Stupid dealer, plastic oil filter assembly

C

callihan_44

New member
Dealer CRANKED down the oil filter assembly after courtesy oil change , It is now time to change the oil so I dive in after receiving my oil filter and motivx wrench ..all bolts holding the skid plate must have been put on with a impact wrench, way too tight....oil drain plug NO, I repeat NO gasket..however I did not find any leaking oil...it was cranked down as well.

Next up oil filter, bottom screw on drain plug came off fine no issues but then came time to get the filter off..WILL NOT budge, I take a break gathering my thoughts and pulled up youtube on my phone to see about how much force it should take to get this thing off, Ive been changing oil since the mid 80's so I figured this assembly should take roughly the same amount as a spin on filter. I try again and add a little more oomph and snap! broke off a tab and then oil running out the side of the assembly... Saturday evening, dealer parts CLOSED and local parts stores do not carry it...UGH! Pull up amazon and order aluminum housing which leaves the 4runner stranded till Tuesday :frusty:


the free dealer oil change is NOT worth this...
 
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The faces on everyone in the waiting room for the free service looks the same as the faces at the dmv. Next time your in for parts check it out you’ll see. Never.
 
My experience yesterday was slightly different. I had installed the RCI skid on my daughter's '18, it is time for the 10k service and I removed the skid before going in, didn't want to end up with jacked up bolts afterward. After the change, I went home and pulled up by front curb ready to reinstall the skid, gathered my tools and saw a small puddle on the ground, got under and noticed the darn housing drain plug was missing. At least that drain is spring-loaded so the leakage wasn't too severe before I made it back to the dealer.

I have the alloy housing and Fumoto so I will be doing the 15k myself. Free service is not worth the hassle.
 
There must be hundreds of stories on this forum about dealer screwups during oil changes/tire rotations. Stripped or cross-threaded bolts, over torqued bolts, missing bolts, bashed-in hub caps, over-torqued lug nuts, over-torqued oil filter housings, etc. Gotta do your own oil service to be sure the right oil is used and everything is done correctly. You’ll want to chase the threads of your skid plate bolts and threaded inserts (tap and die) in case the dealer buggered them up. Torque everything per the Toyota specs. Search the forum for more info or refer to the Maintenance link:
DIY maintenance quick reference - Toyota 4Runner Forum - Largest 4Runner Forum
Good luck.
 
callihan_44 said:
Dealer CRANKED down the oil filter assembly after courtesy oil change , It is now time to change the oil so I dive in after receiving my oil filter and motivx wrench ..all bolts holding the skid plate must have been put on with a impact wrench, way too tight....oil drain plug NO, I repeat NO gasket..however I did not find any leaking oil...it was cranked down as well.

Next up oil filter, bottom screw on drain plug came off fine no issues but then came time to get the filter off..WILL NOT budge, I take a break gathering my thoughts and pulled up youtube on my phone to see about how much force it should take to get this thing off, Ive been changing oil since the mid 80's so I figured this assembly should take roughly the same amount as a spin on filter. I try again and add a little more oomph and snap! broke off a tab and then oil running out the side of the assembly... Saturday evening, dealer parts CLOSED and local parts stores do not carry it...UGH! Pull up amazon and order aluminum housing which leaves the 4runner stranded till Tuesday :frusty:


the free dealer oil change is NOT worth this...
Click to expand...

The EXACT same thing happened to me!

The dealer said they would “overnight” a replacement, the next day I called to see what was going on and it wasn’t even ordered. I was then told it would take a week to get one, and they were going to charge me $180.

I hung up, ordered a metal doorman filter canister, and it arrived at napa a few hours later.

I will never let them change my oil again, and I’ve never been back to that dealer.


