only exception was that I only bought 1 of the tools before I gave up and rammed a screwdriver through it.

Interesting. I was told by a friend that advance auto > autozone

I just go to either one that has what I need, but advance auto is closer so I tend to go there more often (plus they tend to be slightly cheaper too)

install by hand.. if stuck try and the strap if I cant angle it (most of the time its hard due to headers) just put a flat head through the side and turn pull the flathead out set in drain bucket and turn off by hand.. oil change is like 15 mins

uhhh, yeah rub oil on the o-ring and if its stuck, punch a long flatblade through the side of the filter, and use that to turn it, done it 5 times atleast on my fbody. :) dad showed me when i was about 7, dealerships never rub oil on the oring and it seizes.

Never had any problems out of mine. I do it all by hand as well.

Interesting. I was told by a friend that advance auto > autozone

I just go to either one that has what I need, but advance auto is closer so I tend to go there more often (plus they tend to be slightly cheaper too)

Let me help you.

Autozone = Advance = O'reilly = Westwood ect. /the people working there.

In other words, they're all pretty much the same and the only difference is which specific store you walk into and the ratio of idiots to intelligent employees in that specific store.

I used the screwdriver method once and ripped the bottom of the filter completely off.:bang: That sucker was tight!!! Can't remember how I got the rest of it off but it took several hours.

You think that's bad?


I bought a $500 Jeep Cherokee beater awhile back and it took me all week to do the oil change. The previous owner had rigged a drain plug up that fell inside the oil pan when I unscrewed it. I had to drop the pan, get it retapped, reinstall, then drop it and reinstall again because it leaked like a sift.

Had work and school so it was a bitch to find time.

15 mins tops put oil on the o ring and only a little after hand tight

I'm probably the only one here that removes and installs my oil filters completely by hand? They don't need too much torque anyways.

Nopey, I do too! :D

hand tight is the way to go, i never have to use anything but my hands on my car.


+1 on the screwdriver through the filter, ive done that twice before on other cars.. its messy, but works like a charm

Changed the oil in my truck yesterday in only minutes. I only hand tighten mine and change the oil while the vehicle is still warm to the touch. Filter comes off nicely.

Do this now because I've been thru all the disaters mentioned.

Poke a screwdriver in it and turn.Seriously man you took WAY too much time although it was damn funny to read.

K.I.S.S.

I also put the old oil on the o-ring of the new filter and the next time its a since to take off. ;)

haha, coulda just taken a new oil filter outta the box and seen what size it was the first time. :)

See here is the thing, we tried that but I didn't have the same filter as before. Last fall I had a local place change it for me because I was too lazy. Well there is just a bit small.

Also to all of you saying put a screwdriver through it. Do you guys have long tube headers because I thought about that but dad and I came up with the idea that you would have to punch it through just right for it to work. There is so little of room down there. It just a PITA. I'll see if I can find a picture of what I have its very neat tool.

http://oem-tools.com/images/25017.jpg
Here is the tool I have now. When you turn the wrench to the left the teeth come together, grab you filter, the you just turn it off.

Hmm my K&N oil filter was always really easy to get off ;).. Ofcourse the nut welded on the bottom made it even easier :D.


Yep. K&N filters are on my shelf.

Surprised he didn't do the old shade tree: tap a screwdriver all the way through both sides of the filter and twist on your new "handle". Not recommended unless you are a redneck, but I was forced to do that once when I didn't have access to my own tools. :lol:

EDIT: shit, didn't read the whole thread and see that it had been mentioned like three times already. Doh!

Yeah, all new oil filters go on hand tight (as tight as you can get it with bare hands free of oil) and having dipped my finger in fresh oil and trace the new gasket with said finger.

Nopey, I do too! :D

Same here. The one on my 95 was major stuck on there and I still managed to remove it with my hands. I couldn't imagine why you'd you'd tighten one down so tight as to not be able to remove it with your hands.

Poke a screwdriver in it and turn.

Yup! And I like to poke a hole in the bottom of the filter first, let all the oil drain out so it doesn't run down my arm.

Oils changes are cake on these cars... Till you add LT's :jest: But I can still get to mine with a regular strap wrench enough to get it off... Don't know why so many tools failed for you?

Poke a screwdriver in it and turn.

Exactly. Done it many times on other peoples cars that previously had the oil changed at the shop. They jam the filter on way to hard.

http://oem-tools.com/images/25017.jpg
Here is the tool I have now. When you turn the wrench to the left the teeth come together, grab you filter, the you just turn it off.
thats pretty badass!

sounds like the first time i changed the oil on my camaro...bought all the stuff, went to change it, previous owner tightened the shit outta the filter...tried to used all the filter removers i could find to no avail...got pissed and shoved a screwdriver through it...went to put on the filter, and it wasnt the right one...my other vehicle was being borrowed, so had to wait for a friend to get home to get the right one...4 hours later my oil was changed...i called the parts store and gave an earful to the guy that told me the wrong size...their filter book wasnt there was why i didnt look it up

I would have been pissed if they would have given me the wrong size filter. Wow!

That's funny -

One of the kids takes his lease Silverado to the dealers Quick Lube. Oil change goes ok but tech notices a leak around the tranny case. "You can't drive this." Well. I need a vehicle because I need to leave now for a trip to Texas. No cars in the service to provide. GM says when we keep your vehicle over night we'll provide you with a car. I don't want a two seat Metro. Kid end up with a H-3. Friday will be a week. Kid is not back yet from his trip. Don't you just love GM?

:secret2: Jakes Dad

I'm probably the only one here that removes and installs my oil filters completely by hand? They don't need too much torque anyways.

X2. I also do it by hand.

I'm probably the only one here that removes and installs my oil filters completely by hand? They don't need too much torque anyways.

same here.

K&N Oil filter.. and put a socket on the bastard


thats how this guy does it!....and if i get a pureone filter (which i purchase if k&n is out of stock) i either use sandpaper to get it off, or the ol' screwdriver trick

I ended up with a filter wrench and filter pliers. With the pliers you don't get oil on you but you do end up crushing the shit out of the old filter. Then I use the wrench for 1/4-1/2 turn past what I can do with my hand, I guess call me paranoid. I've shook my panhard rod off the car, and that bolt had loctite on it and torqued to spec, so I'm a little worried about hand tightening anything.

Holy shit! Your supposed to change that filter???!

I just always poured more oil in as it got burnt off.

Holy shit! Your supposed to change that filter???!

I just always poured more oil in as it got burnt off.

:bang:

:bang:

Going at 70,000 miles now and she still loves it @ 6,600 RPMS

Jam a large nail throught the bottom and let the oil drain out of the filter. Then ram a screwdriver through the case and turn that SOB.

Rub a little oil on the new gasket before you install the new one, and hand tighten. It shouldn't happen again.

LS1vazquez: No its an LS1 they don't need oil or a filter. They just run. :D

kerryt1: I did the oil on the gasket and hand tightened until snug then a half turn more.