First time I saw that nut on the bottom of that filter I was 
wondering if someone was trying to throw me a hint.

Anyway, I had both an adjustable crescent (sorry, Kevin,
this guy doesn't have all the sockets known to man  :-)  ),
and the el cheapo strap-type filter wrench, and decided
I'd try the wrench because that big nut was just so mes-
merizing while I was gazing up at it.

Anyway, those Hanover factory guys must eat a lot of 
bratwurst 'cause it took a loooong time and some in-
novative cheating w/ pseudo cheater bars to get this
sucker to come off.  During this time I'm pretty sure I
went through the vast majority of my *&@%^ vocabulary.
But, alas, it did come off, and I must say that the nut did
not appear at any time to threaten the structural integrity
of the OEM filter.

I currently use a WIX filter and I hand tighten, with no
leakage problems.

Speaking of factory guys w/ a sense of humor, I would also
recommend that all you EV owners/drivers take a look at the
bolts holding your wheels on;  if you've never taken them off,
you best look at them soon, at least BEFORE you get a flat on the
road because ALL of my bolts were put on at the factory bone dry.
This generally translates to being fused to the hub and if you
find this out at the beginning of a long awaited trip, you will
be p-r-e-t-t-y pissed off....  Now, granted, I'm not a big guy,
but it took a Yakima rack crossbar acting as a cheater bar to
break the lock on these bolts  (OK, you can stop laughing now,
Kevin).

Yep, ya gotta love those EVs; an adventure around every corner.

Norman
'93 EV MV
>STEEL IS REAL!!   my sentiments exactly!