HORUSDY Oil Filter Wrench Honest Review: Fit, Grip and Limits

I have been doing my own oil changes for over thirty years, and I have owned exactly two kinds of oil filter wrenches: the kind that slip off the filter and the kind that crush it. The HORUSDY 5-piece swivel set has been in my garage for about six months now, and after using it on my 2014 F-150 and my daughter's 2008 Honda Accord, I can tell you it is a different animal. It is not perfect, and there are filters it will not grab. But it has become the first thing I reach for when a filter is stuck, and that is more than I can say for anything else in my toolbox.

Before I go any further, let me be clear about what this set is. It is five pieces: four swivel oil filter wrenches in different sizes and one 12-inch adjustable oil filter pliers. The wrenches cover filters from 2-3/4 inches up to 5-1/4 inches, and the pliers handle the same general range. Everything is stainless steel with a powder-coated finish, and the whole thing weighs about five pounds. If that sounds like a lot of metal, it is. That weight is part of why it works.

How I've Used It

I have used this set on two vehicles, which is about as fair a test as I can give it in my own garage. The F-150 has a filter that sits low and easy to reach, but it is always on there tight. The Accord has a filter that is tucked up under the exhaust, which means I am usually working blind with one hand. Both are the kind of job where a cheap wrench makes you cuss and a good one makes you forget it was ever hard.

I have done three oil changes on the truck and two on the Accord since the set arrived. I have also used the pliers on a filter that a previous owner had over-tightened to the point of stupidity. That is the job that sold me on the set, and it is also the job that taught me its limits.

One thing I want to be straight about: this is not a tool that will make every filter come off with one hand. If a filter is rusted or cross-threaded, nothing short of a chisel and a hammer is going to save it. But for the normal range of stuck, the wrenches and the pliers get the job done without rounding off the filter.

My garage is a two-car detached with a concrete floor, one rolling tool chest, and a pegboard wall. I work on jack stands and ramps, not a lift. That means every tool I own has to earn its spot, because I am the one carrying it from the chest to the truck.

What's in the Box, According to the Specs

The set is called a 5-piece standard swivel oil filter wrench, and the specs list four wrenches plus the pliers. The four wrenches are sized to cover filters from 2-3/4 inches to 5-1/4 inches. That range covers most passenger cars and light trucks I have ever worked on, including the F-150 and the Accord. The wrenches have a flex head, which means the head tilts so you can reach a filter that is not perfectly straight-on.

The mini size starts at 2-3/4 inches and runs to 3-1/4. The small size goes from 3-1/2 to 3-3/4. The medium starts at 4 inches and runs to 4-1/2. The largest wrench in the set picks up from there and goes to 5-1/4. Between the four of them, you have most of the range you will ever need on a car or light truck.

The pliers are the piece that surprised me. They are 12 inches long, which gives you the leverage to break a filter loose without putting your knuckles in harm's way. The jaws are adjustable and the grip is soft and non-slip. The specs list the jaw capacity at 13.3 centimeters, which is right at 5-1/4 inches, so the pliers can open wide enough to wrap around the same filters as the wrenches.

The specs also list the measurement standard as both Metric and SAE. That matters more than you might think, because it means the wrenches are not sized for one system only. The size numbers on the wrenches are stamped in inches, and the jaw capacity is listed in centimeters as well. For a home mechanic who works on both domestic and imported vehicles, that dual standard is a small thing that adds up.

The whole set is stainless steel with a powder-coated finish, and it weighs about five pounds. That weight is worth mentioning because it is not a flimsy stamped-metal tool. It feels like it was made to be used on a concrete garage floor, not hung on a pegboard and admired. My garage has a concrete floor, a rolling tool chest, and a pegboard wall, and this set fits right in with the tools that earn their space.

The Swivel Head: Helpful and Occasionally in the Way

The swivel head is the feature that makes this set different from the old one-piece wrenches. On the F-150, the filter is easy to reach, so the swivel does not matter much. On the Accord, the filter is tucked up beside the exhaust, and the swivel lets me get the wrench on the filter at an angle instead of fighting for a straight shot.

Here is the honest part: the swivel also means the wrench can fold on you. If you push hard and the head tilts, you lose the bite and you have to reset it. It is not a flaw in the tool, but it is something nobody tells you. You learn to hold the head in place with your other hand when you first break the filter loose. Once it is loose, the swivel is a gift.

The flex head also means the wrench is a little thicker than a fixed wrench, so on a filter with very little clearance, it can be a tight squeeze. I have not hit a filter yet that it would not fit on, but I can see it happening on a modern car with a plastic undertray and a filter shoved up against the block. If you work on newer cars with tight engine bays, you will want to check the clearance before you commit.

