Hey everyone,
Quick question: I’m planning on changing my oil soon (I’ve never done it before but seems straightforward enough). I’d like to replace the oil filter when I change the oil. I’m wondering if we have a tool to grip the filter canister, the tools I’ve seen are just adjustable bands connected to a handle. I’m not actually sure if I’ll need one though… Thanks in advance!
Just fyi: I drive a 2006 Honda Ridgeline
Evan
There are numerous oil filter removal tools in Automotive - we have a variety of sockets, strap wrenches, and specialized swivel-joint filter wrenches.
Also if you can’t find one that fits you can use a leather belt.
Pliers like these are best in my experience.
I don’t know if the 'Space has some or not.
It is highly recommended to change filters along with the oil, so you’re on the right track there.
Here’s a step by step for this car (except skip the step about “adding oil to the filter”; that’s just a recipe for adding good clean oil to the pavement, in my opinion).
Also, make sure you have enough oil BEFORE you drain all yours out. (i.e. look it up BEFORE you go to buy it so you know how much to buy)
Good luck with it. It’s addictive! 
I was always taught/told only to hand-tighten oil filters when replacing. This may not always ensure you don’t need a filter wrench or tool, but I never do - although on occasion I have needed someone with a bigger hand to help out.
I ordered some a few weeks ago, should be on shelf with other oil filter wrenches or in special pliers drawer in toolbox.
I used them the other week. Worked as advertised despite the sub-optimal positioning of that damn filter.
Absolutely correct. Don’t use anything other than a clean hand to screw it on, and remember to lube the o-ring on the top with a finger dipped in clean oil before putting it on.
They tend to self-tighten, so it may require an oil-filter wrench to get off. I like the ones which take a 3/8" socket wrench drive with an extension.
Conversely, since you don’t care about the old filter go ahead and wrench that thing off - it’s covered in road grime and probably impossible to grip anyway.
All you youngsters with the fancy smanchy tools … the universal remover of my impoverished youth was a screwdriver driven through filter was the old standard tool!
Yes, it made a big mess.
But then when we changed tires using a couple of jack handles to force/get the bead over the rim (of course those old jacks fit onto a bumper strong enough to lift a car on). Forgot how we balanced the tires. Don’t miss the old days - fancy smancy tools are the way to go if available. Lots of pinched fingers.
Current type of filter wrench I use to goes over the end of the filter like a socket because the filter is in such a confined place the handle types won’t fit - I change the filter about half way between each oil change and about 3/4ths of time comes by hand since they have nicely put a rubberized coating around the top to make gripping easier.
You change the filter but not the oil?
A filter wrench is usually not needed. If a filter wrench is needed then whoever changed the oil last put the filter on too tight. Be sure to remove the oil pan plug and not the transmission pan plug. If the liquid is red you got the wrong one. Bring an oil recycling container with you as you’ll need to take the used oil with you, O’Reilly will recycle it for free as will most other automotive parts stores. If you want a hand I’ll be around this evening as will many other folks that are good with cars.
There are “some old guys” that only change the oil filter “every other” oil change.
The “old guy” above is correct in the case where you could get to the oil filter (canister type) with a screwdriver. This method was the quick and mess free way to change the oil and filter on air cooled 911’s. I prefer a giant pair of Channelocks to remove most metal spin on oil filters - but that doesn’t work for many modern cars.
Mblatz is correct in hand tightening - unless it is a filter that you need to use the filter tool to remove and tighten it due to poor design (2016 GM Vans with the aluminum oil pan with the oil filter about the size of a thimble recessed into the pan).
My cars use a cartridge style filter so the above doesn’t apply.
In the automotive( and everywhere else in life) world there are varying “ways” of doing it right…
Ah, ok, that makes sense, and I’ve heard about that.
My vehicles eat a bit of oil, so I tend to add a quart at about 4000 miles. I figure the new lubricants and additives get me to 6-7000 miles. 
I regularly get 10K miles on full synthetic. Comes out semi translucent still.
Yes. I was reading an article about frequency of oil changes. New oils last much longer than the “Change every 3000 miles”. They were specifically talking about synthetics that have 7,500 - 15,000 miles lives (7,500 I’m okay with and some new car service manuals even use 7500). The reasoning was changing the filter causes less restriction of the oil flow and down stream pressure drop since the filter is cleaner.
My car has 230K+ on it, so there is probably more carbon floating around in the oil due to ring wear. I usually change the filter when the oil dipstick get towards the low end of add-oil. By adding oil and the filter at that time it pretty much uses up a quart of oil rather than half or 3/4 of a quart that I have t mess with.
Modern oils aren’t anything like they used to be say - 40+ years ago… From what I’ve read modern motor “oil” doesn’t actually break down but mainly the additives get used up that help suspend things, reduced acidity, and whatever other mischief goes on. I was never a “change the filter every other time” but I figure changing it more often just increases the filtering efficiency. Filters are cheap. The “top line” filter, based on particle size removal is only about $6 for my car. I figure the more abrasives I filter out the better.
Oil gets changes regularly, but I figure changing the filter can’t hurt a high mileage car. But that’s just me.
If I went 10k, synthetic or not, in the truck, it’d be about 2 quarts low.
The Celica used to come out the same honey/straw color as when it went in, but at about 200k miles it started to have a lot more blow-by and now is fairly black by the time 6k rolls around. I use Pennzoil conventional and Fram Toughguard filters every change. No sludge apparent with the valve cover off, and she runs fine.
I do need to clean out the throttle body, especially the idle air control. I’m a bit timid about that, as it requires removing coolant hoses, which then leads to air bubbles getting trapped in the coolant system. On these little Japanese engines, air bubbles don’t just work themselves out in my experience. Gotta get in there and give it a massage, etc. etc.
I hand tighten mine just enough that it won’t leak … I start the car and make sure it’s tight enough that it is not leaking. But for whatever reason, every once in a while one sticks and the wrists that could crush ball bearings when young are slightly less robust, hence I shamefully must resort to a wrench.
no shame at all.
Like anything else - good judgement and common sense in ANY procedure is fine.
Finding a good mix of the above can be a challenge in many folks today - just look at today’s younger auto techs that rely solely on a “scan tool” to find, fix and tell them what to do… if it wasn’t for “plug and play” with parts at many dealerships, they wouldn’t be able to repair much.
Remember the oil filters that you put a roll of toilet in it as a replaceable cartridge? Who made those, Frantz? Toilet paper oil filter?