DIY: Oil Change w/ pics. & Reset Maintenance Required Light

[flypigs]

Originally Posted by barthmonster

so I got re-centered so that I could push it up into place hard with both thumbs and my head to one side so it wouldn't squirt in my face. That worked, it SNAPS up in there and drains the filter in about a minute, maybe a little more.

I still want to try the drain-hose idea and leaving the skid-plate on...

I pushed it pretty hard, hard enough to really get the oil flowing, and the flange was flatly pressed against the canister, but no click. Maybe I still didn't push hard enough, or just had a bad "thingy". When I had the canister off, I probably should have tried to click it again, but the thingy was already in the trash can.

I may get motivated, and cut a hole in the skid plate, which would sure save some aggravation.

I am serious, that someone needs to create a screw-in drain for this thing, I'm pretty sure the market is there for it, and it would be easy to make.

Pete

[cannondale27]

Thanks for this thread.Boy I looked hard for the filter before reading this!
I think reason they went to canister style is simple.It cost $ to put that metal housing on each filter and how many people actually recycle them?So even though the greenies probably hate our truck we are doing our part in conserving.

[rgoing48]

I didn't like the plastic 65/67 mm combination filter wrenches that are relatively easy to find. I found a metal 65 MM wrench at my local NAPA store. It is made by KD tools and is part # KDS3253. I like the single size wrench much better. Hope this helps someone out there.

[ultratech]

Anyone know if we need to remove the bottom plate on the V6 to drain the oil ? also is the oil filter on top? next to the place where you pour the new oil ?

[stevencrosbie]

I did the oil change for the first time in the truck this afternoon. Thanks for the DIY as I knew exactly what I was getting into (dealer changed last time for free).

My only problem is the oil filter drain bolt would not come out. I went to loosen it and the entire filter cap came off instead.....so oil went everywhere, but good thing I had a big oil pan to catch the oil.

Anyone else have this problem?

[ballin]

Originally Posted by stevencrosbie

I did the oil change for the first time in the truck this afternoon. Thanks for the DIY as I knew exactly what I was getting into (dealer changed last time for free).

My only problem is the oil filter drain bolt would not come out. I went to loosen it and the entire filter cap came off instead.....so oil went everywhere, but good thing I had a big oil pan to catch the oil.

Anyone else have this problem?

exact thing happened to me. it took me forever to get that filter drain bolt loose. i happened to find one of those things that you open jars when the lid is on too tight. its a handle with a rubber strap made into it. oh well, whatever works huh.

[stevencrosbie]

Originally Posted by ballin

exact thing happened to me. it took me forever to get that filter drain bolt loose. i happened to find one of those things that you open jars when the lid is on too tight. its a handle with a rubber strap made into it. oh well, whatever works huh.

Thanks for the tip! My guess is the dealer used that bolt to tighten the entire assembly and thus overtightened the bolt....

I'll see if I can't find that tool for the next oil change. I really didn't mind the oil spilling, but my oil was "warm" and not "hot" as I would have burned the hell out of myself

[milotrdtundra]

I plan on changing my oil at 1000 miles too, then at 3500, then 5000 put full syntetic oil, do you guys think that is too early for syntetic at 5000 or should i put more miles on first.

[StatCoder]

If you put your wrench into the cap and give the handle a tap with a hammer or something hard, the small cap will come loose due to the inertia of the whole filter canister holding it in place.

[mic_1011]

great thread, performed my oil change last weekend, and with these step by step instructions,it was a breeze. not as hard or as messy as i thought it would be, more expensive is more like it castrol $3.19 a qt. filter from toyota about $9 roughly $30 for a d.i.y. i wonder what toyota would charge? but all in all this thread is greatly appreciated. very very helpful

[pfischer1213]

did mine yesterday, and wasnt that bad.

[minezmine]

After reading the thread 2X I did it over this weekend. Half the work was in the skid plate itself (which I need to put back).

Oil filter drainage plastic tool is a POS. Next time, I would just use a 65mm(65/67 doesn't work, don't waste your time) oil filter wrench and twist the oil filter off. Once you twist enough, some oil will naturally drain from the filter. Just twist alittle bit, wait for it to drain, twist some more, and repeat. I'd skip that plastic drainage thing all-together. Waste of time, not effective, still some oil remains.

At this time, I did some inspection of the undercarrage. Some rust spots where skidplate touches frame. Sprayed WD-40 at certain points, and also at the screw sites.

Top notch instructions. I'm sure countless DIY ppl appreciate it.

[AustinMike]

Did my first oil change at 4899 miles. Castrol 5W20. Thanks for the pictures. It wasn't real bad. The skid plate was the time consumer. Probably quicker next time unless I sleep too many times. I cut off about 10" of garden hose and slipped on the end of the plastic drain thing. This helped push the plastic piece up into the drain. As a result, no oil when I unscrewed the filter housing. I am going to find the KD filter wrench before the next change. I refused to pay the dealer price of $64 for it. I used a universal adjustable plier type oil filter wrench which worked OK but was difficult to manuver around sway bar etc.

Took me longer to rotate my tires. Those are bigger than they look! Heavy too. I used a hydralic floor jack and not the Toyota toy jack.

[Someguy123]

so what happens if you dont do the computer service reset?? im at 16,500km and i havent done it ever. i dont have any service lights flashing as of yet.

[Derek_Shawn]

Thanks to this thread I did my first oil change yesterday. The worst part was working with the skid plate... but mainly because I have the XSP package which includes another skid plate that attaches where the tow hooks are. Because of this, those brackets actually got in the way of me sliding the OEM skid plate over in order to remove it. So... I had to take the bolts out of the tow hook on the driver's side and let the XSP skid plate hang loose while I removed, then re-attached the OEM skid plate. Seems like a LOT of work for a simple oil change.

Also, I purchased that KD tools filter wrench and just skipped taking out the drain bolt. Instead I just loosened the filter housing slowly and let it drain into the pan. It really wasn't that messy, and I didn't have to deal with that plastic drain tool that so many have complained about.

If it wasn't for the XSP skid plate getting in the way, I would have been finished in under an hour. At least next time I'll know what's involved in getting the OEM skid plate off. Like they say, it's always the hardest the first time around. Then it just gets easier every time after that.