I usually use my bare hands or a knobby glove and reach through from the
top, but it's way easier from the bottom on my 98GL. Course my hands
aren't that big...

Terrence wrote:
> As the 3rd owner of this 98 Jetta GL, I've now feel as if I have been thru a
> hazing of sorts for having changed the oil myself. The previous owner,
> appears not to have changed the oil in 20,000 miles. Its a wonder that
> nasty things did not happen to Jetta during this time. Anyway, I was very
> very PO'd at the fact that my big hands couldn¹t get a grip on the filter
> and spin it off. Why? All the freaking obstacles in the way like A/C lines
> from the compressor, the front frame components. Ultimately, I purchased a
> filter appliance that fits on the bottom of the filter and you employ a
> 3/8'ths ratchet or break over bar to twist it loose. Even then, it took
> some contortioning to get the ratchet into the filter wrench and make it
> spin to the point where hands could do the rest. Let me guess. VW makes a
> filter wrench for this purpose right?
>
> Terrence
>