1engineer
Moderator
10K just like the guys who designed it tell me. Who told you 4K?
Oil Change 5th Gen: How To- LOTS of PICS!
- Thread starter Antman
- Start date
10K just like the guys who designed it tell me. Who told you 4K?
Hi guys, thanks for the nice write up.
What do you think about Mobil1 extended performance 0w-20?
They claim 15,000 miles intervals. It's the same price like regular Mobil1 at Walmart.
Will it damage the engine if I'll go with 12,000 miles, or is better to keep it at 10,000 miles with regular Mobil1 0w-20 ?
Thanks again.
What do you think about Mobil1 extended performance 0w-20?
They claim 15,000 miles intervals. It's the same price like regular Mobil1 at Walmart.
Will it damage the engine if I'll go with 12,000 miles, or is better to keep it at 10,000 miles with regular Mobil1 0w-20 ?
Thanks again.
sigbrown1297
New member
Does the 5th Gen require synthetic? Getting my oil changed at the stealership and the service guy told me it REQUIRES synthetic. Came in for the service special for the $40 comventinal oil change and now being told it needs the $70 oil change.
Last edited:
sandcrawler
Senior Member
yes. synthetic 0W-20.
sigbrown1297
New member
Time to start doing my own oil changes again...
1000MPH
Senior Member
Yes! to doing your own but it won't save you much $$$.
7qts of TGMO at $6-$9ea = OUCH!
DesertCanyons
New member
Oil and filter change intervals
A very good mechanic with lots of experience (maybe old school?) who has been working on two of my cars for a while now recently told me the newer cars with synthetic oil are intended to increase miles between oil changes. The problem is that oil filters have not improved much and can't be designed to last much over 3000 miles. So if you wait 10,000 miles before changing the oil, the oil may last but the filter will be full of crud and blocking flow by then. Looking at the dirty filter at the beginning of this thread, I can believe that might be true.
What do you guys think of these filters?
I certainly wouldn't leave the old one in when changing oil at any interval. At the very least you leave about 1/2 quart of dirty oil that's in the filter in the new oil.
A very good mechanic with lots of experience (maybe old school?) who has been working on two of my cars for a while now recently told me the newer cars with synthetic oil are intended to increase miles between oil changes. The problem is that oil filters have not improved much and can't be designed to last much over 3000 miles. So if you wait 10,000 miles before changing the oil, the oil may last but the filter will be full of crud and blocking flow by then. Looking at the dirty filter at the beginning of this thread, I can believe that might be true.
What do you guys think of these filters?
I certainly wouldn't leave the old one in when changing oil at any interval. At the very least you leave about 1/2 quart of dirty oil that's in the filter in the new oil.
1engineer
Moderator
It's a good thing you came here to ask that question because your mechanic is not correct.
A filter, be it canister or cartridge style, needs to have a good filter media (that paper inside) in order to be effective. Your filter could LOOK exactly the same on the outside but its the inside that counts. Also most of the media look the same even though it could have vast differences. For example: A cold filtered beer uses a bigger version of the cartridge found in your 4Runner. The difference is the size of the holes in the media. The beer filter goes down to 4 microns. You couldn't force oil through that fine of media and anyway it would filter out the additives in the oil! Your OEM filter is plenty good enough at filtering out the particles large enough to do damage to your engine and will last the 10K miles as it has been designed to do. As far as looking at the element visually to tell if it's dirty? Sorry. I can show you a cutaway of a clogged filter that looks clean and a perfectly good filter that looks dirty visually. Remember you are filtering out particles around 40 micron or less. Now your mechanic is right about one thing: With a quality synthetic fluid the filter change is more important than the oil change as the fluid, under normal operating conditions (99% of us qualify) will last longer than the 10K miles. The filter though will probably be near it's maximum dirt holding capacity. The cartridge style filter is much better and has a higher capacity than the canister style. You COULD install a really good filter ($500 for the element) and have the dirt holding capacity to last 100K miles and be even cleaner! Not too many people go that route and it's way overkill for something as simple as an internal combustion engine lubrication system.
So to close, buy the Toyota oil and filter (remember that Toyota engineers have matched them and stand behind it with a warranty) and you are good to go for 10K miles.
Will your mechanic warranty your engine if you use his recommendations? I doubt it. I also doubt he knows more than the engineers who designed it.
DesertCanyons
New member
Oil filter longevity
Thanks for the reply Greg.
That was my idea. My take on it is, why change the oil if you don't change the filter.
Toyota offers the TRD Pro filter and canister as an upgrade. It's an upgrade to the normal filter I assume? Is that the cartridge filter you're referring to?
No the independent mechanic doesn't warranty anything but his work. He's not warranting the engine. But if he changed the oil and filter every 3k to 4K miles for me, Toyota would have no reason not to provide service, parts or repair under warranty to the car. Yes, I believe the Toyota engineers know more than any mechanic working on all types of cars.
Thanks again for your feedback on oil filters.
Thanks for the reply Greg.
That was my idea. My take on it is, why change the oil if you don't change the filter.
Toyota offers the TRD Pro filter and canister as an upgrade. It's an upgrade to the normal filter I assume? Is that the cartridge filter you're referring to?
