My thoughts exactly. Pre-filling the filter is a waste of time. And letting a shop do something so important yet so simple is a risk I refuse to take with any of my cars.

 

Oil Filters are supposed to be installed hand tight. Even though this is the case I use a oil filter wrench to tweak it just a little more on all of my vehicles. Been doing that since the 60's. If I were you I would take a oil filter wrench and tighten your oil filter installed by the dealer a little bit more and then wipe the outside of it down, run the car and check it. It may stop your very slow leak and save you any more work. Why throw a brand new AC oil filter away being it just might not be installed on your car tight enough?

 

Yes I agree...I've already checked it for tighness and it seems to be pretty tight. I cleaned off the area with brake cleaner, started it up & let it run to normal operating temps. Cut it off and checked it about an hour or so later just to see if it was just a slow leak, and it was. It coming from the top of the filter where it screws on. Yea, I hate to change the filter but evidently something isn't right so will have to do it. Won't get to it til tomorrow (work) but if I find anything, I will post the pics of it. Called the dealership, told them about it and they sai they would be glad to check it for $50. Told them thanks but no thanks, I can do it myself for nothing. Amazing, isn't it?

Thanks,
Gregg

 

Wow! Can't believe the dealer told you that they would want $50 to check it after they just did a oil change on it. Unbelievable!. At this point I would just take the filter down to see what is going on. Hopefully you are not going to find another gasket above the gasket on the oil filter left behind from the previous oil filter. Other then that over my 34 years of being in the Auto Parts business I haven't heard of many oil filters leaking at a new install. Most of the time someone tried to put the wrong oil filter on the car at some of the repair shops when you hear of a leaky oil filter. Maybe the dealer put the filter up dry without oil around the gasket. Wouldn't surprise me.

 

Yea, I couldn't believe it either. Kinda caught me off guard on that one. Here's their theory. Since I got under the car & checked it for tighness, I may have tightened it too much & caused the leak. WHAT!!!!! I told him if it had not been leaking, I wouldn't have had to get under the car to check it. He responded, "we'll be glad to check it for you, but there will be a service charge of $50". Needless to say, that will be the last $95 I'll ever spend there.
Talked to a friend of mine, owner of dealership in Tenn., and he couldn't believe it either. He said his guys would have checked it free & if anything was wrong, they would have fixed it & even returned the oil change amout to me or give me the next change free. He also said that most new filters don't leak unless they were installed wrong. He said it could be the filter could have been cross threaded & you would not be able to see this & the filter would be tight. He said he's only seen that once since he been in business (35 years). Or the filter was put on dry & this can cause the gasket to wrinkle slightly & not seal completely. I asked him if the cross thread would damage the threads on the block. He said no, it would only damage the threads on the new filter since the filter threads are no way near as strong as the block threads. He said this would cause the filter to sit at an angle but it would be so slight you couldn't see it with the naked eye. Also, if the old gasket was still in place, there would be a gap between the filter and the base. Although not much but you should be able to feel the gap somewhat. Sorry for the leangth of this.
Thanks,
Gregg

 

I would NEVER, repeat NEVER take my car there again for any reason. That is rediculous that they do not stand behind their work. This is the sign of a shady business for sure.

R U N

 

Took the words right out of mouth!!!!!!!!

 

I'm with Bighank, I've never filled a filter with oil on any car/truck or motorcycle before putting it on and I know that NO mech/tech fills up a filter before screwing it onto any car/truck.

Consider all the filters on motorcycles/outboard motors that screw on that cannot be filled as they go on from the top, it blows the engine running with no oil theory out right there.

There is also no way to cross thread a filter onto our cars. The threads are just too course and it would take Superman to get a C5 filter cross-threaded.

 

I sgree with bighank also. As for no way for cross-threading, I quit saying "no Way" a long time ago. Just look at some of the things that pop up on this thread.

 

jack actually you do lose a bit more than the contents of the filter, but not a heck of a lot more.

 

changed my oil and the old gasket stuck to the block ...when I put the new filter on it leaked big time...not a few drops.

 

Do all your own work, you will have more money in your pocket and sleep better!

 

The oil filter torque requirement for the C5 is very high at 22 ft-lbs. This is twice the torque of some other filters ! I don't know why it is so high ? But, some owners have reported leaks with oil filters when not torqued enough. This is about 2 1/2 turns after contact ! I always use fresh oil on gasket first.

I would try to tighten it, first.

 

Even 1 turn requires an oil filter wrench and its TIGHT. Does King Kong tighten your filters. There is such a thing as too tight. Had a filter that would not loosen. Tried using a filter wrench and then channellock plyers. Finally had to harpoon it with a screwdriver and finally got it loose. Can't believe you can actually turn it 2 1/2 turns after contact with the base plate.

 

The idea that the oil filter could possibly be cross-threaded is about the same chance that someone could cross thread a LIGHTBULB!, or that there is a torque value for lightbulbs.

If there is one thing in the 2 years on this forum, I've still not come across the "cross-threaded my oil filter" -thread.

 

Hey GM didn't arbitrarily set the torque at 22 ft-lbs ! I use a "clamp" style filter wrench to loosen them, it gets tighter as you turn it, no problem.

 

you guys are funny...double gasket on the oil filter the car won't make it far as the oil pours out of the engine. it's easy for the wrecker to find it with the trail of oil.


maybe you should use an impact gun to tighten it.

 

Showed my son how to change oil in his Mustang. Helped him twice.
Third time he said I'll do it myself dad. When he finished he backed out of the driveway and drove down the caldsac and came back up the street. I saw a plume of oil following the car. I went out in the street and stopped him. He pulled up the driveway with oil gushing out.
I asked him how tight he made the filter and where was the oil he drained out. He said I removed the filter, let the oil drain out and refilled with synthetic oil. I tried to tighten the filter but it felt cross threaded. I finally tightened it about another turn. It looked like the drain plug hadn't been touched. He said WHAT DRAIN PLUG.
I put a pan under the oil drain and out came a mixture of $5+ new oil and what was left of the old oil. He added 5 new quarts to the 4+ that were still in the car. Fortunately he pumped about 7 quarts out on the street and didn't blow anything in the engine. We added another 4 + quarts and the job appeared to be done. I was really worried that he had cross threaded the filter. I never saw one go on so tightly and still leak. A few months later it was time to change the oil again. When we removed the filter found 2 gaskets. One closest to the filter round and trying to seal properly. The other one deformed and half out of place.
It was amazing the car didn't leak like a sieve.
Now he LOOKS for metal on the bracket before putting another filter on.