Always on the lookout for inexpensive, well-designed tools that can make shop life easier, I’m sold on the $58 Anti Splat Aero EZ Oil Filter Drain Tool. The spin-on oil filter on the Lycoming IO-540 Thunderbolt wasn’t exactly positioned in the best location just forward of the firewall and surrounded by accessories, and it sure makes a mess when you spin it off and all that dirty oil drips down the back of the engine. Obviously when it comes time to leak check it, you never quite know if the oil is a fresh leak or left over from the mess of removing the filter.
But Anti Splat Aero’s smart tool is an effective way of emptying the filter before taking it off the engine. It’s a heat-treated steel/4130 aircraft-grade chromoly cylinder (measures 6.0 by 4.0 by 4.0 inches) with a sharp pointed end for piercing the oil filter, and the other end of the cylinder has a fitting for attaching a shop air hose.
Start by removing the engine’s drain plug and let the oil drain as you normally would. Drive the Anti Splat cylinder into the side of the filter by smacking it with a mallet, leaving it in place. Connect an air compressor hose to the top of the cylinder. You don’t need to worry about the amount of air pressure going into the filter because the cylinder has a built-in restrictor, and excess air will be expelled out of the engine’s breather. (Some have suggested regularly emptying the compressor tank or using an air dryer to eliminate the chance of blowing in moisture.)
Turn on the shop air compressor and let the oil drain out the engine’s drain for roughly five minutes. The company said the forced air injected into the tool helps remove oil from the cooler and engine gallery tubes—which generally remains in the engine during a typical oil change. Once the oil stops draining, remove the tool and cover the hole in the filter to stop any residual oil from dripping out when you unscrew it. Sure enough, not a drop of oil spilled out when the filter came off.
I also used the company’s $25 A.S.A oil filter wrench, which is a six-point wrench tool that won’t strip the filter’s spin-off nut like some sockets will. The tool is altered by 15 degrees, offering a lot of adjustment for slipping it onto the filter. It was easy to get the old filter off and easy to torque the new filter after spinning it on.
The company started by designing a reinforcement for the nosegear on early Van’s RV-A-series kit planes with The Nose Job 1 mod product and moved into rudder pedal extensions, heat shields, gust locks, and lots of other products. It’s refreshing to see smart, well-made tools that make DIY jobs easier. Anti Splat Aero is based in San Bernardino, California, and its wide variety of tools were designed by seasoned aircraft techs.
Wouldn’t this damage the paper pleats in the filter and make it more difficult to inspect for engine debris?
We cut open the removed Champion filter for inspection and the filtering media looked like every other filter we’ve inspected—no damage. Presumably, the built-in restrictor protects the pleats from damage.
My question was regarding physical damage to the pleats from the “sharp, pointy end”. It appears to me that it would definitely contact the pleats. Thanks for the reply, I hope to see more feedback from users.
This looks great. Are there any concerns of over stressing the oil filter mount with the strikes from the mallet?
the tool pierced the filter body pretty easily because it’s sharp—one tap.You don’t pound away on it…
This tool forces oil from the filter back through the oil cooler (hot engine) to the oil pump, and from there down to the suction screen, draining into the sump. Does this not leave the chance that the cooler will develop an airlock or the pump lose its prime?
There should not be any way for oil to flow backward through the pump.
Wouldn’t this method lead to a “dry start?”
Simpler solution, drain the oil cooler.
On most Lyc engines the oil cooler is mounted lower than the oil filter. On my IO-360 it is mounted on the firewall below cyl #3, about 6” lower than the oil filter. Draining the oil cooler provides a direct drain path for the oil in the filter. On my engine, draining the oil cooler for 10 – 15 minutes completely empties the oil filter. When placing a shop towel under the oil filter during removal, I get just a few drops of residual oil as the filter is removed.
Two additional reasons for draining the oil cooler; (1) it contains almost a quart of dirty oil; why leave that in the engine? (2) The oil cooler is fed un-filtered oil directly from the engine oil pump, meaning it can get clogged with small particles over time. The drain on the oil cooler is generally on the inlet side, meaning it will drain out particles too big to get through and plug the oil cooler passageways.
