Should i be able to remove an oil filter without a wrench?

i know that to tighten them most of the time hand tight is enough but i have always had to remove them with a wrench. reason asking my car was leaking oil and when i checked the filter i could loosen it by hand i then re-tightened it hand tight. and am thinking about getting a wrench.Should i be able to remove an oil filter without a wrench?
They should be snug, not too tight. Next time you change your oil wipe the filter housing down with a clean rag. Then before putting oil filter back on, wipe a little oil onto the gasket in the filter. When tighteneing the filter, first go by hand until snug, then 1/4 turn more.





I hope this helps.Should i be able to remove an oil filter without a wrench?
Hi,hope you managed to fix it without any trouble.
Tighten a quarter turn past hand tight. The filter box may have the installation and tightening procedure on it.





http://www.jcwhitney.com/autoparts/Produ鈥?/a>
Hand tighten, Wipe clean the filter mount .Place a small amount of clean oil on the gasket. Turn filter til it makes contact ..Continue to hand turn 3/4 turn. Fill and check for leaks. In a couple of days. check again. Turn 1/4 if needed. Fram and some other filter company now come with a grip material on the filter making it easy to turn. You don't want it to tight. Your next oil change will be a bear to take the old filter off. But if it keeps leaking give it a 1/4 turn at a time with an oil filter wrench.
you only need to tighten a filter hand tight and that means as tight as you can get it by hand and I have never been able to loosen a filter by hand in all the 41 yrs. I have been working on cars.
pretty hard get the wrench and be done with it. I use the wrench to tighten mine to
Not normally, but your car gets a lot of vibration, so it can happen.It has happened to me a couple of times, but I figured it was from using them cheaper brand filters.


If you change your own oil, just tighten it down about a 1/4 to 1/2 turn just past where the gasket has seated firmly. Too much will rupture the seal, and not enough will... well you know.


If you pay someone to change your oil, it's more common to have it leak simply because most times they're in such a hurry, they don't run the engine long enough to see if it leaks


before pushing you out to get the next one in.


If that's the case, just double check when you get home and it's had a chance to cool off
Even though I hand tighten mine, I still have to use a wrench to remove them.
YES AND NO.................





1. IF YOU CHANGE THE OIL AT 3000 MILES OR 3 MONTHS, THEN YES.





2. IF YOU DON'T, IT CAN GET STUCK BY THE HEAT OF THE VEHICLE, THEN NO.





3. I NEVER USE A WRENCH TO TIGHTEN UP AN OIL FILTER BECAUSE THERE IS A CHANCE THAT YOU JUST MIGHT DAMAGE IT.





4. WHEN YOU TIGHTEN UP THE OIL FILTER, CLEAN YOUR HANDS COMPLETELY AND USE JUST YOUR HANDS AND IT WILL NOT BE LOOSE.
When installing a new oil filter you should:





1. Oil the gasket with a thin film of oil


2. Make sure you do not cross thread it during install; on some cars initial cross threading is a real problem and you need to exercise a lot of care; on other cars it is not much of an issue.


3. Hand tighten as tight as you can.


4. Wipe off any oil that is on your hands and the filter housing.


5. Hand tighten again after you wiped hands and filter housing. Usually you will be able to get another 1/8 to 1/4 turn tighter and usually this is sufficient.


6. After you have added oil, start the engine and check for leaks.





I have done the above for well over 25 years and only once did I have a leaker. The rubber filter gasked apparently failed on this one filter and a new oil filter resolved the leak.





I have never used an oil filter wrench to tighten and this is not recommended.





I have always needed to use an oil filter wrench to remove the oil filter - even though I did not use a wrench to tighten.





This has been my experience on vehicles made by GM, Ford, Chrysler, Nissan, Honda, and Toyota so I presume it is pretty much universal.