Hole in Oil Filter?

How about taking the filter box, rip the top off, putting a rag in the bottom, and using that to twist the filter off. That's what I do about 10 times a day and I never spill a drop or get oil on my hands.

So why continue to abuse yourself? Just put the car up on ramps (if that's how you access the filter) in the evening and the NEXT MORNING, remove the filter. You'll still make a little mess but a LOT smaller mess.

That old BS about draining the oil while hot so the contaminants are all stirred up is .... BS. If your oil is SO contaminated that heavier particles would fall out of suspension, you'd better shorten up you service intervals considerably.

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- Philip @ Maximum Torque RPM

Tim J. Johs> I'm getting fed up with the stream of "uncontrollable" oil that

Excellent method. :-)

Actually, I posted this after the little gabfest with the neighbor, which included a "couple of beers." Since I usually don't drink that much, I was a little lightheaded when I posted this and in the light of a cold sober morning I can't see anything that would be contraindicated about punching a hole in the bottom of the filter...indeed jamming a screwdriver through the side has been the timehonored way of getting a stubborn filter off the car, has it not. ;>)

Anyway, appreciate both of the suggestions, but had tried a variation of the first suggestion about filter in a box a "few changes ago" and due to the contortions needed to reach the filter, it ended up as messy as ever. And, that 5w-30 oil flows pretty good hot or cold, so I don't see where the cold method would save much.

Thanks, though, from a now-sober Tim.... LOL

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Ah, the influence of Adult Beverage. I have not resorted to the "time honored" screw driver approach to a difficult filter since the early '60's when I made an even BIGGER mess out of removing a difficult filter by ripping the whole darned thing to shreds with that 'trick"! Never again. That's when I was shown one of those nylon belt self gripping "wrench" with the square shank. Grip really close to the base and the worst filters always acquiesced.

The reason for waiting for engine cool down is to let most of the oil above the filter to drain thru the main bearings and back to the sump which might take only an hour or two with the 5w-30 oil you're using. But when you're in a hurry and since the engine is NOT going to intentionally be restarted with a punctured filter (unless distractions from Adult Beverage prevail), then poking a drain hole in the filter works for me. Thankfully, my '03 Corolla has a vertically mounted filter on the 'front' side of the engine that stays full regardless of how long the car sits. Not a messy change affair either.

I too am a hater of the way some of the Toyota engines have the filter on the side of the engine at about a 30 degree angle. I have noticed that when some of them sit overnight and cold the filter is empty when unscrewed and no mess, but it makes me question the dry start theory? I have a new Matrix and thankfully it has the filter nearly verticle and no more messes. I also have the strap type filter wrench which fits every filter known to man, I've never seen a filter that it will not remove. I also learned from tearing the filter can completely loose from the base. There is nothing to grab then, I had to use a chisel and hammer to get the base off, believe me it took hours.

mandrake99

In my 97 Camry after warming it up, I let the oil drain from the oil plug first, then do other maint stuff for a while, then put a rag under the filter and use an oil filter wrench that goes over the end of the filter like a big socket attached to my socket wrench. I can get it off very fast. I get very little oil spill at all. I am using Purolator oil filters.