Now when I change my oil, I hand tighten the canister only. The tabs line up, good to go. It is designed to seat the side o-ring properly. This concept is lost on the professor doing the oil changes at Toyota


Oh, and it took me a full day to remove the old one piece by piece. What an absolute nightmare
 
I've got to admit I went for the free oil changes when we bought our 2013 SR5. After the last one I went to do it myself; and after reading some of the issues others have had, I was expecting the worst. Turns out I had no issues - no over tightened skid bolts and no leaks or damage to filter housing or mess from the work they did. I guess I lucked out by having a dealer that has done good work . They also did the timing belt change in our Tundra 4.7 with no issues. I ordered the parts from Amazon and got the oil locally. I did buy the good filter socket which worked well. I also printed and followed Antman's procedure which was a big help (thanks again Antman!)

I'm getting ready to do this again in the next day or two before it gets cold to stay. All I need is oil and I'll be ready. I ordered extra parts last time. As it hasn't been mentioned in this thread (I think) remember to use anti-seize on all bolt threads. Also, as of yesterday - WalMart's price for Mobil1 0W/20 synthetic oil is better than Amazon and local parts stores.
 
I am thinking to skip swapping out the aluminum filter housing for plastic and just bite the bullet and get the Baxter spin-on adapter since clearance won't be an issue with the RCI skid.
 
Sorry To ask but I can’t find this information. So...what is the part number for the aluminum housing?

Thanks in advance
 
I worked with a guy who previously worked as a manager of one of those quick change oil and lube places. Some of the stories he told about the problems his workers created were frightening. Everything from not doing the work requested to draining the oil but not changing the filter and not putting new oil back in to taking a car on a joyride and totaling it. I'd rather just not change my oil before I trusted one of those places.
 
Don’t forget you have to swap out the center piece on the aluminum and plastic one.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
mteolus said:
Make sure you get the one that is OEM Toyota. I got one from NAPA that was not and it leaked through the threads.
Click to expand...

True. The one listed on Amazon is the real deal. That’s where I got mine. It’s also the least expensive that I could find. Like the previous posters said, swap the center perforated tube. (Bend tabs up, twist to remove, put old tube and spring in, twist, bend tabs up). You also need to use the original drain cap. Get a genuine Toyota filter element. It has the two o-rings you need and good instructions on the box. Pay special attention to where the larger o-ring is to be installed, you don’t want leaks. Lube the o-rings well. Torque the housing to 18 lb-ft, then the drain plug to 9 lb-ft. It’s a little strange the first time you do it, the housing snugs up tight all of a sudden. You’ll get the hang of it.

Edit: PS, I thought the sudden snugging of the filter housing was so unusual that I drove around for a day without the skid plate attached so I could periodically check for leaks. Everything was OK.
 
Last edited:
nb rob said:
The EXACT same thing happened to me!

The dealer said they would “overnight” a replacement, the next day I called to see what was going on and it wasn’t even ordered. I was then told it would take a week to get one, and they were going to charge me $180.
Click to expand...

this crossed my mind and why i didnt wait till monday to check to see if the dealer even had it in stock, placed my order on amazon so I know it will be here atleast by tuesday. Today I am calling them to give them an ear full ! Thank god I eventually got the oil filter to break free and didnt have to chip it away
 
well the dealer got an earful and agreed to give me a courtesy car till the part arrives, reluctantly because " i attempted the oil change myself"... I then gave him a rundown of my experience of working on engines which included oil changes and letting him know what little torque it takes to tighten the oil filter and it was tight to the point of cracking the assembly
 
callihan_44 said:
this crossed my mind and why i didnt wait till monday to check to see if the dealer even had it in stock, placed my order on amazon so I know it will be here atleast by tuesday. Today I am calling them to give them an ear full ! Thank god I eventually got the oil filter to break free and didnt have to chip it away
Click to expand...

I had all of the non-threaded portion break free, and the threaded portion remained in place.

I was extremely worried that I would damage the threads of the engine portion (it's actually not part of the engine block, but another piece)...as I watched someone with an avalon destroy their engine block online by cutting away with a dremel and tearing up those threads-- I wound up finally breaking the inside threaded portion free by spending an afternoon with an old soldering iron scoring and melting through the plastic. it took more than 2 hours.

It had occurred to me that a hot soldering iron near oil on the underside of the engine was not safe or healthy-- but by that time I was ready to meet my maker.
 

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