No the independent mechanic doesn't warranty anything but his work. He's not warranting the engine. But if he changed the oil and filter every 3k to 4K miles for me, Toyota would have no reason not to provide service, parts or repair under warranty to the car. Yes, I believe the Toyota engineers know more than any mechanic working on all types of cars.
Thanks again for your feedback on oil filters.
1engineer
Moderator
All 4Runners come with the cartridge style stock. The canister is the spin on with the metal case.
Third Runner
New member
2014 4Runner oil change
Antman's description and post was truly exemplary.
I have a 2014 4Runner. There were a couple of changes that were made to the later models that seemed to make the process easier.
1. There is an extra center plastic shield held on by 4 push pins that needs to be removed first. Pretty easy to do.
2. Instead of 6 bolts and 1 push pin to remove on the next step plastic shield, there are 4 bolts (2 on each side and the push pin in the center)
3. Skid plate removal is the same.
4. The flanges attached to the front the the skid plate have been redesigned to make removal and reinstallation much easier. So, no need to grind or file them.
One question I have.
I drained out almost exactly 6 quarts 19 oz. of oil. When I refilled the engine I started with 6 quarts 12 oz., started the truck and ran it for 5 to 10 minutes. When I checked the oil the dipstick looked like it was overfilled. I drained some, but I now have 6 quarts 10 oz. (6.3 qts) and the dipstick still looks like I am overfilled.
Any ideas about this? I don't think I am overfilled , but not sure.
Also, if I am over filled by 6 oz or so, is that a problem?
Thank you.
Antman's description and post was truly exemplary.
I have a 2014 4Runner. There were a couple of changes that were made to the later models that seemed to make the process easier.
1. There is an extra center plastic shield held on by 4 push pins that needs to be removed first. Pretty easy to do.
2. Instead of 6 bolts and 1 push pin to remove on the next step plastic shield, there are 4 bolts (2 on each side and the push pin in the center)
3. Skid plate removal is the same.
4. The flanges attached to the front the the skid plate have been redesigned to make removal and reinstallation much easier. So, no need to grind or file them.
One question I have.
I drained out almost exactly 6 quarts 19 oz. of oil. When I refilled the engine I started with 6 quarts 12 oz., started the truck and ran it for 5 to 10 minutes. When I checked the oil the dipstick looked like it was overfilled. I drained some, but I now have 6 quarts 10 oz. (6.3 qts) and the dipstick still looks like I am overfilled.
Any ideas about this? I don't think I am overfilled , but not sure.
Also, if I am over filled by 6 oz or so, is that a problem?
Thank you.
I ran into this problem last weekend when I changed the oil in my 2010 for the first time. I read many pages back somewhere in this thread that the Mobil-1 0w-20 and Toyota 0w-20 are both very difficult if not impossible to read on the dipstick. Some people have suggested hitting the dipstick up with some sandpaper to help the oil adhere a little better. It helped somewhat on mine. I'd leave your level where it currently is and check it in a day or two once it has darkened up some and may be easier to read.
Randyman...
New member
I've complained about this, too. It seems oil makes its way into the tube (maybe from the dipstick itself as its being removed?) and then gets all over the dipstick - making it very hard to read the true crankcase level. Been like this for all of my 70K's worth of DIY Oil Changes now...
I'll generally fill up with the 5 Quart bottle, plus a full quart and maybe 1/4 of the 7th quart (6 1/4 quarts +/-). Still seems to read overfilled, but when I check it cold after sitting all night (and letting the oil slide down the tube and dipstick) it reads pretty close to correct.
Also, the dipstick can obviously be inserted with the "dimples" pointing towards the passenger compartment or towards the radiator - seems to insert "cleaner" with the dimples pointing "down" at the radiator. Maybe this also has something to do with the residual oil that gets on the dipstick?
Dunno - An odd issue though - but not everyone seems to have problems with this. I know I do! :crazy:
Lester Lugnut
New member
I've owned 5 Toyota's ranging in age from 1983 to 2015.
When I change oil - I do so with the engine fully warmed up and I let it drain for a couple of hrs. Oil and filters are changed on or before schedule.
Using dealer filters(or after-market - makes no difference) and the specified amount of oil in the owners manual measured down to the oz. - all 5 of them show the oil level to be above the full mark after changing oil - starting vehicle to circulate oil - letting sit overnight on level surface.
I don't worry about it too much as one made it to 415,000 miles and the others are all doing just fine.
I've seen the same thing on a couple of other non-Toyota's that I've owned.
When I change oil - I do so with the engine fully warmed up and I let it drain for a couple of hrs. Oil and filters are changed on or before schedule.
Using dealer filters(or after-market - makes no difference) and the specified amount of oil in the owners manual measured down to the oz. - all 5 of them show the oil level to be above the full mark after changing oil - starting vehicle to circulate oil - letting sit overnight on level surface.
I don't worry about it too much as one made it to 415,000 miles and the others are all doing just fine.
I've seen the same thing on a couple of other non-Toyota's that I've owned.
GreyhoundGuy
New member
[MENTION=65614]Antman[/MENTION], Thanks again for one heckuva writeup.
-Joel
-Joel
stir_fry_boy
New member
Thanks
stir_fry_boy
New member
No problem. I like doing it. Sorry I breathe so hard. It takes me about 2-3x longer to do it with the video and then a few hours to edit. It's tedious and I'm not getting paid anything.
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