What is the easiest/best way to remove the oil filter?
 

I have changed my oil many times, but I havent figured out the best way to remove the oil filter. I either get my knuckles mashed up, and/or oil gets all over the place. Any comments/suggestions are appreciated. Thanks.

if you have a non-oem filter... get the little filter socket thing they sell at the auto parts store.. fits on the end of a ratchet. works good. if you have the oem filter.. get a pair of channel-locks. :D easy as hell to get a tight filter off.

What about preventing a mess of oil? Since its on the side of the engine, gravity takes its toll...

wrap a leather belt around it, pull tight, and yank hard. my OEM was stuck on and i was trying forever, used the belt and it came right off.

-Jason

the "little filter socket thing " fits the OEM filter too....I have one...and I got it at wal-mart the day I picked up my car. works like a champ.

if you will warm your car up before changing the oil....ONE it will drain easier.....but if you will let the car set a little while to cool just slightly....the oil should drain down enough that the oil doesn't drain out on the block....works for me.

When the oil drains down from the filter, doesnt it run on other parts of the engine? Is there a way around this? Maybe not??

Get a cloth baby diaper and stuff it up under the filter, then spin the filter off as fast as you can. You won't spill a drop. :D

like Nuke said, let it sit. Most ot the oil will flow out of the filter.
Then spin it off quickly and you will not spill any.
I also fill the new filter slightly with oil and spin it on quickly.
No mess there either.
By spinning the filter fast centrifugal force keeps the oil in.

Joe... my socket won't fit my mazda oil filters. :( it just pops right off. The grooves on the mazda filters I get are very small and sort of rounded, where the ones on the aftermarkets are big and flat. as for oil spilling, i always just put a pan underneath it and let it drain into that. i think it may hit something down there, but i'm usually under there anyway puttin the drain bolt back in, so i just wipe it down real quick with a rag. :p i never get any oil anywhere else though. I've got more patience than most though when working on my car. I like being under there doing shit, just looking around even though i've seen it all a million times already.

The oil filter sockets come in a couple of sizes. There is usually a label on the top of it to tell you what OEM filters it will fit. Whatever you do, stay away from those metal band filter wrenches, they tend to slip.

well obviously do what works for you.....but the day I got my car I also picked up 5 new OEM filters...and I went across the road while we were waiting on the dealer to do the final preps on the car and went into Wal-mart and with a filter in hand to test fit the socket on, I got one...it fits like a champ...and holds fine.....guess it just depends on the barnd of socket you got I guess.