First Oil Change

[HushJeep]

I own a 2021 JLUR 4xe. It was time for the first scheduled maintenance so I did the oil change yesterday...

I've done numerous oil changes on different vehicles including my previous JKU without a problem.

Well, the factory certainly put on the Mopar oil filter tight! Far too tight to unscrew by hand. I went out and bought an oil filter wrench/socket (fits on flats on end). Didn't work. So, I went out again and bought an adjustable oil filter wrench.

After a lot of grunting and almost giving up, I finally got the oil filter off. All but destroyed the filter and it was very messy with oil leaking during the process. I won't have that problem again but what a PITA!

Anyone else encounter this?

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[19 JLUR Bright Whit3]

I dont think youre alone. I read of another member having an issue too. I was a bit confused since I have the 3.6L, but learned your filter is located in the conventional spot under the motor. The other thread described different removal tools that he had tried. I'm sure its just a one time inconvenience for you'll 4XE owners as now you'll know the filter is just hand tight.

 

[JSFoster75]

My dad used to drive a large screwdriver through the Oil Filter and use that to twist them off.

 

[Heimkehr]

...the factory certainly put on the Mopar oil filter tight! Far too tight to unscrew by hand. I went out and bought an oil filter wrench/socket (fits on flats on end). Didn't work. So, I went out again and bought an adjustable oil filter wrench.

After a lot of grunting and almost giving up, I finally got the oil filter off. All but destroyed the filter and it was very messy with oil leaking during the process. I won't have that problem again but what a PITA!

Anyone else encounter this?

An oil filter than can be removed by hand wasn't originally installed correctly, IMO. An oil filter wrench should be required to break the seal. That's why they're usually displayed immediately adjacent to a shop's engine oil inventory.

That said, oil filters can also be excessively torqued to an unsafe degree, as you discovered. The labor required to remove the filter on your 4xe shouldn't have been necessary.

I've changed my own fluids for 30+ years now. The only time I had to contend with a too-tight factory filter was on a Kawasaki motorcycle engine, of all things. Having recently purchased the bike, I didn't yet have a filter wrench for it. Poking a screwdriver through the body would have deformed the metal as easily as crushing a soda can. Thank Heaven for the strap wrench I had on hand; its force multiplication allowed me to remove the stubborn filter in one, non-perforated piece.

 

[Jim1964]

I use a strap wrench on stubborn filters. About a 2” wide heavy strap on a 1/2” drive. Put a breaker bar on that and it WILL turn the filter.

 

[HushJeep]

Space is limited under my engine as well.

Related question, is there a clean way to take off conventional metal oil filters without oil dripping/pouring? I took the filter off last after draining the pan. I've found the cartridge filters were cleaner in that regard.

 

[Garry in AZ]

The factory installed oil filters are always a bear to get off. They are screwed on too tight, without oil on the gasket, and the gasket sticks badly. Almost every factory installed oil filter I have ever removed required an abnormal amount of force to get it loose. When properly installed with a lubed gasket and not over tightened, they will come off quite easily with a filter wrench.

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