I do the same thing that you do, MG Pilot, tighten snuggly by hand (been doing it for years, too) and that's about it. :4: :17:

 

I use Honda's filter wrench to tighten the filter with about as much torque as the oil drain plug.

 

I use Honda's filter wrench to tighten the filter with about as much torque as the oil drain plug.

Book says 3/4 turn after the seal seats.

 

But why is the filter from the factory on so tight? I think my torque method is about 3/4 - 1 turn beyond seal seat.

 

The manual says to torque the oil filter to 16 ft lbs. The oil plug should be torqued to 29 ft lbs.

 

But why is the filter from the factory on so tight? I think my torque method is about 3/4 - 1 turn beyond seal seat.

Because the thin coat of oil on the rubber seal has been displaced by the pressure and the rubber to metal contact has addded quite a bit of friction that must be overcome.

Pilot manual says 7/8 of a turn or 22Ft-Lb.

I had out the CR-V manual before.

 

The Honda filter 15400-PLM-A01 says to tighten 3/4 of a turn after contact.

 

For all practical purposes, you can't overtighten an oil filter by hand. You certainly can overtighten if using a wrench. I've seen metal to metal contact damage to the sealing surface by over-zealous tightening, and filters that have had to be drilled all the way through and a breaker bar inserted to remove them. Hand tighten only, following the owner's manual instruction and you won't get into trouble later.

 

I tighten my lug nuts the same way, although I probably should really use a torque wrench...

...but after 20 years of tightening "by feel" with no problems, I doubt I'll change my ways!!!

YMMV

 

Oil filters: always tighten by hand.

Lug nuts, I also used to tighten by hand. But a long time ago on the old CompuServe forums, I learned that improper lug nut tightening could lead to warped rotors. So I began torquing the lug nuts.

I don't know if that's really true or not, but it sounded convincing to me and I began to use a torque wrench on the lug nuts.

 

Isn't it pretty hard to get 7/8 turn past seal seat by just hand tightening? My Honda filter says to torque 2.0 -2.4 kgm with tool.

 

Isn't it pretty hard to get 7/8 turn past seal seat by just hand tightening? My Honda filter says to torque 2.0 -2.4 kgm with tool.

It all depends on your strength.

The issue is it is easy for some people to over tighten, especially if they don't understand that all they wants to do is slightly compress the gasket.

The amount of turn past seating of the gasket is actually a better way than the torque method.

 

It all depends on your strength.

That's a good point. I guess the general reason to hand tighten is to prevent OVERtightening if a wrench or tool is used.

 

You have to love the strengh of a true Piloteer's enthusiasm! Where else would you find 13 posts about tightening the oil filter, drain plug, and lug nuts?:roadtrip:

 

Is there a Honda mechanic on this list that can help us out here with the question of hand tightening vs. tool tightening???

 

Is there a Honda mechanic on this list that can help us out here with the question of hand tightening vs. tool tightening???

This is not an issue particular to Honda. (I am not a PROFESSIONAL auto mechanic)
I have the Pilot service manual in front of me.

With any threaded fastener, it is best if you understand the goal to understand how it is best tightened.

The two most common methods are torque and Degrees of turn past contact.

Torque is typically used when the fastener system has little compression.
In this mode a specific amount of torque applied combined with the pitch and diameter of the threads will apply a reproducible amount of clamping force at the matting surface (This is the real goal).

Degrees of rotation is typically used when the fastening system is expected to compress significantly (such as a gasket).
In this mode a specific amount of rotation combined with a specific thread pitch will compress the system as known and reproducible amount (This is the goal).

So in an oil filter mount, you go not particularly care about the clamming force between the filter and the mount. You do want to compress the rubber gasket a specific amount.

I hope this helps.

As an aside, it is getting very common for even head gaskets to be "torqued" by using the degrees of rotation method, as it has been shown to be more reproducible and accurate.