oil filter location?
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Evolving Member
Joined: Jun 2005
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From: california
oil filter location?
i know this is a dumb question...but where are the oil filters on our cars????? i'm changing the oil in a few days..last time i didn't change the filter so i have to this time. but never bothered looking where it was at....and honestly dont know where to start lol
You'll need a smaller filter wrench (the strap kind). Mitsu is so ingenious, they had to put in so close to the oil pan and near some plastic to make it so hard sometimes...
^seriously, that damn plastic makes it so hard to reach, and taking off the oem filter was a *****, now that I use K&N filters, its a lot easier, but that damn plastic **** has got to go.....lol
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Originally Posted by scorp64
By the way, for those who haven't figured it out already, the plastic piece that sits under the oil filter is removeable to allow unrestricted access to the filter. 
Evolving Member
Joined: Jan 2003
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From: Hampton Roads, VA
Originally Posted by ThunderOZRacer
really...how?
I didn't notice that until my fourth, yes fourth, oil change.
I didn't either. You know how many times I just let oil drip onto that plastic thing until I realized it comes off so easily 
btw I replaced that crappy plastic clip with a taperd plastic screw (wall anchor), and now it's even easier to remove.
btw I don't think this is that bad of a question. My fiancee and I spent an hour trying to find the filter on her Cavalier. The oil pan is a large thing, and these small cars pack so much in a small area, it's sometimes hard to find things. On the Lancer, unless you're laying right under it, it's kinda hidden behind the oil pan and the plastic thing.
I have a metal filter wrench from Pep Boys. It's spring loaded, fits onto a ratchet wrench, and works great in the tight space we have.
btw I replaced that crappy plastic clip with a taperd plastic screw (wall anchor), and now it's even easier to remove. btw I don't think this is that bad of a question. My fiancee and I spent an hour trying to find the filter on her Cavalier. The oil pan is a large thing, and these small cars pack so much in a small area, it's sometimes hard to find things. On the Lancer, unless you're laying right under it, it's kinda hidden behind the oil pan and the plastic thing.
I have a metal filter wrench from Pep Boys. It's spring loaded, fits onto a ratchet wrench, and works great in the tight space we have.
Originally Posted by scorp64
It has one of those plastic fasteners with the center plunger piece. Push the plunger in gently (too far and it will pop all the way through) and then the fastener will pull back out of the hole. After that the piece just pulls off.
I didn't notice that until my fourth, yes fourth, oil change.
I didn't notice that until my fourth, yes fourth, oil change.
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Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 148
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From: Bartlett, IL
Good rule of thumb, if it takes you TOO much effort to turn the filter off by hand and you need a wrench, it is too tight. It is possible to crush the oil seal and have an oil leak from the filter.
Second, the oil filter is actually in a good place. If you don't have the luxury of using a lift at your shop like I do, you can jack the front of the car off the hook in the front and access shouldn't be a problem for you.
Second, the oil filter is actually in a good place. If you don't have the luxury of using a lift at your shop like I do, you can jack the front of the car off the hook in the front and access shouldn't be a problem for you.
WHen I did my first oil change on my car... I had to take the oil filter out with chanel locks... for the dear life of that thing.. it wouldn't come out... now I use the fram filters, 7317 fram filter with easy grip, you don't need tools to remove it after 