Perusing r/MechanicAdvice this week, I came across a conundrum posed by an oil change DIYer. Since a lot of folks do their own oil changes, and I’ve seen about everything under the sun while writing service at shop here in the Midwest, this one’s worth talking about.

There are a couple of really common mistakes people make when changing their own oil:

• Forgetting to install the rubber gasket on the new filter
• Double-gasketing the new filter (this happens when the old gasket stays put up on the block after taking off the old filter)
• Overtightening the oil drain plug (strips the drain plug, not only is this a big PITA for whoever does the next oil change, but it can ultimately can lead to needing a while new oil pan)
• Overtightening the new oil filter

This particular thread is about overtightening the oil filter. Now, the OP on Reddit did something I won’t call super common, but the end result is.

Oil filters should be installed “hand-tight”

OP wasn’t focused on which direction he was twisting the oil filter. Instead of turning it left, he was twisting right…further rightening the filter. When he didn’t seem to be making any progress, he switched to the “screwdriver method.”

The screwdriver method involves taking a flathead and spearing it straight through the oil filter. Then, folks use the tool handle to spin the filter off.

Unfortunately, in OP’s case, this just twisted the filter body.

Oil filter stuck. I done screwed up…
byu/m1ndblower inMechanicAdvice

A lot of DIYers put too much “oomph” into tightening a new filter in place. You shouldn’t be able to just spin it off without any effort. But, on a scale of say, 10, the high digit being a torqued bolt, we’re looking at like a 3.

At the shop, the techs would thread the new filter on and then grab a shop rag. Much like using a towel on a sealed jar lid, the shop towel added grip enough to hand-tighten the filter.

Now, say you accidentally overtighten the filter like the OP here.

You might need a special wrench or an oil filter strap

Sure, you can try the screwdriver method…if it’s not on too tight. If the force of the screwdriver is enough to twist the filter body without budging the top, you’ll end up like OP.

You can set an oil filter wrench to the bottom end of the filter and use a drive ratchet to loosen the filter from the engine block.

In OP’s case, an oil filter wrench wouldn’t work because the filter body is too mangled. Instead, he ordered a filter strap.

Filter straps come in various designs, but here’s a simple video explaining its use:

If this issue ever happens to you, it’s an understandable mistake. As one commenter said, “On the last filter I bought, it said screw on until gasket makes contact, then tighten 3 full rotations to secure. I got just past 1.5 and any further would have required leverage, so with instructions like that, I can see how they become over-tightened.”

Keep in mind that you shouldn’t need to perform crazy complicated extractions every time you go to remove your filter.