If you own a car, the oil filter is probably one of the most basic and important parts. It filters oil from your car’s engine, keeping them running smoothly and efficiently. If your oil filter needs to be changed sooner than expected, it can be frustrating waiting for an oil change place to deliver an extra filter. Having to reach for a tool or have someone else remove the old filter can be annoying. Fortunately, there are a variety of ways to replace the oil filter without removing the Accessory Oil Filter Cover from your vehicle. You can also check other tips on how to change your own oil without a tool in this article.
How To Remove The Oil Filter Without Tool?
- Remove the Oil Filter
There are different methods to remove the oil filter depending on model year, manufacturer, and car make. Use the diagram below to see which one applies to your car.
- Clean it and Reuse it
Remove all debris from the outer surface of your oil filter so that you can reuse it after cleaning. It is recommended to clean up all particles before reusing the oil filter so that you don’t ingest any of them into your body when you use it again. If you do not have a soft brush for cleaning, use a paper towel or cotton cloth instead for better results. Use a clean rag soaked in gas or kerosene whenever possible to wipe off debris from your old oil filter before cleaning it with compressed air or water.
- Clean up the Oil Filter Base Plate
To remove more contaminants, you may also want to clean off any remaining particles from around the base plate that attaches to the engine block at this time as well there will be no non-slip friction on plastic if there is any left on the surface of your metal gauze pad after washing away most of them there will be no non-slip friction on plastic if there is any left on the surface of your aluminum base plate. Use a soft cloth to wipe down the oil filter base plate casing and its surrounding area well enough that it looks clean to you before reusing them again.
- Reusing it
Reuse your new used oil filter as many times as you can until they start to show wear and tear so that they can act more like a disposable filter by which time you have used up a lot of them. Just throw them away when they start showing signs of damage or worn out in quality. You may need to settle for the cheapest type of filter replacements from Lisle, IL, but this will do just fine for most purposes so long as you don’t require high performance or very low wear.
- Cleaning and Disposal of Used Oil Filters
After a couple of months or so of use it’s time for you to purchase a new used oil filter if your old one does not start to show signs of tearing or falling off from its base plate and you have cleaned the oil filter base plate off with water and compressed air as much as you can without anything left on there. You will also better know how heavy the used filters are in terms of weight so that you load them in your vehicle or purchase a container or any sort of storage for them easily whenever you want to reuse them again in the future.
What Is The Accessory Oil Filter Cover?
- The accessory oil filter cover is the cover that can be found on most vehicles without an oil filter in place or a couple of inches below where the engine oil fill cap is mounted to. The purpose of this cover is to keep dust and debris from getting into your engine’s sump and other areas around it. The majority of vehicles will have this cover mounted directly onto your vehicle’s engine block. There are some vehicles that have an accessory oil filter base plate like the Toyota Tacoma, but these are very rare in comparison to vehicles that have a separate oil filter base plate and cap on top of them as seen in most modern cars today.
- This accessory oil filter cover serves no real purpose other than keeping dust and debris out of your engine’s sump area so you can keep it clean, but if you have one that looks like this then it should be removed:
- To remove this cover you will need two flat head screwdrivers or Allen wrenches with an Allen key or socket set:
- To properly clean off any dirt or debris from around the accessory oil filter cap by using compressed air, use a soft bristle brush with a solvent spray bottle to spray down the entire area around the cap and its surrounding area where dirt may accumulate:
- To reuse your accessory oil filter cap you will need to remove the cap from the previous use and replace it with a new one. You will also want to clean off any dirt or debris that may be on top of the cap and its surrounding area that you sprayed down with a solvent solution. You can reuse your used oil filter cover as many times as you like without any problems at all.
How To Remove The Oil Filter Cover On Your Car
1. What You Will Need
What you will need to remove the oil filter on your car is a flat head screwdriver or Allen wrench with an Allen key or socket set:
2. Remove Your Oil Filter Cover
The first step in removing your oil filter is to remove the cap that covers it. To do this you will need to turn the cap counter-clockwise and then pull the cover off of it. Once the cover is off you can see how everything looks:
3. Remove Your Oil Filter From Its Base Plate
The next step in removing your oil filter from its base plate is to pull up on it from underneath and then lift it out of its slot on top of your engine’s sump. If there is any debris hanging around your oil filter base plate you will want to clean this up as well:
4. Cleaning Your Oil Filter Cover and Base Plate
To properly clean off any dirt or debris from around the oil filter cap by using compressed air, use a soft bristle brush with a solvent spray bottle to spray down the entire area around the cap and its surrounding area where dirt may accumulate. You can also clean off any dirt or debris that may be on top of the cap and its surrounding area that you sprayed down with a solvent solution.
The Easy Way To Dispose Of Your Old Oil
- The easiest way to dispose of your used oil is to simply pour it down the drain. If you have a garage or driveway that is not accessible by animals or children then it may be a better idea to mix the oil with other household items such as cat litter or sawdust and then dump this mixture down the drain as well.
- A word of caution though, do not mix your oil with any other chemicals such as paint thinner, turpentine, kerosene, etc.; these chemicals will contaminate your oil and could cause some harm to you and your family if ingested.
Conclusion
The oil filter is a critical component of the engine, keeping it running efficiently and protecting it from damage. It is important to change your oil filter regularly to help keep the engine from developing problems. If your oil filter needs to be changed sooner than expected, it can be frustrating waiting for an oil change place to deliver an extra filter. Having to reach for a tool or have someone else remove the old filter can be annoying. Fortunately, there are a variety of ways to replace the oil filter without removing the Accessory Oil Filter Cover from your vehicle.
