Oil Change 5th Gen: How To- LOTS of PICS!

[Laurich]

Take what you have, make what you need

If you still have problems, a 2 liter bottle with the bottom cut off can help minimize the mess..

I agree with you wholeheartedly. If your situation deems necessary, improvise. I too try live by the philosophy of “take what you have, make what you need”. At least when it comes down to things such as this easy (although it can get messy) task. Or in other words “work smarter, not harder”. So here’s my solution, not to in anyway to minimize yours; I simply have a stock of old 2lb yogurt containers on hand with my other regular OC tools. Cheap, effective and no cutting needed.

So break the housing free enough to move by hand but not far enough to begin draining its oil below. Then raise the yogurt container underneath and now grip the sides of that to spin it the rest of the way down. This completely contains the hot oil from spilling so that you can move it to a more convenient location to work on.

 

[mattyrides07]

[MENTION=100894]mattyrides07[/MENTION] If while using a 3” extension on a 3/8 drive ratchet to remove the filter drain plug the filter housing turns instead of the drain plug; place a universal filter wrench on the filter housing to hold it in place.

Later when re-installing the filter housing finish with a torque wrench set to 18 ft-lb. Then when you replace the filter drain plug only torque that to 10 ft-lb. Now, see if at the next OC if the filter housing wants to turn while attempting to only remove the drain plug. Hope this helps.

Thanks for the tip! I'll try them out next week on my wife's rig. Cheers!

 

[Voyager2013]

Great oil change instructions

Thanks OP for posting great instructions on the oil change. It's a lot like the 2012 Tundra I had but with an extra plate or two to remove. I do think the engineers could have made this just a little easier to change the oil, IMO.

 

[elemint]

What is lazy is the designers not thinking about oil changes when at the drawing board. This is something I would expect from old AMC.

OMG! Please!

 

[Lester Lugnut]

What is lazy is the designers not thinking about oil changes when at the drawing board. This is something I would expect from old AMC.

They thought about it. That's why they moved it. Toyota switched from a single VVT-i to a dual VVT-i in 5th Gen 4 Runners. The blocks are similar in 1GR-FE motors, but the cyl. heads are different between single/dual VVT-i engines.

You have to get down below to pull the drain plug. Having the filter down there as well is no big deal.

 

[H1500308]

great instructions...Used them today to do my own change.

 

[On Point]

Is a Toyota oil filter wrench required?

 

[Magnetic4R]

Well, got my oil change to today. The TRD Pro skid made it easier along with the RCI skid opening. Could not find my fumoto so that will be on the next 10k miles. But damn, the oil filter was almost lock right from the TOYOTA dealership that's it it last. =/

 

[Runn4est]

Is a Toyota oil filter wrench required?

I just got a generic name one in the proper size from advanced auto. It works well.

 

[On Point]

I just got a generic name one in the proper size from advanced auto. It works well.

I did the same, got one from AutoZone and did it all last weekend. Entire process took about 1hr. Figure that will drop the more I do it. Never had to take some many parts off just to change the oil. Thanks!

 

[MadlyAlive]

OMG...can I get my '06 back?! Luckily I'm still getting all the factory service done under the 2 yr/25k free service.

 

[bjowett]

A solution to make things a little easier. The six point socket will never become stuck. Spring valve is eliminated, regular drain plug or Fumoto/EZ Drain valve (rated for 250 psi). There is also a way to run the larger V8 filter.

 

[ReluctantNomad]

That looks major slick!

 

[ReluctantNomad]

Also major props antman for this thread

 

[littlezavasaurus]

why is my dip stick showing its full (half way between the two dots) after only putting 5 quarts in? I drained everything till it was dripping about 1 drip every 5 seconds. I ran the engine, and let it settle but it was still showing half way so stupidly I added the left over 1.6 quarts and now its showing over the second dot.. what is going on with my oil?

 

[HerT4R]

A solution to make things a little easier. The six point socket will never become stuck. Spring valve is eliminated, regular drain plug or Fumoto/EZ Drain valve (rated for 250 psi). There is also a way to run the larger V8 filter.

what is this? who makes it or sells this?

this is in the filter location? so how do you replace the filter?

 

[FactoryT4R]

why is my dip stick showing its full (half way between the two dots) after only putting 5 quarts in? I drained everything till it was dripping about 1 drip every 5 seconds. I ran the engine, and let it settle but it was still showing half way so stupidly I added the left over 1.6 quarts and now its showing over the second dot.. what is going on with my oil?

Did you have it up on ramps or jacked high when you were draining it? Possible that a quart got stuck in a corner somewhere...

 

[littlezavasaurus]

Did you have it up on ramps or jacked high when you were draining it? Possible that a quart got stuck in a corner somewhere...

nope left it level the whole time

 

[Antman]

Let it sit for awhile and recheck it.

 

[renau001]

why is my dip stick showing its full (half way between the two dots) after only putting 5 quarts in? I drained everything till it was dripping about 1 drip every 5 seconds. I ran the engine, and let it settle but it was still showing half way so stupidly I added the left over 1.6 quarts and now its showing over the second dot.. what is going on with my oil?

A bit confused, but are you saying it was halfway between the min mark and max mark after 5 qts? That doesn't sound too far off. It's 1.8 qts from min mark to max mark, so if you added 1.6 qts from the half way point you might be a little overfilled, ~0.7 qts or so.

Make sure you're getting a good reading too. Toyota standard is check 5 minutes after shutting off engine after warming it up. I like to pull the dipstick right after I shut off the engine and leave it out the 5 mins, allows the oil in dipstick to drain back down. Then check. Helps prevent splotchiness on the dipstick sometimes leading to a false high reading.