Unable to open lid to replace the oil filter

[pedro78]

I took the car to get serviced today and they claim the last mechanic did the lid on the oil filter canister up so tight that they were unable to open it.
They offered to try using a breaker bar but warned there was a possibilty that the pressure could crack the canister and a replacement from Holden was worth over $600.00.
They ended up just replacing the oil and now i need to find a way to remove the lid so that i can replace the oil filter.
Has anyone ever had a cracked canister or was the mechanic just being overly cautious?

[richardpalinkas]

my mate has his stuck lol, it even broke the breaker bar end, he needs to replace the canister. i think when the mechanic did it up, they did not lube up the thread. what i would do, take the car back to the mechanic who did the last oil filter change and charge him if it breaks. you took it to them with the thought that they would be responsible to do the job right, and they obviously didnt, so go back to him, tell him to change the oil filter, and if it breaks, its their fault. just make sure you have an invoice

[mattsv6]

Hi Mate,

I know how frustrating that can be. I believe the lid should only be done up to 25Nm however lazy mechanics may do this up with a rattle gun or similar and the lid can be very hard to crack. I was faced with the same situation and decided to at least attempt undoing it rather than paying for a new oil filter housing.

I used a breaker bar sick a solid wack from a mallet to unscrew mine and luckily it did not crack the housing. However given your situation I agree with the above poster and would recommend going back to the original mechanic and asking them to fix the issue. You may even want to point out to them that the torque setting of 25Nm is written on the lid

[heyitsEnricoPallazzo]

Gey your engine nice and warm. Then attack the cap with the item in the link below. When it's nice and cold, use a breaker bar to get it off.
Poop Freeze
Probably best to use a similar product. Sales people might look at you funny when you ask for some 'Poop Freeze' please!

[EDGE3]

What mechanic would be dumb enough to tighten it up so much,this also might be a silly question but are they trying to loosen it or maybe turning the wrong way and actually making it tighter who knows if they were dumb enough to make it to tight then their dumb enough to turn the wrong way

[richardpalinkas]

im guessing from what i can gather, is that it was looked at by another mechanic this service than the last mechanic who last did it? care to clarify?

[pedro78]

Yes the mechanic who looked at it today was a different workshop to the one who overtightened it.
ive had a look at the original invoice and apart from being well outside of their warranty period another thing that voids their warranty is taking it to a different mechanic.
I'll give them a call tomorrow and see what they say but im not expecting them to be very helpfull.