On the Accord, the filter is up behind the exhaust manifold, and there is maybe four inches of clearance. A straight wrench will not fit. The flex head lets me angle the wrench onto the filter and then straighten it out as I turn. That is the difference between a twenty-minute oil change and a forty-five-minute fight.

The 12-Inch Pliers: The Part I Was Wrong About

I will admit I bought this set for the wrenches and expected the pliers to be a gimmick. I was wrong. The pliers have turned out to be the piece I reach for most when a filter is really stuck. The 12-inch handles give you the leverage to break a filter loose without putting your weight on it, and the adjustable jaws wrap around the filter without crushing it.

The soft, non-slip grip matters more than I expected. When you are under a truck with oil dripping down your arm, the last thing you want is a steel handle sliding in your hand. The grip keeps your hand where it needs to be, and the length keeps your knuckles away from the exhaust manifold. On the Accord, the filter sits close to the exhaust, and the extra reach is the difference between a clean job and a burned arm.

The limit is the same as any pliers: you are squeezing, not turning. The pliers will break a filter loose, but once it is loose, you still need the wrench or your hand to spin it off. On the Accord, I use the pliers to break it loose and then switch to the swivel wrench to finish. On the truck, the pliers usually get it off by themselves.

The filter that sold me was on a car I was helping a neighbor with. Someone had put it on with a wrench and a prayer, and it was not coming off with a strap wrench. I opened the pliers wide, got them around the filter, and put my weight on the handles. It came loose with a pop that I felt in my shoulders. The filter was dented, but it came off, and the housing threads were fine.

Where It Falls Short: Filters It Won't Grab

Now the part that should matter to you before you order. The set covers filters from 2-3/4 to 5-1/4 inches, but that range is not a promise that every filter in that range will fit. The wrenches are sized in steps, and a filter that falls between two sizes can be a problem. I ran into this on a neighbor's tractor filter that was right at the edge of the small and medium wrenches. Neither one grabbed it cleanly, and the pliers were the better answer.

The other limit is the filter itself. A spin-on filter with a smooth, round can is what these tools are built for. If you have a filter with a textured surface or a filter that is already crushed, the wrench will not get a good bite. The pliers can sometimes grab a damaged filter, but they have their limits. If the filter is truly stuck, you are going to end up driving a screwdriver through it, and no wrench set is going to change that.

One more thing: the wrenches are mechanical tools, so there is no auto anything. You are the motor. If you are expecting a tool that does the work for you, this is not it. It just makes the work easier, and that is all I am going to claim for it.

The pliers are also big for small filters. On a tiny filter, like the kind you see on some lawn mowers and small engines, the jaws are more than you need, and you are better off with a dedicated small wrench. This set is built for cars and light trucks, not small engines.

What Nobody Tells You About These Sets

Here is what the listing photos do not show you. The first time you use the pliers, you will probably squeeze too hard and feel like you are going to bend the filter. You are not. The jaws are designed to grip without crushing, and a little confidence goes a long way.

The second thing is that the swivel wrenches have a learning curve. The first time the head folded on me, I thought I had broken it. I had not. You just have to hold the head steady when you break the filter loose, and after that it works the way it should.

The third thing is that you do not need to use all five pieces on every job. Most of the time, I use the pliers and one wrench. The other three wrenches live in the tray until a different size filter shows up. That is fine. The set is there so you have the right tool when you need it, not so you can look busy.

After six months and five oil changes, the powder-coated finish still looks good, and the swivel heads have not loosened up. The only wear I can find is a few scratches on the jaws of the pliers, which is exactly where you would expect wear. I have no reason to think this set will not last as long as I do.

The five pieces do not come in a hard case. They come in a plastic tray that is fine for a shelf but not great for a toolbox drawer. I keep mine on the pegboard wall, where I can see all five pieces at a glance. If you are the kind of person who loses tools, you will want a place for this set before you open it.

The pliers are the piece I was ready to call a gimmick, and they turned out to be the one I reach for most.

Who This Is For

If you do your own oil changes on a couple of vehicles and you are tired of buying a new wrench every time a filter is stuck, this set is for you. It covers the sizes you are most likely to see on cars and light trucks, and the pliers give you a second way to attack a stuck filter. It is also for anyone who has a filter tucked up where a straight wrench will not reach.

Who Should Skip It

If you only ever change the oil on one vehicle and you already know the filter size, a single fixed wrench will do the job for less money. If you work on heavy-duty trucks with filters bigger than 5-1/4 inches, this set will not fit them. And if you are hoping for a tool that will make a rusted, cross-threaded filter come off without a fight, no wrench set is going to save you.