15K maintenance questions

[Brewster]

I dropped off my 4R at the dealer last week (for 15K service) on the way to the airport. I picked it up yesterday. This afternoon I crawled under it to check for evidence that the right things got done. I had asked for a fluid change in both diffs and the transfer case, along with lubing and retorquing the propeller shaft. It was obvious that the rear diff had been worked on, but I could see no evidence that the transfer case fluid had been changed. Also, some of the zerks had a little dust on them. Shouldn't all zerks be greased? Wouldn't you expect to see a little grease residue afterward?

It looks like the front driveshaft might possibly have been done, but I could see no evidence on the rear one. (BTW, isn't it the rear one that's called the propeller shaft?) What should I expect to see, even if the mechanic has been exceptionally clean?

How can I tell whether the front diff was done? Do I have to remove skid plates?

Also, the outside of the oil filter looked slighty dirty, after only 30 miles or so in dry weather. The engine oil on the dipstick looked brand new. Do you think it would look totally new if they didn't change the filter?

 

[bulldog-yota]

The front skids need to come off for the front diff, look at the bolts of the front skids. You should see they have been removed. Also the zirks should not have dust but grease on them or be completely clean. The transfer case will be difficult to spot if somebody worked on it, but you should still get a slight oil residue bythe drainplug. Your oil filter might have been dirty hands or just shelf dust?? I normally check what they look like before I take them in.

 

[<<<<]

15,000mile/18month service includes:
1) Engine Oil and filter change
2) Rotate tires
3) Lubricate propeller shaft
4) Retorque propeller shaft
5) Inspect breaks
according to toyota service manual, therefore unless you requested any other work done it's not done. If your receipt says that they changed diff fluid they probubly did. I don't see why would they cheat on 10 minutes of service.

 

[Kanab]

Your oil would not look clean if they did not change the filter. Now mark your filter for the next change (take a screw driver and put a mark on it) About all of the other stuff, your kind of screwed because you can't prove one way or the other if it was done. Dealers aren't normally going to not perform the service that is requested. Some times the tech might miss some zerts but I ask for mine to be done every 4K mile oil/filter change so I figure the all get hit every 8K miles. The only way you can be sure work is being done is either do it yourself or take it to a garage where you can stand and watch the work. Good luck.

PS. you can go forever without having the propeller shaft retorqued and it gets lubricated on a normal Oil/Filter service at my dealership.

 

[Brewster]

Thanks for your responses.

The first time I used this dealer, I did mark the filter and the wheels. The filter was changed and the tires were properly rotated.

The second time, they didn't rotate the tires, but at least told me that they didn't do it.

This time, I was in a hurry and didn't mark or check things in advance. I took it back in today and asked one of the lead mechanics to check whether anything had been left undone. He said that it looked to him like the rear driveshaft had not been lubed. He then lubed both the front and rear driveshafts.

I didn't mark the tires to see if the rotation was properly done. They did a rebalance I had not asked for. Also, the good news is that they actually checked tire pressures, which few dealers do. The bad news is that they set the pressures at 30 instead of 32, and also scratched my wheels.

BTW, he claimed that his shop didn't recommend retorqueing the driveshaft on 4G 4Runners, claiming that the nuts are set with Locktite. I guess I'm going to have to buy a shop manual after all.