Went to change the oil on my '03 Dakota Sport yesterday. Drained the oil, and while it was dripping I went to loosen the filter.
Removed the plug in the shroud, reached up in to turn the filter, and it won't budge. Sometimes I can exert enough muscle to remove these by hand, sometimes I can't. Comes with being 60 years old I guess.
Went looking for my strap wrench, nowhere to be found. Left the damn thing up at the lake place.
What are my options? Drive a screwdriver through the filter? Done that before, not a good choice.
Scratched my head, put on my McGyver thought cap. Look around. There's my old serpentine belt hanging on the wall. I never throw anything away, now I know why.
Looped the old serp belt around the new filter to size it. Pulled it snug and wrapped tape around it to hold the position. Slipped it off the new filter and onto the old.
Took my biggest vise grips and locked it onto the taped portion, and gave it a CCW twist. Loosened right up.
Victory! File that away for future reference.