Thanks for the tips guys...i'm going to try the screwdriver trick tomorrow. If it doesn't come off I swear i'm going to drive it straight through the dealers showroom window.

 

I always just use some elbow grease...and a few profanities

 

I have a set of the cheapo strap wrenches. The straps are rubber and the handles are plastic. They are usually around $10-$15. I had to use on on my first oil change. I barely had enough room to get my arm up towards the right front of the filter and loosen it. It was real tight. I've used those strap wrenches on sink drains, oil filters, lids and other stuff.

 

One other thought. There are also oil filter wrenches made that you can use with a 3/8 ratchet extension. It's a metal strap wrench that tightens when you twist the ratchet. Those also work great.

 

I've had to employ the old screwdriver trick only once, on a friends old beater, but it worked. On both my previous Dak, and my current Ram I encountered the same thing - dang oil filter on stupid tight! For the Ram I used of on the oil filter sockets - it's kinda shallow and fits over the end of the oil filter. I then used a 3/4 inch breaker bar to apply torque (and it took allot) but it finaly broke loose. Afterward I called the local dealership svc. dept, they said they don't know why, but most seem to have that "issue".

If for some reason Dodge thinks it's appropriate to do this, perhaps they should ship 'em with K&N style filters with a 1" nut on the end [sm=smiley24.gif]

 

i always use oil filter PLIERS, and they have always worked great, you should be able to get a cheap pair from wal mart for about 10 bucks, sometimes the sides get crushed a little bit but oh well, the big socket things always slip on me

 

those oil filter pliers are awesome... but yeah, I've worked for a bunch of places, and I've done many an oil change... just make sure you lube that gasket on the new filter, or next time it won't wanna come off either...

 

Condolences.... Here's my "first oil change" fiasco...

https://dodgeforum.com/fb.asp?m=1007321

In short, I was dreading the stake-through-the heart solution with the long screwdriver,so I opted to forage the local area for one of those socket-wrench-type filter wrenches.Found it atPep Boys. Worked well with a u-joint and extensioninstalled. Still needed a LOTof muscle, though. Seemed to help to vocalize while applying torque - not a quick karate chop bark, though. I triedan arm-wrestling growl that over a few seconds grows to an all-out, earth-rumbling testosterone-energized yell that continues uninterrupted until victory is achieved, at which point an expletive is barked. I used the f-word. Or you could be smart and do what SLCHemi did with his oil filter socket - use a breaker bar.

Here's a picture of the oil filter tool with u-joint and extension.

Did my second oil change last week, went without much of a hitch. Took about 35 minutes. A bit slow, I'm hoping to get it down to15 minutes including setup and cleanup. Lesson learned from oil change #2 is to make sure your forehead isupwind of theoil pan drain if it's a windy day.

[IMG]local://upfiles/71153/38C3C2D649D14A41BC59A29C82F2A933.jpg[/IMG]

 

I can get good leverage by sitting in front of the filter. There's room to sit up comfortably between the front crossmember and bumper. I use the same tool as bean, works great.

 

i've also heard that putting a chesp lesther belt on it will work also. grips pretty good and if you get the right angle you can torque on it pretty hard.

If it doesn't come off I swear i'm going to drive it straight through the dealers showroom window.
if you poke a hole through it i wouldn't recommend driving it anywhere till ya get a new one on.