This shares the story of one reader’s experience, and our Master Technician Brandon’s advice.
Thanks so much to Kim B for chiming in with your experience regarding DIY oil changes on our Facebook page the other week.
The question was: Have you ever tried to change the oil in your car yourself? If yes, how did it go?
The answer from one reader was… surprising…
Essentially, when the reader took the car to their shop, the technicians drained the old oil and added new oil, but were unable to remove the oil filter in the reader’s car.
The best thing about this story is that the tech communicated this with our reader – yes!
The unfortunate thing is that the new oil isn’t going to do much good for the vehicle with the old oil filter still installed. The oil filter traps any impurities in the system and if not changed on a regular basis can get plugged up, not allowing oil to circulate properly.
A shop or tech really should be able to get the oil filters out of any of the vehicles they service.
In this case, and in the true DIY spirit, our reader asked for guidance:
“How do I remove the old oil filter, if the mechanic could not?
I have seen another person poke a Big Standard screwdriver thru the filter and twist it off that way on their rig.
Or, am I going to need a different tool?”
Our Master Technician Brandon shared:
“I would try this tool prior to the screwdriver method though, you don’t want to get stuck with a damaged oil filter that you have to tow to the shop.”
This is called an oil filter grip and Brandon found it at Mac Tools, but other online resources will likely have it as well.
Of course, DIY is not for everyone. We are here for all of our West Seattle neighbors with guidance as well as contact-free dropoff and pick up. Give us a call with questions about your next service, or potential next DIY project on your vehicle.
Keeping cars, trucks, SUVs, and hybrids safe and reliable for almost 51 years now… and we’d love the chance to work with you too.