+1 Only tighten the filter hand tight, 3/4 turn after contact

 

then what's with the whole "hand tight + 1/4 turn" that i've literally heard & used all my life?

 

+1 on that

 

I do strictly hand tight, although, I have crushed filters by hand before so my way doesn't count

As long as I have clearance I usually break them loose by hand too.

 

Don't know what's with that, but it's too much if you have to put a wrench on it

 

You don't need a wrench to put an oil filter on, unless it's the proper cup type with a torque wrench, which is ridiculous. "Hand tight and then a 1/4 turn" is like saying "as tight as I can make it, then a little more". Depending on the manufacturer, filter manufacturer, etc, there are actual torque specs for the oil filter, but a basic rule of thumb is to get the o-ring to touch the block completely, then go an additional 1/4 to 3/4 turns, again, depending on the vehicle manufacturer, filter manufacturer, etc.

Basically, screw the thing on by hand so that it will seal, won't leak, and won't fall off. There's no need to gorilla the oil filter on...case and point:

I'm sitting on my bed right now, 12 hours after going through surgery for a hernia that I suffered after attempting to remove an oil filter housing (cartridge style filter), that one of my coworkers installed with an impact gun. The torque spec for that housing is 3 in/lb

When I change the oil on my truck, I can usually get the filter back off by hand at the next oil change, without using a wrench...it doesn't need to be that tight

 

welcome to the PT cripple club Bud

who the f*** would install an oil filter with an impact?

 

My problem is my hands are to fat to grab the effin filter on out truck and put some good pressure on it, and the cup i have doesnt fit worth a flip cuz of the pan clearance. So i use my strap wrench and go 1/2 turn.

Im with budhayes, oil on exhaust is smoke.

 

OMG, it's my buddy Amado at work...we've all talked to him about it, and can't understand why he does that. I'm surprised that he doesn't crack the aluminum filter housing when he zaps them on. These filters are actually the exception to the rule of not using a wrench on the filter...half of the time you can screw the housing on by hand, but sometimes they can get a little tight while threading on, and you have to go the last few turns on the filter housing with a cup style tool and a ratchet, in which case, you run it up with the ratchet by hand, with your hand toward the head of the ratchet so that you don't have full leverage on it, and stop ratcheting as soon as the housing bottoms out.

Other techs have told me that they've seen him installing the filters with a 24" breaker bar I'll say it again...3 frickin in/lb

Well, that's a legitimate excuse...I'll admit that the filters on our trucks don't allow for much room to get your hands and fingers around them, considering how 3/4 of the filter body is surrounded by oil pan.

In your case, I'd get the proper cup style tool that fits over the end of the filter, and will cause minimal damage, cosmetic if anything. I believe that a few companies make the cups...if I were to guess, I'd say OTC, Lyle, KD to name a few. There are probably stamped steel versions available, vs the aluminum cast versions. For most guys, who use the tool on their own vehicle only and don't over tighten the filter, the cast aluminum cup tool should be sufficient. But if you plan to use the tool repeatedly, and possibly on vehicles where a gorilla installed the filter before you, you're going to want the stamped steel cup tool, as the cast aluminum one will eventually break...I've broken numerous cast aluminum Toyota oil filter cup tools, and most recently, the day I got the hernia, blew apart my brand new Lexus oil filter housing cup tool. Luckily I didn't pay for it, a local tool manufacturer dropped it off to me to test out and report back to him...I still have the blasted thing in pieces in my tool box (hope the box is still there when I get back in a few weeks )


*EDIT* Using the strap style wrench to install the filter can dent or crush the filter body, and may even possibly affect the operation of the filter itself

 

Filter wrenches damage filters. They also overtorque them, which makes removing the filter later, a major PITA. Or in Billy's case, a major PIT-*******...

General rule of thumb, if you can't get the filter tight enough by hand to not leak, maybe your man-card needs pulled...