Well, that was fun. I've been maintaining my own bikes and cars for 30 years or so and the dealer wanted £360 to change the oil & filter, brake fluid and coolant - 3 year old Thruxton 1200 R. The gear change link fell off a couple of months ago... after the dealer had been doing (and charging me for) the full-bike inspections as part of the annual service every year. I decided to start servicing the bike myself then. So I got the right oil and a genuine filter. Haynes says the filter should be 10Nm or hand-tight. I know sometimes filters can be done up too tight by dealers but I know a few tricks so I was confident. I started with a strap. I turned that strap so hard the filter can started to collapse under the pressure from the strap... so I gave up on that approach. I then put a hole on the side of the can and got a screwdriver and hammer on it to persuade it to turn. But the screwdriver just cut through the can side. So then I punched two holes in the underneath of the can, put the tips of some needle-nose pliers in there, put a breaker bar between the handles and applied torque - the pliers just cut through the metal. I was stumped. I went back to the strap and put some enormous torque on it before it started to move. I mean at least 50Nm, probably more. I'll not be letting the dealers touch the bike again - they just can't be trusted.
That's an eye watering price you were asked and i've never had a problem using the screwdriver method although I have just bought a filter tool from Lidl for £3.99. I always tighten oil filters by hand, run the engine, check for leaks and then tighten the filter again by hand on the very rare occasion that there is a leak.
If you start to puncture or deform the canister you need to be very careful. If you don’t have a proper canister cup that fits the filter get a couple of jubilee clips that, when joined together, will fit around the canister. Tighten this onto the canister with the clip screws pointing in the direction that the canister needs to rotate to unscrew. You can then put a drift on the screw heads and with a few taps get the canister turning without deforming it and getting oil all over the place.
Haven't trusted them for years....my bike still has 6mth warranty. I would need to be something major to let them near it.
Gosh Dave, goodness knows what the mechanic used to tighten that filter up with, maybe he is a budding bodybuilder, I either use my Snap On web strapped filter remover (now 40 years old) or a Halfords Advanced steel clawed tool, both can either accommodate 3/8ths or 1/2 inch drive ratchets, the Halfords one will remove even the very tightest of filters, oil or diesel canister types. Ride safe all from an ageing Rocker.
Before you put the new oil filter on....smear some oil on the sealing ring....stops it grabbing and locking like your has.
