[Lok]

Alright, I've finished changing my oil on my Hawk and I ran into 2 problems while trying to complete the job. The first was I put a few good size dents in the oil filter. Long story short, my hands were oily, so instead of wiping them off, I decided to use a oil filter tool to tighten it. Needless to say, it got too good of a grip and put some nice dents in it. Do you think I should get another one and replace it?

 

[fierospeeder]

if its a very small dent, i wouldn't worry about it

 

[ilovemyF4i]

The dent is the least of your worries. But you should NEVER use an oil filter wrench to tighten a filter on. Unless you use a torque wrench and tighten it to spec. If you dented it, I'm guessing you may have overtightened it unless it's a really cheap oil filter. Oil filters do not need to be very tight on any vehicle, and if it is overtightened the oil filter will implode and you will have a huge oil leak. Take that sucker out and reinstall it either by hand or with a torque wrench. This comes from personal experience with my car.

 

[clsmitty]

filter

I always use the filters that have the hex bottoms that can be tightened with a corresponding filter cap that fits onto a socket wrench. I beleive Fram has them as well as some other brands.

 

[nig]

Just get a new filter it's cheap peace of mind. I'm sure AutoZone can set you up with something for $5 or so.

 

[Süsser Tod]

That filter is going to give you a headache when trying to get it out...

 

[RayOSV]

I always use the filters that have the hex bottoms that can be tightened with a corresponding filter cap that fits onto a socket wrench. I beleive Fram has them as well as some other brands.

+1 for the filter end cap wrench. There have also been studies on filters done that indicate oem filters are the best, but that's up to you.

Tightening the filter should be done according to your manual, it's really important. My Suzuki specifies 2 full turns of the filter once initial gasket contact has been made. There is no way I could get a filter on tight enough (let alone off again later) without the end cap wrench. I learned the hard way when a strap filter "wrench" collapsed a new oem filter before it reached the 2 full turns. Don't forget to smear a little fresh oil on the new filter gasket before putting it on.

 

[Lok]

Thanks for the help guys, I think I am going to go out and get a new filter and try this over again.

 

[ninja500rider]

I always use the filters that have the hex bottoms that can be tightened with a corresponding filter cap that fits onto a socket wrench. I beleive Fram has them as well as some other brands.

Yeah, and Fram also often has the gritty stuff for grip on the top of the filter(even if your hands are oily)--you can just install by hand, and the hex helps when you go to change it.

 

[Bird Man]

I highly recommend the KN filter.


I was taking the cheap route and got a WIX and tightened all i could by hand, got it on and revved in and oil dripped out. I was lucky to get it back off by hand and cant imagin that filter coming off after 3k miles, add to that the horror stories of having that filer stuck and what some people must do to get take the filter back off.

And most importantly, if the oil leaks...where is it going?? Cant afford to have that on the mind in a corner.


Spend $12 and solve everything

 

[buzzard]

I highly recommend the KN filter.


I was taking the cheap route and got a WIX and tightened all i could by hand, got it on and revved in and oil dripped out. I was lucky to get it back off by hand and cant imagin that filter coming off after 3k miles, add to that the horror stories of having that filer stuck and what some people must do to get take the filter back off.

And most importantly, if the oil leaks...where is it going?? Cant afford to have that on the mind in a corner.


Spend $12 and solve everything

Interesting. Wix is certainly not known to be a "cheap" filter. They have been used in heavy duty/industrial/automotive applications for a long time and have a very good reputation. I actually have one on my bike right now and it does not have any problems with leaking. Maybe you got a bad one?