LR4 Oil Change
#12
06-14-2021, 07:26 PM
Looks like a great new design concept - wrench integrated right into the cap!
Do you think it's stuck at the points, i.e., wrong size wrench? Or do you think there is some kind of suction at work? I notice that your wrench has no holes other than the square driver hole. I'm wondering if you had a little oil on that cap (or in the wrench) and it made a suction on the cap. My wrench has holes around the crown, presumably to prevent something like that.
Have you tried taking the cap off the oil housing and trying to flex it just a bit - maybe break the seal/stiction? I realize the cap is pretty stiff and it might break.
You also could try a little heat on the wrench - see if it will expand enough to get it off, although I don't know if you'll end up damaging the cap.
If it's a suction seal, you might be able to use a fine drill just through the wrench in a couple of spots without penetrating the cap. Or maybe some kind of soap or other lubricant down into the driver hole? If there is oil making a seal inside the cap, soap should tend to break up the oil and make the seal weaker.
Another idea is maybe rigging some kind of a contraption involving an air compressor to blow air down through that driver hole and maybe lift the wrench off?
I don't think I've ever had a wrench stuck like this, but usually when I have issues with an oil filter cap, its a recovery not a rescue. I'll just order another one and go at the old one with plans to destroy.
Do you think it's stuck at the points, i.e., wrong size wrench? Or do you think there is some kind of suction at work? I notice that your wrench has no holes other than the square driver hole. I'm wondering if you had a little oil on that cap (or in the wrench) and it made a suction on the cap. My wrench has holes around the crown, presumably to prevent something like that.
Have you tried taking the cap off the oil housing and trying to flex it just a bit - maybe break the seal/stiction? I realize the cap is pretty stiff and it might break.
You also could try a little heat on the wrench - see if it will expand enough to get it off, although I don't know if you'll end up damaging the cap.
If it's a suction seal, you might be able to use a fine drill just through the wrench in a couple of spots without penetrating the cap. Or maybe some kind of soap or other lubricant down into the driver hole? If there is oil making a seal inside the cap, soap should tend to break up the oil and make the seal weaker.
Another idea is maybe rigging some kind of a contraption involving an air compressor to blow air down through that driver hole and maybe lift the wrench off?
I don't think I've ever had a wrench stuck like this, but usually when I have issues with an oil filter cap, its a recovery not a rescue. I'll just order another one and go at the old one with plans to destroy.
The following 2 users liked this post by jlglr4:
Stu Barnes (06-14-2021),
Wilybyrd (06-15-2021)
#13
06-14-2021, 10:29 PM
Hi Wilybyrd,
I'm assuming that the wrench got stuck when you were trying to tighten the filter cap? If that's the case then undo the cap and try rocking it back and forth inside the wrench it may come out. Another option is to boil some water and put the wrench and filter cap into it, and leave it there for 10 minutes or so. The expansion rate for steel is quite a bit larger than that for plastic, you may find that this frees it up enough to separate them.
One other option is to put your extension bar back on the wrench and gently work it in a circular motion by hand and it should progressively work its way loose while it is still tightened to the filter body assembly.
If its totally stuck on there then you may be best getting a Dremel and cutting it off, a few cuts at the 3,6,9,12 position should release enough pressure to free the wrench.
Failing all that, get a new filter cap.
Also for next time, ditch the thin steel wrench and get the aluminum one, they are much more forgiving.
Hope this helps.
Also, have a really good inspection circumferentially around the plastic filter cap for any damage. if you spot anything at all then replace it. If you check out my video above, you'll see what I'm referring to and also you'll see the aluminum wrench that I use.
Don't forget to use a torque wrench!!
Good luck buddy,
Stu.
I'm assuming that the wrench got stuck when you were trying to tighten the filter cap? If that's the case then undo the cap and try rocking it back and forth inside the wrench it may come out. Another option is to boil some water and put the wrench and filter cap into it, and leave it there for 10 minutes or so. The expansion rate for steel is quite a bit larger than that for plastic, you may find that this frees it up enough to separate them.
One other option is to put your extension bar back on the wrench and gently work it in a circular motion by hand and it should progressively work its way loose while it is still tightened to the filter body assembly.
If its totally stuck on there then you may be best getting a Dremel and cutting it off, a few cuts at the 3,6,9,12 position should release enough pressure to free the wrench.
Failing all that, get a new filter cap.
Also for next time, ditch the thin steel wrench and get the aluminum one, they are much more forgiving.
Hope this helps.
Also, have a really good inspection circumferentially around the plastic filter cap for any damage. if you spot anything at all then replace it. If you check out my video above, you'll see what I'm referring to and also you'll see the aluminum wrench that I use.
Don't forget to use a torque wrench!!
Good luck buddy,
Stu.
The following users liked this post:
Wilybyrd (06-15-2021)
#14
06-25-2021, 03:47 PM
Thanks for the various replies and the video. The information provided helps and provides some options I wasn't aware of. For clarification; to jlglr4, I was calling what you refer to as the 'dipstick tube' the 'extraction port', for want of a better term. What I was saying is that the smallest tube supplied with my model of Mityvac pump won't fit down the 'dipstick tube' despite my having read elsewhere that people had slid an extraction tube down the 'dipstick tube'. When I found out that none of my tubes would fit, I then probed around the outside of the 'dipstick tube' within the diameter of the oil filler pipe to see if there was a way down to the sump there. To Pagoda, fair point that one doesn't want to be forcing anything down into an engine, but I was actually able to feed the smallest tube from my pump down beside the 'dipstick tube' quite gently. By the time it stopped, and without my exerting any more force, enough of it had gone down the oil filler tube for the end of it to be in the sump. With that said, I'm glad to know that you can attach the Mityvac extraction tubes to the top of the 'dipstick tube' using the supplied rubber compression fittings.
It seems to me that one would be able to do a more complete oil change by sucking oil up from the bottom of the sump than sucking it out from the top of the 'dipstick tube'. But maybe not. I'll do my oil change in the next couple of days starting by pumping from the top of the filler pipe/'dipstick tube'. When the flow stops, if there is appreciably less than 8.5 quarts in the pump, I'll see if I can get any more out by easing the extraction tube as far as it will go with gentle pressure. Depending on what happens I can report here. Stu Barnes, I would be interested to know what you find out when you remove your sump nut after pumping oil out during your next oil change.
Thanks all!
It seems to me that one would be able to do a more complete oil change by sucking oil up from the bottom of the sump than sucking it out from the top of the 'dipstick tube'. But maybe not. I'll do my oil change in the next couple of days starting by pumping from the top of the filler pipe/'dipstick tube'. When the flow stops, if there is appreciably less than 8.5 quarts in the pump, I'll see if I can get any more out by easing the extraction tube as far as it will go with gentle pressure. Depending on what happens I can report here. Stu Barnes, I would be interested to know what you find out when you remove your sump nut after pumping oil out during your next oil change.
Thanks all!
Well here it is, and I'm shocked.
#15
08-20-2024, 10:21 PM
Why not use an electric extraction pump instead of the $200 manual Mittyvacs? Seems to be one or two pumps that are reasonably high capacity at around half the price.
Last edited by Pwd3; 08-22-2024 at 04:08 PM.
The following users liked this post:
CatManDoos (09-06-2024)
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