Oil filter on 97 Rodeo diesel

[spoons]

Just bought a 97 Rodeo diesel 2.8L. I thought I would do the smart thing and change the oil and filter before I set of for work today (app. 450km trip). All went well until I tried to get the filter past the torsion bar, chassis and diff. It appeared that there was now way to get the filter out short of disconnecting the front shaft to get a little room. This vehicle has no mods apart from a two and a half inch exhaust from the turbo out.

Anyone got any ideas, is there a trick or two or am I just not seeing the obvious. I have put the old filter back on as I am running out of time and the shaft yoke bolts must have been put on by a gorilla.

[Nig]

Just bought a 97 Rodeo diesel 2.8L. I thought I would do the smart thing and change the oil and filter before I set of for work today (app. 450km trip). All went well until I tried to get the filter past the torsion bar, chassis and diff. It appeared that there was now way to get the filter out short of disconnecting the front shaft to get a little room. This vehicle has no mods apart from a two and a half inch exhaust from the turbo out.

Anyone got any ideas, is there a trick or two or am I just not seeing the obvious. I have put the old filter back on as I am running out of time and the shaft yoke bolts must have been put on by a gorilla.

With mine (94 model 4bj1-t) the filter has to come out the top - reach down between the turbo & the firewall once you have stackened it off a bit and spin it off and flip it upside down quickly before it makes to much mess and lift it out. Mine still has a standard exhaust though whick might make it a bit different

[dhc4ever]

Mines the same year as nig's with a 2.5 in exh from the turbo back.
As nig said go from the top, the aircon hoses usually get in the way as well, but they will "move".
The fun part is then cleaning up the oil you just spilled and getting the new one on.

[Baldricks_Mate]

No trick, its just a messy business. I loosen the filter and drain a little. It will spill on the crossmember and leak onto the front diffs pinion. Unscrew and lodge the filter on the torsion upside down & drain the rest. Then play chinese ring puzzles moving it around and it will come out. Pre lube the seal on the new one and play rubiks cubes with it to get it back up there. When done spray liberally with degreaser and hose off the mess while cursing the Japanese designer's ancestors in their mother tounge that you get off the internet here (http://www.freedict.com/onldict/jap.html)

If cursing does not work try shinto meditations on the fact that Isuzu means "50 bells pealing in harmony and celebration."

[Ducky103]

I had a 99 model with a 3inch exhaust and never had any problems fitting new oil filters. i always used a genuine oil filter, i may be wrong but i think the ryco filters are larger than the genuine oil filters.

[spoons]

Thanks to everyone who replied. Just have to try the puzzle thing. Sorry I didnt reply sooner, work away for 11 days at a time.

[Mental MU]

To help with the mess created by the removal of the filter, I use a 2 litre orange juice container, with one of the wide sides cut out half way (more or less) from the base.
The lid needs to stay on otherwise it's useless as it's inverted when you use it. I tried to cut the base to fit up under the filter better so it catches more oil when filter is unscrewed.
I might spill a little bit and it can be tricky to manouvre out between exhaust and torsion bar, but it saves heaps of oil going everywhere.

I just had a look at another forum to find a pic and read that the 2.8's filter is in a slightly different location to the 3.1 4gj2 motor like mine.
Some guys there pull the filter through the wheel well cos MU's have rubber removeable panels for access to motor, I reckon the Rodeo will too as they are the same.

cheers

[mini696]

Also never replace it with an aftermarket filter. Each and everytime a shop has done a filter changed and replaced it with a cheaper generic brand filter it has slowly loosened and leaked. Aparently the threads arent the same.

This is on a R7 LX 2.8TD (98 Rodeo).