What Places Are Notoriously Hard to Reach on Your Car?
We all have to dig into our vehicles to repair, replace or simply retrieve something at some point. Be it addressing a bad exhaust manifold gasket, failed starter, or your cell phone that slid between the seat and the console, some places are notoriously hard to reach. Sometimes it feels like this was created by design, especially when you need to get something done quickly.
This week’s question should generate many unique stories and relatable tales of painfully difficult things to reach in your vehicle. There are just some places that are so much harder than others, especially on some vehicles. For me, it’s the ritual of doing an oil change on my Lincoln Mark VIII, because I truly hate the filter location.
See the Mobil 1 oil filter nestled deep within the engine cradle, further obscured by the anti-roll bar underneath? Granted, I’ve made this job harder for myself, as said bar is a much larger piece from Addco. While access to spin the oil filter off from the block is straightforward, the oil pours down the engine cradle (all around the pictured metal/rubber hose) and collects at the divot in the cradle’s sheetmetal. It’s a mess, especially since there’s another divot which requires careful placement of your oil pan to ensure it catches used oil from both locations.
It’s a hot mess (literally), but I haven’t even discussed the real chore: getting the oil filter between the engine and that Addco bar. The trick is to stick your pointer finger in the oil filter, clamp down with said finger, and pull down hard so it slides past the bar.
I’ve owned this car for over two decades and can change the oil without frustration, but this filter is still “notoriously hard” to reach. So now I shall kick the question back to you:
What places are notoriously hard to reach on your car?
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’81 Plymouth Champ.the oil filter was behind a panel behind the grill. Hard to reach and horizontal for extra mess.
’85 S-10 4wd. The filter was only reachable above the upper control arm. Horizontally mounted so the oil spilled over the gear case below.
Just for reference ’13 Dodge caravan. Cartridge filter under the hood. Easy, not a drop spilled.
Didn’t cars in the fifties have that !!!!?
My daily driver is a 2023 BMW X5 with the turbo inline 6. Cartridge filter right at the top of the engine. Easy and no mess. Probably the only thing easy to access on it. Just make sure that you put the replacement O-ring on the right groove, otherwise you get a real mess once you start the car.
Ask me how I know.
Cleaning the inside of the rear window on my 1965 Mustang Fastback. Very steep angle and a roll cage.
2022 Porsche cayman oil filter. It is a nasty challenge
Starting at age 15, & now over 84, I’m still doing my own maintenance & repairs, & only because I still enjoy doing it. With that being said, there are plenty I remember over the years, cussing out engineers, that should have been made to fully work on all their doings. Maybe, just maybe, things would be much better???
As for over the years & today too, my biggest hard to reach are still spark plugs & oil filters. Sure there are others, but not as often. Get those so called engineers under the hood & on the ground for a month & see how they like it.
A Big Thank You to Hagerty for Asking.
Mine was a 93 Vette OptiSpark replacement without removing the radiator and fans. Blind access to bolts, greasy hands, impossible back position, and skinned knuckles were a given. Worst part, I had to do it 3 times due to bad parts from a discount auto parts store. Hard to stand straight for several days.
What about the 10mm socket? Doesn’t matter where it lands, it’s impossible to reach. Unless you get lucky and it makes it all the way to the floor!
2010 jeep Wrangler egr valve located on back of engine very close to firewall… access through the right front fender well..barely
84 Camaro Berlinetta with the 2.8L V6 – carb. Hardest sparkplugs to get at…. blocked by…. everything on the drivers side.
Porsche 356B: In the engine bay the two front spark plugs are hidden behind the intake manifolds. They are literally out of sight and are changed using the braille method. Have dropped more than one plug into the engine tin and am now totally paranoid about installing a new plug without cross threading. In the interior, the the fuel lever is hidden under the the right side dash in the passenger’s foot well. The lever is for on-off-reserve, moving from on to reserve while driving is dangerous. I have actually turned the gas supply off trying to do this and this is dangerous and requires a rather quick do over. More sticking your hand under the passenger side dash and further groping while trying to watch the road and other traffic.. The markings are in German, even for the made for USA cars so its still a bit confusing even if the car is not moving. i.e Auf is On
The fuel injectors on my 82 Fiat 2000 Spider
Where the rear deck panel and the sharply raked back window meet on my S197 Mustang. Trying to clean that area is difficult.
I’ll add the rear glass on my 2012 CTS-V Coupe.
1993 Saab 900 – The belts infamously are between the engine and the firewall thanks to the ‘backwards’ design. Busted knuckles and lost sockets are a guarantee. At least the clutch assembly is right up front!
I own a classic 1972 BMC Mini. Now then, anyone who knows anything about these ‘beaut little cars knows that, unless you are changing the spark plugs, everything else progresses to being a nightmare. One of the worst is to have the lower radiator hose develop a leak. The hose clamp which is on the hose to radiator end is near on impossible to get to. Considering that when done at the assembly line, the engine with the radiator attached to the lower mount is hanging in the air and of course, the guy installing the hose and clamp did not think down the track, and position the tightening screw facing up. There are others, but this one really had me going.
Last 2 spark plugs on my V-12 Jag
The flywheel positioning sensor on my 1995 six cylinder Jeep Grand Cherokee. Had my 10 year old daughter reach up underneath the car through the engine to get the socket on. Her mom never knew.