For anyone concerned with dry starts. (Starting the engine with no oil in the filter and in engine) I purchased an Allstar Performance Oil Pressure Primer Tank ALL10535 from Summit Racing, and plumbed it to connect to the drain fitting on the oil cooler. These tanks hold about 10 quarts of oil. After loading the tank with 7 quarts of oil, I connect it to the oil cooler, then using 80PSI of air pressure, use that to refill the entire engine; oil cooler, oil filter and engine passageways with fresh oil. It takes about 5 – 7 minutes to refill the engine. During this time, my JPI 900 shows engine oil pressure readings of about 30 PSI, proving it is fully pre-oiling the entire engine. As soon as the tank is empty of oil, shut off the tank, release air pressure in the tank, and wait about 10 minutes for the engine oil pressure to drop before removing the tank from the oil cooler.
Just ordered, a low pressure setting on my regulator should help me avoid the semi-annual Exxon Valdez oil spill in my engine compartment.
Thanks for the suggestion!
Thanks so much Larry for the detailed review of our EZ Oil Filter Drain Tool, we really appreciate the time you took to show it in use and share your impressions.
To address some of the good questions that came up,
Filter pleat integrity: The restrictor in the tool carefully limits airflow, as noted, inspections of opened filters have shown no pleat damage or displacement.
Stress on the filter mount: The tip is sharp and only requires a light tap to pierce, no pounding necessary.
Priming concerns: There’s no issue with losing prime, every filter has a built-in pressure bypass valve which prevents any air or debris from moving backward toward the pump, that ensures the pressure side stays primed and protected.
Air and oil flow: Any residual pressure vents through the breather, keeping the system safe.
We’re grateful for the thoughtful discussion, our goal is to make maintenance easier, cleaner, and safer, and it’s rewarding to hear that’s coming across.
-The Anti Splat Aero Team
Larry – I also make one, costs about $2.50, if you have any interest call me (559) 816-0433. Ask Paul Dye sometime about my EZ-TOOL line …
David
Is there any risk of creating a shard of metal from the oil filter body as the tool is driven into place? Could this shard then be pushed into the engine along with the rest of the oil?
This is nuts. No way I’m whacking the oil filter adapter with a hammer.
This tool needs some sort of clamping/piercing tool added to it, like a long-handled vice-grip plier or a band clamp to tighten, to avoid striking the filter and applying that shock force to the filter adapter. Even sharp screw-type threaded end to allow it to be twisted down and in, rather than a hammer strike, would put less force on the adapter. If you crack out that adapter, the time and cost to replace it is going to be highly aggravating, not to mention dangerous if you just crack it and don’t realize it until you’ve pumped all your oil out in flight.
Alan has some good stuff – but this is only half the tool it really needs to be. Add a low-force attachment option and you’ll have a winner.
The day before I’m gonna remove my filter, I punch a small hole in the top and then rotate it to the bottom. Then, I punch another small hole in the top and drain the oil into a small pan that fits in the space under the filter. Works for me and the price was right. I know some people might say that you’re possibly putting metal into the filter but — to that, I say — nope. It’s just a small hole.
SOME engines that don’t have room for any way to catch the oil dripping out of the filter might have room for a small funnel with tubing connected to it. Where there’s a will … there’s a way.
As a Rotax engine owner I would not use this tool without express permission rom the manufacturer. Introducing air into the oil system would create the need to do a complete purge as outlined in the Rotax maintenance manual. It will take a lot less time to just clean up the mess than have to run a purge, which will involve removing the valve covers and multiple engine runs to ensure that one of the hydraulic lifters doesn’t pick up an air bubble.
Down boy! Some of you are way over-thinking this! First, just angle / sharpen the pierce tube a bit which makes it easy to tap in. Taps in without much force at all. I guess you could drill a tiny pilot hole which would help but some may be concerned any shaving might somehow make it past all the pleats and into the case, which it can’t but some will worry. Next, there is NO worry about pressurizing anything or forcing oil out of the oil cooler since, there is virtually NO pressure in the crank case. Remember, the oil drain is already open plus, the crack case vent is yet another opening. There is no pressure that makes it past the oil filter, it simply blows what little oil left in the filter after draining, into the crank case and makes its way out the drain plug. The only negative is that the pierce tube does result in a small dimple in the filter shell, and it does pierce the pleats and makes the filter’s inner core a bit harder to remove after you’ve cut the filter for pleat inspection. To overcome this, after removing the filter from the case, simply use the end of an awl or some other clean tool, and gently knurl the dimple back up, allowing the pleated section to fall out. Easy. I love this tool. Give it a chance!