oh...my....gawd...whoever designed the oil filter system on the 3.5 Shortstar needs flogged...a simple screw on filter wouldve been too easy i suppose...first off i was told i would need a 74mm wrench that fit 15 fluted oil filters....so i bought one that fit 74-76mm/14 and 15 flutes...more on that later..on to the pics!


yeah a new one of those in Wix packaging is a lofty 8 dollars...thats the old one there.

this is what i pulled from the belly of the beast....the wrench is in the picture because its actually stuck on there to some degree...it didnt fit right and i had to pound it on there to get it to hold...but i made it work, and im returning it today in slightly used condition...but as you can see the freakishly expensive oil filter fits inside a little housing.

inside of the housing

i hope this is far superior to the old way or something, because it was a pain in my buttocks.

The more they over take the plumbing the easier it is to stop up the drain

I had the exact same filter design on my 04 Cavalier (before I sold it).

I actually liked the design. It was very eash to get to and deal with on the Ecotec.

If I remember right, the socket size that I had to use on the cap was a 13/16", but don't quote me on that. There definitely wasn't a special tool needed to do the job. :?

the whole silver piece is the tool..not just the bottom of it, when its screwed in the only thing you can see is the bottom of it, its somewhat star shaped..and its shaped somewhat like the bottom of an oil filter, and you have to get one of those filter wrenches to get it loose.

OK...that'* not like mine was! Mine was similar to a coffee can style. All that was unscrewed was the cap, then the filter was sitting there...staring you in the eye!

Nevermind my meaningless input....

perhaps you should have it changed next time?

blasphemy!!! i refuse to have someone perform something on the car that i can do myself, after further investigation i think the tool fits fine, it was just human error...so im keeping the tool, but for basic maintenance as long as im able to no one will work on my car but me...now if something big goes down, ill be running to the nearest mechanic.

Ya, I agree.

My philosophy is that if someone with no education can do it, then I (with 2 degrees) can certainly figure out how to do it.

And let some other man touch and fondle her?!
Shame on you for suggesting such a thing when it comes to such a basic task

i let walmart do it on the tempo, even though they screw it up every time <no offense damemorder>