This post is a quick guide on changing a stubborn oil filter. Just north of 6,000km on my odometer reading, it indicated it’s about time for regular motorcycle maintenance. I have a Suzuki Bandit 600. Normally, oil changes for me are quite quick and takes maybe just about an hour, including running around my basement and garage to find all the tools. I can be a bit better organized for that. But regardless, if you have a stubborn oil filter, these are a few things I’ve tried and might work for you.

The Situation

During my motorcycle’s last oil change, some gorilla mechanic tightened the filter incredibly tight. Later on, I learned that the filter, Suzuki proprietary, required 3 full turns to tighten. Other filters I’ve used only instructed 1.5 to 2 turns maximum.

The oil filter on the Suzuki Bandit sits behind the exhaust pipes and between the engine block. This provides very little room between the engine block and exhaust pipes.

Some basic oil removal tools:

Belt Wrench

Having the belt wrench is great for removing an oil filter from the car. But when there isn’t enough room between the engine block and the exhaust pipes on my motorcycle, it proved useless. The belt would stretch too much to create the tension needed by the time the handle meets the limits of the turning radius required.

Wrench Cap

This is probably the most useless tool and wasted CAD $9 bucks on. I went out to buy one, thinking it would fit perfectly and handle the torque required. Instead, it kept slipping. I tried the elastic band trick by wrapping the elastic band around the oil filter and putting the wrench cap on. It still slipped.

My next idea was to drill screws into the wrench cap and onto the oil filter. Upon boring a hole through the wrench cap, I realized it was going to take too much effort. I didn’t have the right equipment to drill through the metal, and subsequently, drill into the oil filter.

What I also wanted to do, was maintain the integrity of the oil filter, so when it needed to be torqued, it won’t rip apart.

Filter Plier Wrench

This ended up doing the trick. I was apprehensive at first, partially I was feeling cheap as I already had some tools. I purchased an off-set one, as the area I was working in was really tight. It literally took a minute. It did crush the oil filter a bit, but it didn’t puncture it.

This is the very one from Canadian Tire: https://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/motomaster-offset-plier-wrench-0283585p.html

Some other ideas that I’ve come across and have known people to try:

• Successfully drilling the wrench cap on. 3 screws even spaced seemed to have worked.
• Stabbing the filter with a screwdriver and turning it. The filter will rip, as I’m told, and may lose the integrity to keep going.
• There are a variety of oil filter removal tools. If the belt or pliers don’t work, I would still try and acquire another tool. There are other still: Strap wrench, band wrench and 3 arm adjustable. Having the right tool saves so much more time.

Hope these tips and tricks help you with changing a stubborn oil filter! Good luck, happy maintenance!