I noticed my wife's '08 Forester takes a different oil filter than my
'03's. I wonder if they are smaller? I change mine but have not
touched hers or bought one for her car.

I ask today because when I went to change the oil in the '03, the dealer
had put on a smaller filter that I could not remove with the clasping
type wrench I use or even a Sear's rubberized strap wrench. The oil plug
had also been put on by Hercules because it took a pipe extension on the
socket wrench to get it off.

I had pulled the plug, drained the oil and replaced plug with new washer
and when I could not remove filter, added new oil and called dealer's
service manager. He said they only used Subaru parts but I had changed
oil before and my wrench fit any filter they had used before. He was
kind enough to remove his filter and put mine on gratis. That's why I'm
wondering if new '08 filter is smaller.

I was tempted to title this post "Ten miles between oil changes." I
said he could put mine back but service record says they used new oil.

BTW, I really like the looks of the '09 Forester.

Frank

Frank wrote:

> I noticed my wife's '08 Forester takes a different oil filter than my
> '03's. I wonder if they are smaller? I change mine but have not
> touched hers or bought one for her car.
>
> I ask today because when I went to change the oil in the '03, the dealer
> had put on a smaller filter that I could not remove with the clasping
> type wrench I use or even a Sear's rubberized strap wrench. The oil plug
> had also been put on by Hercules because it took a pipe extension on the
> socket wrench to get it off.
>
> I had pulled the plug, drained the oil and replaced plug with new washer
> and when I could not remove filter, added new oil and called dealer's
> service manager. He said they only used Subaru parts but I had changed
> oil before and my wrench fit any filter they had used before. He was
> kind enough to remove his filter and put mine on gratis. That's why I'm
> wondering if new '08 filter is smaller.
>
> I was tempted to title this post "Ten miles between oil changes." I
> said he could put mine back but service record says they used new oil.
>
> BTW, I really like the looks of the '09 Forester.
>
> Frank


Um, what is your question again?

I know Subaru changed vendors once before(a few years ago - filters were
seeping at the crimp), but I don't know if the size/shape changed enough
to cause a cap wrench to no longer work.

maybe email Jamie at www.subarugenuineparts.com and ask her if Subaru
has changed filter suppliers.

Carl


--
to reply, change ( .not) to ( .net)

"Carl 1 Lucky Texan" <alckytxn@swbell.not> wrote in message
news:w%Fzk.663$yr3.405@nlpi068.nbdc.sbc.com...
> Frank wrote:
>
>> I noticed my wife's '08 Forester takes a different oil filter than my
>> '03's. I wonder if they are smaller? I change mine but have not touched
>> hers or bought one for her car.
>>
>> I ask today because when I went to change the oil in the '03, the dealer
>> had put on a smaller filter that I could not remove with the clasping
>> type wrench I use or even a Sear's rubberized strap wrench. The oil plug
>> had also been put on by Hercules because it took a pipe extension on the
>> socket wrench to get it off.
>>
>> I had pulled the plug, drained the oil and replaced plug with new washer
>> and when I could not remove filter, added new oil and called dealer's
>> service manager. He said they only used Subaru parts but I had changed
>> oil before and my wrench fit any filter they had used before. He was
>> kind enough to remove his filter and put mine on gratis. That's why I'm
>> wondering if new '08 filter is smaller.
>>
>> I was tempted to title this post "Ten miles between oil changes." I said
>> he could put mine back but service record says they used new oil.
>>
>> BTW, I really like the looks of the '09 Forester.
>>
>> Frank
>
>
> Um, what is your question again?
>
> I know Subaru changed vendors once before(a few years ago - filters were
> seeping at the crimp), but I don't know if the size/shape changed enough
> to cause a cap wrench to no longer work.
>
> maybe email Jamie at www.subarugenuineparts.com and ask her if Subaru has
> changed filter suppliers.

I have an 2000 Impreza and the dealer no longer stocks
the white Subaru oil filters made by Purolator; instead they
sell the japanese Tokyo Roki which is a significantly smaller
filter.

It used to be that these filters where exclusively for WRX's.
Smaller because the location of the filter in the WRX is
supposedly close to some hot exhaust piping.

Now these filters are to be put on all Imprezas, not only WRX.
That is what my dealer told me. Perhaps these also go on the
Forester.

They seem to be fine filters but cost more (USD 9.50, or 10.50,
cannot recall). I kinda like bigger filters, more oil = better cooling,
so I ordered a few oversized Hastings LF386. Though I haven't
had a chance to install one yet. I'll comment on my experience with
this filter in the future.

M.J.



>
> Carl
>
>
> --
> to reply, change ( .not) to ( .net)

Rick Courtright wrote:
> Frank wrote:
>> I noticed my wife's '08 Forester takes a different oil filter than my
>> '03's. I wonder if they are smaller?
>
> Hi,
>
> Could be...
>
> It also could be, that as I've seen w/ some Toyota and Honda models, the
> original factory recommendations for multiple part numbers eventually
> morph into only one or two. (Probably a function of the bean counters
> more than the engineers!) In the cases I'm familiar w/, the
> "supercession" number reflects the smallest of the lot, so it will fit
> the tightest apps, and by extension, all others.
>
> The last few years, I've been using mostly Wix filters. They have one of
> the better websites when it comes to giving enough technical info to see
> if "Filter B" can substitute for "Filter A", 'specially if you don't
> mind surfing a bit. Try www.wixfilters.com and see if they have an
> answer for you.
>
> Also, though I'm not as good at keeping it up as I should be, I started
> a list of filters from several mfrs for each "new" car that comes to
> live at my house so I can keep track of the substitution and
> supercession numbers. This is helpful in cases like my Toyota pickup
> that came w/ a fairly sizeable filter, but the "current"
> recommendation's for a sorta dinky one. Most aftermarket mfrs update
> their book recommendations to follow factory changes, but continue to
> make the older number. So, if I want the older "bigger" filter, I can
> just ask for its part number, instead of specifying what vehicle it's
> going on and getting the newest one.
>
> Another thing I've found to NOT be a waste of money is to get a proper
> fluted cap wrench from the dealer if I'm using the OEM filters, as it
> seems too often their diameters and flute counts don't match what the
> "fitzall" wrenches work best with (when something gets stuck, it's
> almost a guarantee the local parts shop won't stock the wrench that fits
> the OEM filter), and the engineers seem to delight in placing oil
> filters where only one kind of wrench will work!
>
> Rick

Wrench I was using fits a socket wrench and clamps down on filter when
twisted counter clockwise. It has worked with every car I've owned in
the last 20 or so years. Maybe if I had spent more time, I could have
wrapped the new skinny filter with duct tape to get a grip on but
adjustable rubberized strap wrench would not work.