What year did the T4R V6 oil filter get moved?

[Nuke]

I've owned a 2nd, 3rd and 4th gen T4R, all V6's. The oil filters on the '90 2nd gen and '00 3rd gen were near the bottom of the block and I always had to remove the skid plates to get to them. My '08 4th gen's oil filter is (finally) easily accessible from above. When did that relocation take place? I seem to read that some 4th gen owners are still complaining about having to pull the skid plate to do an oil change.

 

[CJ3Flyr]

I've owned a 2nd, 3rd and 4th gen T4R, all V6's. The oil filters on the '90 2nd gen and '00 3rd gen were near the bottom of the block and I always had to remove the skid plates to get to them. My '08 4th gen's oil filter is (finally) easily accessible from above. When did that relocation take place? I seem to read that some 4th gen owners are still complaining about having to pull the skid plate to do an oil change.

IIRC all 4th gen V6's (so 2003) have the easy filter. The 4th gen guys who have to work a little harder at the DIY oil changes are the V8 guys. I have never changed the oil on a V8. My perception is that it's not a nightmare but no where near as sweet as the V6. It is mounted down low.
:cheers:

 

[jharris2]

CJ3Flyr is right -- it was 2003, when the new engine design was released.

 

[Nuke]

Excellent. Thanks for the repsonse.

The 2nd and 3rd gens were a real *****. You couldn't get to the oil filter from above and unless you had arms like Olive Oil, the skid plate had to come off and you were STILL working with limited sspace and your elbow deep into the underbelly. Makes me wince just thinking about since I did dino oil changes on the 2nd gen every 3,000 miles for 205,000+ miles and synthetic changes on the 3rd gen (after 36,000 miles) every 10,000 miles for 152,000 miles. The oil would run down the block and onto frame components if you didn't have something to catch or absorb most of it, too, as soon as you broke the filter free.

 

[charlier180]

IIRC all 4th gen V6's (so 2003) have the easy filter. The 4th gen guys who have to work a little harder at the DIY oil changes are the V8 guys. I have never changed the oil on a V8. My perception is that it's not a nightmare but no where near as sweet as the V6. It is mounted down low.
:cheers:

For me the PITA for my V8 was the skid plate bolts being rusted.
Had my dealer actually removed the plate to change my oil like I had requested they would not have rusted and I would not have sheared off one of them.
New bolts and anti-seize should help with the next change that from now on I will do myself.

Without the skid plate issue, the V8's oil change is a piece of cake from below compared to some of my VWs.

 

[Uneek]

All 4th gens, 2nd gen Tacomas and some FJ Cruisers (IIRC, pre '09) with the 4.0 V6 1GR-FE (single VVT-i) have the filter mounted up high and easily accessible. This is the BEST filter location of any car I've seen and the cleanest filter change.

The dual VVT-i 4.0 V6 from the 5th gen 4Runner, which the FJC also has, the filter is down at the bottom again. It's a cartridge filter that sits in a canister. I think all recently redesigned engines from Toyota have moved to that style filter.