Oil filter cup question....

[sop]

Sorry if this has been asked and answered before...

Re: '07 SR5 4WD V6 4Runner (A/T).

The small cup at the base of the oil filter is a handy little device, and the position of the filter really makes changes easier and less messy. However, the one on my 4R always collects several ounces of oil inside the cup when I loosen and remove the filter from the threads. It does not drain out of the cup....it stays pooled in the cup. I then have to carefully use several shop towels to sop up the oil and not let it spill onto the engine parts below the cup.

There seems to be a small drain hole at the base of the cup with a small hose attached to the underside of the cup. I assume this drain hole and hose is there to allow the oil in the cup to drain out and exit somewhere below the engine.

Questions about this drain hole/hose:

-Could the drain hole in the bottom of the cup be plugged, or is it normal for the oil in the cup not to drain freely?

-Assuming the drain hole should allow the oil to drain freely...how would I unplug the drain
hole?

-And, lastly, where does the oil drain hose from the cup exit? Under the engine? Directly onto the ground, requiring some sort of drain pan underneath? Or does it drain into some sort of built-in collector/container under the engine?

Thanks.

 

[CJ3Flyr]

It's a great system. The thing you are thinking is a little section of drain hose is a plug to go over the nipple. I have a little piece of Home Depot clear tubing and pull off the plug on the bottom of the cup and replace it (temporarily) with the Home Depot tube. I put the other end into a 20oz plastic soda bottle and then loosen the filter. The filter oil enters the tube then the bottle. I spray a bit of brake cleaner after I install the new filter, pull off "my" drain tube and replace the plug. Good Luck :cheers:

 

[Uneek]

Yup, you just need to remove the little black rubber cap. There's a slight thread on the little tube, so pulling the cap straight off will be a little bit difficult. It's easier to unscrew it. I just leave mine off, cause it collects water when I hose down the engine. An old one quart oil bottle fits in there nicely to collect the old oil, but you need the flat rectangular one--the squareish Castrol ones doesn't fit.

 

[Kmvreter]

Yup, you just need to remove the little black rubber cap. There's a slight thread on the little tube, so pulling the cap straight off will be a little bit difficult. It's easier to unscrew it. I just leave mine off, cause it collects water when I hose down the engine. An old one quart oil bottle fits in there nicely to collect the old oil, but you need the flat rectangular one--the squareish Castrol ones doesn't fit.

That's how I do it.
Pull the plastic cap off the bottom of the drain hole. Prop up an empty oil bottle. Pull the filter and catch the flow. Wipe down the residue. Replace the filter. Pull the bottle and replace the cap.
However, it sounds like sop has a tube already installed instead of the black cap. Is this left over from someone else (stealership or shop) on a previous oil change? Can you take a pic?

 

[sop]

Thanks for all your replies.

Sorry about the confusion. I overstated the "hose" thing, it is obviously only the short, black (about one or so inches in length) rubber plug on the underside of the cup. It's longer than a cap, but not really a hose.

As suggested, I've already removed this little rubber plug (or what I initially called a "hose") and the few drops of oil remaining in the cup's drain hole immediately flowed out. Any small container will easily catch any oil collecting in the cup.

One could probably attach a longer length of rubber hose to this drain hole, run it down a couple of feet or so and let it drain into the drain pan underneath, but I see now that's not necessary. The existing plug is simple enough...no need to over-complicate the process.