JumpingJackFlash

-HAIRBALL-

Many will have their own system and most work fine. I just spin mine on hand tight then use a strap and bump them about 1/4 and call it good. I would rather err on the side of being a bit too tight than being too loose. After decades of doing them this way I have never had a filter leak or had to destroy one to get it off.

TEXHAWK0

I thoroughly degrease the filter housing and my hands and tighten as tight as I can by hand, and at least a full turn after the gasket touches.

CdnC7

Thanks everyone.

I don't mean to overthink this, but since I don't have the luxury of observing you experts actually do this, my analytical mind wants to understand the concept of "gasket touching" that several members have referred to in earlier posts.

Assuming I am initially spinning it on with my fingers and not applying the full force of my hand (not gripping it with my palm), when you say "until the gasket touches" do you mean when it physically touches (but the filter can still spin a bit more using a light finger grip) or do you mean until:

a) it cannot be spun using fingers anymore ?
b) now it's time to either apply the full hand/palm pressure or apply the filter cap/torque wrench

I guess another way of asking is how do you define "until it touches" because when it does touch, you can still spin it some more with very light pressure using 5 fingers.

Kevin A Jones

I spin the filter on requiring very little force until you feel the gasket touch/seat against the flange (when the filter stops from using very little force, you are there). From that point you will need greater force to achieve the additional 3/4 turn.

I've always found oil filters to tighten as opposed to loosen after installation. Proof is that even though installed only hand tight you can seldom get them off by hand.

TEXHAWK0

I don't think the filters actually tighten, but rather the gasket gets stuck by the heat... another reason to make sure you coat the gasket with oil, or you might not be able to get it off.
I have found that after a few engine cycles, I can still hand tighten the filter a bit, probably because the gasket actually compresses some.

JerryU

Yep when installed with your fingers and you feel some resistance is where to starting counting the revolution. I look at some lettering on the filter and then turn 3/4 to a full turn. That is with a clean seating surface and a thin film of new oil placed on the gasket surface with my finger.

I typically use a filter wrench but on the FRAM filter for my street rod (only one shallow enough to fit with my long tube headers) it comes with a black high grip textured surface on the bottom so do it all by hand.

Kevin A Jones

What I meant by 'tighten' is that they always seem to require more force to get off than applied to put them on, for whatever the reason. At least that's been the case in the dozens I've installed/removed over the years.

I think we may be over thinking this as installing a spin-on oil filter isn't rocket science. My auto parts stores sold probably a million (or more) oil filters over the years and I never remember a customer mentioning an oil filter loosening to a point they lost a significant amount of oil. I believe the limited instances where oil filters leak is more a result of a tech just not caring and keeping his/her mind on what they are doing as opposed to it being difficult to do correctly.
Even if a filter starts leaking you should see oil puddling and smell burning oil long before enough has leaked out to damage engine. Relax guys and just use a little common sense and you will be OK.

For those of you who may need a "cup type" filter wrench, I would recommend carrying your PF64 filter with you to purchase one to insure you get the right size as there's several different 'smaller' sizes.

How about the the C1s and C2s that have the drop-in canister oil filter, now they are a mess and a pain-in-the-*** to change.

Kingtal0n

One time I went to change the oil on my step fathers vehicle, one of those old stamped chevy V8 pans for 2piece engines ya know,


the drain plug was so tight it ripped itself and the whole welded section of drain plug threads right out of the pan when I turned it loose.

Just really, doesn't need to be that tight...

LT1 Z51

All fasteners do that.

The threads do seize a little when torqued. So once you let them sit, it's always going to take more force to remove. That's I think by design, as it's how you keep the clamping force the same. Which is what you actually care about. Torque does't hold things together, clamping force does.

GOLD72

I define it as just when I detect that gasket contact has been made with just a light finger touch when spinning to that first contact. Then a full revolution after that.