Basic Maintenance

[NViejeP]

I'm looking to save some money on my check-ups with the stealership. I am only 16, this is my first car, I've had very little to no car experience. But I would like to start looking into doing some work in order to save money such as oil changes, air filter changes, stuff like that in order to avoid the dealer charging excessive prices for doing simple stuff.

My question is, what other things can I do before I send my car in for maintenance to save me from spending money at the stealership? Such as oil changes, and air filter changes. If anyone has instructions, I'd greatly appreciate it if you link me to them or post them.

As I said, I basically know how to do nothing, so nothing too complicated please.

Thanks. Oh I have a 2000 T4R SR5

 

[Mr.yoshimura]

I don't think you're going to save any money by going to the stealer other then for warranty work!! if you can pump gas you can change the oil and the air filter! get a book and do it yourself or check on line. Their are detail picture instruction on how to maintain your 4r! their is plenty out their you just have to take some time and use the search button!

 

[sharp4runr]

Brake jobs are costly when you take them to dealerships though they are relatively easy. If I were you, I'd pick up a Factory Service Manual or a cheaper route like Haynes or Chiltons manuals. The manuals will detail the steps and you can decide if it is too difficult a job.

Working on your own truck will save you a lot of money that you can spend on more modifications

 

[NViejeP]

Anyone have a tutorial on how to oil change or change the air filter? I tried searching. I have a general idea of the air filter change, but I want to just make sure so I dont screw up anything.

 

[GSGALLANT]

For the oil change, see this link

For general maintenance items for your 4Runner, there is lots of info here. You will find the technical writeups at the last link very useful.

The air filter replacement is one of the easiest thing to do... just open the cover to the airbox (big black square box at the front passenger corner of the engine compartment. Slide the filter out by pulling up on it, install the new filter in the same way as the old filter came out, then close the cover.

Good Luck.

 

[jharris2]

And once you do a couple of simple things, like air filter change or oil/filter change, then you can move into stuff that's a little more complex. It's a great way to boost your confidence, and you'll learn more about the vehicle by doing the work yourself. You'll also probably end up taking better care of it because you'll pay closer attention to how it's running.

 

[NViejeP]

Cool. Got the air filter change down. But I got a question, do I haev to change my oil filter every oil change?

 

[RickyCRX]

Cool. Got the air filter change down. But I got a question, do I haev to change my oil filter every oil change?

Definitely!

 

[Jeff Kleb]

Cool. Got the air filter change down. But I got a question, do I haev to change my oil filter every oil change?

Changine your oil without changing the oil filter is kind of like taking a shower and putting on dirty, sweaty underwear.

Definitely replace the filter whenever you change the oil. After all, isn't it worth it to fork out an extra $3 to $5 in comparison to the life and service of your vehicle?

 

[NViejeP]

cool. Thanks for the info. sorry if I sound stupid but its my first car and all

also what oil is good and what else can I do to save money from basic maintenance?

 

[jlboers]

cool. Thanks for the info. sorry if I sound stupid but its my first car and all

also what oil is good and what else can I do to save money from basic maintenance?

Forget about the stupid question parts
Use the search functions here to find what you are interested in. Ask for more info as needed. it's easy.

As for what is a good oil... that is religious war material there

My personal preferences:
Dino oil (ie. normal non-synthetic oil) --> Castrol. For synthetics --> Mobil 1

On my 06 I will be changing to mobil 1 once I hit 5000 miles.

I see you have a 2000 T4R. If you are out of warranty, you might want to consider synthetics such as amsoil and a bypass filter installation. Check for posts by a member named "Koz" He did one .
people running amsoil are not only putting a better oil in their engine, they are also extending the oil change intervals as well which may allow you to recoup some of the cost of oil changes.

Again... which oil is best... it is a topic that has started many a religious war So read through the cruft and form your own opinion. Just don't underestimate the value of using good oils (dino or synthetic) along with regular changes. It is the best thing you can do for your engine.

 

[jharris2]

cool. Thanks for the info. sorry if I sound stupid but its my first car and all

also what oil is good and what else can I do to save money from basic maintenance?

Actually, since you're trying to learn, the questions aren't stupid. Glad to see you take the initiative!!

 

[NViejeP]

Thanks for the info. I've heard good things about Mobil 1, on eof my friends just recommended it.

I've heard of synthetic and non-synthetic oil.

I bought the car used from a dealer so I'm assuming they used non-synthetic oil. I'm at 68k miles, its still okay to switch to synthetic right or should I stay with non-synthetic?

Thanks

 

[jharris2]

Thanks for the info. I've heard good things about Mobil 1, on eof my friends just recommended it.

I've heard of synthetic and non-synthetic oil.

I bought the car used from a dealer so I'm assuming they used non-synthetic oil. I'm at 68k miles, its still okay to switch to synthetic right or should I stay with non-synthetic?

Thanks

Assuming they used dino oil (what you call non-synthetic) is probably a good assumption. No issues that I'm aware of in changing to synthetic at 68K miles.

You can check out other threads in this forum for more on the dino versus synthetic debate.