Re: oil filter removal on 1.8T

[Fluhr <ejfluhr@austin.ibm.com>]

>Boy.......after a lot of work......................the only way I could make 
>any sense in removing the oil filter yesterday was by first removing the 
>Antifreeze/water overflow reservoir and going DOWN from the top of the engine 
>to reach and remove the filter.  I struggled at the attempt of removing the 
>filter from the bottom of the engine with no luck.  Is this the proper way of 
>doing this??  I was unable at first to twist the filter to remove and was 
>unable to get my slip joint pliers in there for assistance.  After the car 
>cooled off a little I was able to hand twist the filter off.  What do you 
>qlisters do when you change your own oil???

Brian,

This is exactly what my father and I had to do on his '97 A4 1.8t, since
the factory had the oil filter on WAY too tight.  If done right, my
father can use one of the metal oil filter "caps" that fit over the
end of the filter along with a ratchet, reaching up from underneath
the engine.

The dealer had it so tight, however, we had to remove the fluid resevoirs
and use a strap wrench on it.  When it came out, the cannister was
buckled by the force I needed to exert on the wrench to remove the
filter.

Moral of the story, make sure the filter is only hand-tightened (hard)
and you should be able to remove it from underneath using the 
ratchet-based wrenches.

Later,
Eric
'85 CGT, '82 urq
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Eric J. Fluhr                                Email:  ejfluhr@austin.ibm.com
High End Processor Design                    Phone:  (512) 838-7589
IBM Server Group                             Austin, TX