2009 Corolla oil filter wrench

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John B. Smith - 29 Mar 2009 01:27 GMT

I just got a 2009 Corolla LE (traded in a 2000 Corolla). Crawled under
car this morning to see what kind of oil filter wrench I need THIS
time. Found the strange-looking filter unit. Went to dealer and
purchased a filter and found you only get the 'guts' now, you no
longer get the tin can. The wrench I used on the 2000 Corolla fits the
new plastic cap that you have to remove (unscrew?), but with a very
slight play. This 'play' might be OK for a metal filter that you're
going to throw away anyway, but I'm wondering if continued usage on
the plastic cap gizmo is going to round off its edges so it will be
hard to remove. Is there a proper tool for getting the new filter unit
apart?

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Ray O - 29 Mar 2009 06:41 GMT

>I just got a 2009 Corolla LE (traded in a 2000 Corolla). Crawled under
> car this morning to see what kind of oil filter wrench I need THIS
[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
> hard to remove. Is there a proper tool for getting the new filter unit
> apart?

Does the owner's manual show a special service tool? Did the dealer parts
or service department have any tips?

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Ray O
(correct punctuation to reply)

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John B. Smith - 29 Mar 2009 18:17 GMT

>Does the owner's manual show a special service tool? Did the dealer parts
>or service department have any tips?

Owners manual doesn't talk about changing oil. But then I don't think
my 2000 manual did either, as I remember. The service dept has been
cooperative about a couple stupid questions so far, so I'll probably
run this one by them before I have to change oil in the fall. I was
hoping to catch a 2009 owner here who changes his own oil.

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Ray O - 29 Mar 2009 18:52 GMT

>>Does the owner's manual show a special service tool? Did the dealer parts
>>or service department have any tips?
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
> run this one by them before I have to change oil in the fall. I was
> hoping to catch a 2009 owner here who changes his own oil.

Sorry I couldn't be of more help. Good luck!

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Ray O
(correct punctuation to reply)

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who - 29 Mar 2009 11:40 GMT

> Found the strange-looking filter unit. Went to dealer and
> purchased a filter and found you only get the 'guts' now, you no
> longer get the tin can.

So you have to wash out the oil container?
Cheaper part, higher labor.

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Jeff Strickland - 29 Mar 2009 19:44 GMT

>> Found the strange-looking filter unit. Went to dealer and
>> purchased a filter and found you only get the 'guts' now, you no
>> longer get the tin can.
>
> So you have to wash out the oil container?
> Cheaper part, higher labor.

Wash out?

Nobody in his right mind would consider teaspoon of oil in the bottom of the
can to be a problem for a period of time it takes to notice thaqt there is
oil in the bottom of the can. There is far more residual oil in the bottom
of the crank case, or caught in the various other nooks and crannies of the
motor.

The cartridge-type of oil filter takes less resources to make, and deposits
fewer materials in the local landfill. The can that the filter lives inside
of can be used forever, so only the paper (filter element) portion of the
filter is actually manufactured and replaced. In just a few hundred cars,
this would not save very much, but on millions of cars all over the world,
the savings is huge. Additionaly, the automaker now gets to design the valve
that keeps oil pressure after the car is parked so that oil is immediately
available to the parts that need it the most on the next start cycle. The
automaker does not have to consider whether aftermarket oil filters have a
check valve built in, or not.

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John B. Smith - 29 Mar 2009 21:29 GMT

No new information on this but I noticed you guys were commenting on
the need for old oil to be wiped out of the housing. The housing sits
horizontal, so when you take the 'cap' off (if indeed that's what I
gotta do) the oil is going to run out.

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Jeff Strickland - 30 Mar 2009 00:26 GMT

> No new information on this but I noticed you guys were commenting on
> the need for old oil to be wiped out of the housing. The housing sits
> horizontal, so when you take the 'cap' off (if indeed that's what I
> gotta do) the oil is going to run out.

I don't know the configuration of your car's oil filter, but I have two BMW,
basically the same motor in both, and my cars use a cartridge-type oil
filter. The cap on the canister is different on both cars, but the canister
is essentially the same. The differences are an improvement to the design --
the new configuration is better than the older one.

In any case, the cap comes off of the can and the cartridge is removed. The
new cartridge comes with a couple of o-rings that seal the bolt, an o-ring
for the cap, and I think I remember a washer/gasket for the drain plug.

Your initial question was about the wrench you need, I think you will want
to use a socket wrench that actually fits the cap properly. As I understand
the configuration of your filter canister, the entire cap has a raised
section of flats that you have to turn to spin the cap off. One of my cars
has this design, the other has a bolt that passes all of the way to the
bottom of the canister. On one, I remove this long bolt then take the lid
off, on the other I unscrew the lid and remove it.

Both are pretty good designs from the perspective of controlling the mess
that comes from taking the filter off. But, in the BMW configuration, the
canister is mounted verticle, so the lid comes off and the element comes
out, and any oil that remains is in the canister, not running down the side
of the block to make a mess on the floor.

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