NorthwoodsRunner
New member
You certainly can do it without taking off the front skid plate however, it can be a very messy job if you are not careful. I prefer completely taking it off since the oil change is only once a year due to low mileage.
Oil Change 5th Gen: How To- LOTS of PICS!
- Thread starter Antman
- Start date
You certainly can do it without taking off the front skid plate however, it can be a very messy job if you are not careful. I prefer completely taking it off since the oil change is only once a year due to low mileage.
Blitzkrieg
New member
This is not a difficult job to do if you just follow Antmans directions.
And the vast majority of the over-torqued, stripped or missing screws and bolts are because the oil change dude at your dealer likely could give a shit about your vehicle. He has a dozen after yours to get through before he heads to McDonalds for lunch.
I am the only person who has changed the oil on ANY of my vehicles and I guarantee you there are no over-torqued, stripped or missing screws and bolts on any of them.
I can tell you that if you run the front wheels up on Rhino Ramps ($45 at Advanced Auto or anywhere else) this job is a piece of cake.
I took my time, cleaned things as I took them off and still had it done in just over 2 hours. And I mean I really took my time. ;-)
And the vast majority of the over-torqued, stripped or missing screws and bolts are because the oil change dude at your dealer likely could give a shit about your vehicle. He has a dozen after yours to get through before he heads to McDonalds for lunch.
I am the only person who has changed the oil on ANY of my vehicles and I guarantee you there are no over-torqued, stripped or missing screws and bolts on any of them.
I can tell you that if you run the front wheels up on Rhino Ramps ($45 at Advanced Auto or anywhere else) this job is a piece of cake.
I took my time, cleaned things as I took them off and still had it done in just over 2 hours. And I mean I really took my time. ;-)
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NorthwoodsRunner
New member
I changed my oil today out of curiosity and as a practice run. The oil change on T4R is not any harder than my 2014 Camry I4. The most time consuming aspect of the oil change is removing the two front guard plates. FYI: To remove the very front guard plate on my 2016 T4R SR5, I only had to remove 5 bolts (not seven) plus one plastic fastener. I did not file down the metal hooks per Antmans since I had no issue aligning them up and inserting them to the slots. I think these DIYs are the crown jewels of automotive forums.
Blitzkrieg
New member
1) Makes it a WHOLE lot easier to get the hinged skid plate off.
2) Makes it way easier to crawl under.
3) Complete oil drain if the front is up.
4) I look really cool in my driveway when I actually know how to work on my vehicle.
Lester Lugnut
New member
Good luck with that. It ain't gonna happen.
jrandom
New member
They should, those oil jockeys, not all of course, could give a f'k less about your truck and just want to pump them through, and in the course of such upstanding behavior often strip, break, or cross thread the f'k out of your hardware... exactly when a "free" oil change isn't free.
As for Toyota Care I recall reading the dealer back charges Toyota, i.e. You have paid for that service when you buy the truck/car/ect. Myth? Don't know but it would make sense.
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Lexusbstrdchild
New member
The dealer gets paid back for Toyota Care service through Toyota. Unless they fudge something I'm not sure they will give you the parts to DIY. I asked about it and instead I got a master tech to do the oil change instead of the oil change jockeys.
Colorado S14
New member
Well crap, I totally missed this and just did an oil change Sunday and did not swap out the perforated tube... So question is, I assume I can drain the filter housing, pull it off and swap the perforated tube for the one in the factory plastic housing and just have to add a small amount of oil to get it back to capacity? I assume that the perforated tube is there to maintain the structural integrity of the oil filter over time?
Lester Lugnut
New member
That's what I would do. Try to capture and measure what comes out of the housing. I "think" it's around 16 oz. but may be off a bit.
NorthwoodsRunner
New member
I am not so sure why people change the filter housing. The original plastic material is very durable and the correct size. If you have a correct oil filter tool (https://www.matcotools.com/catalog/product/TOY112A/TOYOTA-OIL-FILTER-TOOL-6-8CYL/), you don't really have to worry about rounding off the filter housing. The plastic housing is not any cheaper than the aluminum housing.
jbjones85
New member
I would tend to agree, use the right tool and do it right and there should not be any issues. With that being said I had the metal one on my Lexus IS350 and it does feel more "beefy". It is psychological for sure but still.
This is a very enlightening thread... thank you! Just bought my 2016 SR5 and now I'm frankly concerned about taking it to the dealer and having them do the first service, since they might not reinstall the skid plate correctly. Reading the stories of folks missing screws, etc....
HerT4R
New member
i freaking hate the bleeder piece, i cannot for the life of my get that stupid thing in there without getting oil EVERYWHERE. and the wrench i have sucks (assenmacher POS, already discussed).
I am going to buy this when he starts making em for the v6 motor, so i can drain my oil pan with a fumoto valve and drain my filter housing with a fumoto valve. No more oil everywhere when i try to drain the filter. He already makes em for the V8 motors.
I should know by early next week on the ETA.
The aluminum cap is designed for a longer life. Toyota mentions this in some of their literature on the TIS web page. A bit of speculation... The plastic caps end up on the production vehicles that are more likely to have owners that change their own oil... and are more likely to damage the cap with non standard tools. Last time I looked, the plastic cap was a stocked item at my dealer, and at twice the price of the aluminum version.
The aluminum cap is designed for a longer life. Toyota mentions this in some of their literature on the TIS web page. A bit of speculation... The plastic caps end up on the production vehicles that are more likely to have owners that change their own oil... and are more likely to damage the cap with non standard tools. Last time I looked, the plastic cap was a stocked item at my dealer, and at twice the price of the aluminum version.
Gently insert the bleeder drain valve that comes with the new filter, but don't press it up yet. Then take an empty 20oz coke bottle, put the neck over the edges of the drain valve device and push up. The oil drains into the bottle and you've actuated the valve. Once empty after about a minute, take your rag and remove the insert.
You have to get a filter wrench that looks like the attached photo. The standard old style wrenches are almost useless.
From an engineering standpoint, filter elements are a superior solution. They offer much higher oil flow and more surface area to filter with.
Hope this helps you in your next oil change.
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HerT4R
New member
trying this 20oz coke bottle solution next time. Thanks!
It's an extremely cheap and simple solution to a very annoying problem.
Sort of like how we spent millions making a pressurized pen that'd work in space. The Russians just sent pencils.
Glad I could help make your oil changes a little easier.
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