Ok, so its that time where i change my oil and I get under my truck to face a pain in the @$$ that I had forgotten about....the ingenious placement of the oil filter and its "access hole". Now it might be because my hands are fat, or that Dodge engineers are just very small/slow, but can anyone really define a good way to get your filter out without, a) spilling oil all over your frame, skid plate, and surrounding parts; b) burning yourself; c) almost having to drop the filter through the hole, since those pesky things on the end of your hand get in the way, oh yea...fingers. ? I was thinking of taking out the air dam piece and figureing out a way to make it easily removable, or making the hole larger, and get a cap from a newer caravan(drivers side fender well, i think it is larger). Any ideas/rectifications would be great. Also, relocation kits would work i guess, but id like to keep the capacity stock...since mobil 1 isnt all that cheap...Thanks!!!

 

Why, yes.

Cut the bottom off a 2-liter plastic soda bottle. Keep the screw-on cap on the bottle (obviously).
Reach up in the hole and loosen the filter a bit.
Put the bottle up the hole bottom first around the filter and finish unscrewing the filter.
You might have to squeeze hard; you're using plastic bottle to unscrew the filter..
Let it drop into the bottle.
No drips in 3 filter changes with this method.

I have also changed the captive push-in plastic retainers that hold the plastic shield (with the oil filter change hole) to more easily removable ones, so now I just take down the plastic shield and have better access to the filter, etc.

Good luck.

 

yea, i was thinkng of some sort of idea for that...good one with the 2 liter bottle. where did you get your fasteners, and what kind did you use? thanks again for the insight...

 

With an original fastener in hand, I went to my local auto parts store and found a different style fastener that fit the original holes.
The kind I got had a center pin which spreads a couple tabs to wedge the fastener in place.
Removing the pin allows the tabs to release their grip on the holes.

 

Gawd! I did that very thing this morning! I changed my oil and filter (with Mobil 1) and ended up with a huge mess all over the frame and garage floor (not to mention my hand).

I gotta say, though... The oversized oil fill hole is killer. No way you can have a sloppy pour with a 4" opening like that. The engineers must have designed the oil fill on a Monday morning when they were fresh, and the filter access cap was an afterthought at 5:30 on a Friday afternoon.

How much extra capacity, typically, would you get with a relocation kit? I would assume the trade-off in the cost of oil could be weighed against the extra cooling capacity that comes with a greater volume. Also, when relocating, where would you put it?

 

Did a filter relocation on my '98 Tacoma, and length of hoses and larger filter added about a 1.5 quarts to overall capacity.


For my Dakota, the first oil change was at 1000 miles, and put a larger oil filter in place of that tiny OEM one.
After a bit of research on oil filter quality, I started using an AC/Delco filter that's the equivalent of the Fram PH-8A.
Now my 4.7L engine takes 6.5 quarts to get to the FULL mark on the dipstick.
After I do a relocation kit on it as well, I expect an oil capacity increase to about 7 quarts.

 

i would say 7 is very conservative...at least a quart gain...who knows till it happens tho...i was thinkin about those fasteners too...ill have to pick some up after i get home from bear hunting...

 

Well, with the '98 Tacoma, the oil filter was relocated to inside the frame rail beneath the driver seat.
3 feet of 1/2" hose to the larger filter (A/C Delco equivalent of Fram PH-8A), then 3 more feet of 1/2" hose back to the engine gave that much increased capacity.
120,000+ miles and going strong.

For the Dakota, I'm going to try to relocate the filter to a place a little closer to the engine. Even though I fill the filter as much as I can with fresh oil before I screw it on, I like to minimize the time it takes the oil pump to displace the air in the hoses at oil change time.

I alway change oil and filter after about 3000 miles, but replace the filter again and top off midway between oil changes.
Keeps the oil clean and the engine happy.
All my vehicles use the same Castrol full synthetic oil and AC/Delco filter.

 

How do you replace the filter between oil changes? Do you clamp off the hoses from the relocation kit? I would think that changing the filter without draining the oil could be very messy...

 

Never clamp an oil hose. You're only inviting hose failure.

Step 1. Remove existing oil filter, using the oil catching method of your choice.
Step 2. Fill new filter with oil and screw it on.
Step 3. Run engine for a minute, then turn it off.
Step 4. On 4.7L, wait about 5 minutes, check oil level and add oil as necessary to reach the FULL level mark on the dipstick.
The 4.7L engine requires a wait time between shutoff and oil level check because of the very slow drain from the oil galleries to the sump.

Removing the filter will not suck all the oil out of the engine.
The only oil lost in the process is what's in the filter and hose lines.
When properly done, and with the right preparations and some forethought, no oil gets on the vehicle or the ground.