81Coupe

Ha! I tried something similar too. Punched a screwdriver straight through the filter. With the screwdriver handle, it was a piece of cake to spin it off. But that was in the 1980's, when I was young and reckless...

Transfer

I've done the screwdriver trick as well (assisted by a hammer) but it is absolutely last resort and could leave your car inoperable if it doesn't work. Personally if it's this bad, I would notify the dealer that did the work, unless you never plan to return there for service.

brutus23079

LOL! I hear ya 81Coupe! I used to be young and reckless too. Now I'm just old and don't give shi.....

coogs08

Thanks for all the replies guys! I contacted the service manager at the dealership that did the previous oil change (who happens to be fishing buddies with my wife's uncle) and he said he'd take care of me. I was about to resort to the screwdriver method but couldn't risk the car being out of commission haha.

brutus23079

Thanks for the closure reply coogs. A lot of times people ask questions, long-time forum members invest their time answering, and then we never hear the outcome. Glad it worked out for you. Plus of course, the service manager has a record of who incorrectly installed the previous oil filter and presumably had a "discussion" with him or her.

coogs08

Of course! I am very active on the M3 forums so I know how you feel.

I plan to take the car this coming Thursday and will come back with another reply after seeing what the dealer has to say about this.

Cheers,
-Avi

coogs08

Just FYI guys, took it to the dealer and they were able to get it off and consequently threw in a free oil change for me. I thought that was very nice and professional of them. I also made sure to tell the SA 100x to lube the seal on the filter and not overtighten it!

vwtoys

I used a 18" pipe wrench. It's rather difficult to get a good grip on the filter because of the things around it. But once you do, the steel teeth bites into the metal can and crushes it a little. Now you can start turning the darn thing.

Xenonista

Go to your local auto parts store and get an oil filter wrench. It's a handle with a belt loop that tightens around the filter can. They're cheap and handy.

brutus23079

Xenon you're absolutely right, always get the right tool for the job. What we're talkin' here is when the old oil filter is on soooooooooo tight, it collapses using a proper wrench and you're scratching your head (after of course going through all the "bad words" in the English language in like less than a minute.) For such situations, I stick with what works: lag bolt/screwdriver/prayer etc...