amorphous

for those of you who are using synth oil in your ride (Amsoil in particular) - the oil lasts 25k - the filters, not as long....HOW do you change yer filter???? I'm thinking on going to Amsoil...and in my Camry, a new filter would be a SNAP....I'm not so sure on the 4runner.....will I be loosing loads of oil as I unscrew the filter???

advice? thanks!

aaron

va97runner

I'm not sure if it would work on 4Runners, but on my old Honda Accord, when I had to take the filter off, I stuck a shop vac hose in the oil fill hole and turned it on. Worked wonders.. the only oil that got out was what was in the filter.

denverbikeguy

Maybe I'm just offbase here, but isn't the oil in the pan anyway? So since the filter's above the pan, it shouldn't drain any more oil than any other car right?

Also re amsoil - I'm thinking about switching to it. It has a mileage interval of 25k miles, but what about time in general? Oil breaks down over time, etc. How long can it sit in the engine and still provide maximum protection?

I was thinking of just doing a twice-yearly replacement if I go to it.. Any input?

va97runner

Hmm you have a point Denver.. I suppose if you let it sit long enough most of the oil would drain into the pan.

amorphous

yeah, thinking on this....I may be thinking TOO much. I wasnt' sure (having yet to perform an oil change in my '98 - 4 weeks of ownership TODAY! WOO HOO!) what angle the filter sat at...and if loads would come spilling out, ala exxon valdez....!

~thank for the replies,
aaron

Mad Chemist

Changing the oil on the 4-runner is a snap- as long as you remove the skidplate, just a matter of taking out 4 bolts. Otherwise, oil drips down onto the plate and will continue to leak out over time. The oil filter doesn't have any more oil in it than any other car, reach through the wheel well to pull it out, although you'll need to work it past the wire harness that sort of gets in the way.

Mad Chemist

Just another quick comment- I think most people running synthetics still change ~7000 miles or so- its not so much the oil breaking down, but the other crap that your filter doesn't catch that builds up over time and damages the engine.

gwhayduke

I use Mobil 1 and keep it about 5K miles. Almost twice as long as dino oil. Once or twice a year I change it after about 1K miles to rinse out the crankcase.

Seems to work ok, but who can really tell? I have 250K on my 89 Corolla and 188K on the 95 Runner.

I never just change the filter.

Citykid

Okay, the trick is NOT to warm up your truck for 15-20 minuets. Just take off the skid plates, makes for easier clean up, and pop off the filter. Only the oil in the filter will begin to come out. Try to get it off fast, Other than that, you're good to go.

denverbikeguy

I agree fully with that. In my case, twice a year will average out to that same interval give or take, so I'm thinking that's the way to go. It will save me some money and be better for the engine, so I'm all for it!

I also want to run some of that engine cleaner through before my next change to get as much of the gunk as possible out. I've been running a synthetic blend for a while now so going to a full synthetic like Amsoil (it is full synth, not a blend right?) should be fine...

4x4CPOSEADOG

The only oil that will drip is the oil in the filter. Changing the filter is a piece of cake. I use Amsoil 10w30 synthetic and OEM filter part # 90915-YZZB9 (Japan). I put 8K miles on this combo and just recently changed the oil last week. Filled the pan to the recommended capacity with 10w30 synthetic and the engine runs smooth and quiet. It feels the engine is brand new, so smooth I don't hear any valve clicking. Then drained and refilled the diff with Amsoil synthetic 75w90 and the truck run like I just got it from the dealer. I now have 90k miles on this Runner. I love it.

Noel

amorphous

Guys, thanks for the exps and thoughts.....It's looking like Amsoil will be the way I go here when my rides need fresh blood.

Noel - what's the process on changing DIF fluids? I'm an intrested "shade tree".

~aaron

Victor

I change the oil filter at 5000 miles and the oil every 10k. I did an oil analysis and it suggested I could have left it in another 5k or more. Dunno. I run 10w40 in the summer and 5w30 in the winter so going to much more would put me with the wrong oil in the summer.

Citykid

Diff fluids are easy. Do the transfer case while you're at it. The drain plugs are always below the fill plugs. Open the fill plugs FIRST! That's just incase you can't open it, you'd hate to have opened the drain plug first and then not be able to open the fill plug. The plugs, or screws, are on very tight. And the front diff fill plug is a hex wrench plug.

amorphous

citykid - thanks for the tip...that might be something the novice (like myself!) wouldn't think off....and be FORKED by not having any fluids in the case!

~a

4x4CPOSEADOG

It is very easy man, make sure you have the 1/2 inch drive 24MM socket and ratchet, 10 inches of 1/2 ID hose and attach this hose to the smallest funnel you can get. Once you have these items then follow the procedures below
1. take the spare tire off of its carrier, this will give more room to work on
2. run around the block to warm up the diff fluid, once warm enough, park it , jack it up, let the axle sit on the jack stands for safety
3. loosen the fill plug, take it off, make sure you have a drip pan under the drain plug, then loosen the drain plug, take it off and drain all the fluid in that diff. Give it about 30 minutes to drain so you can get all the sludge/smudge out.
4. after 30 minutes or so then go ahead install the drain plug and torque it to about 23 FT Lbs. Get the funnel with the hose attach and start filling the diff through the fill plug. Once you see the oil coming overflowing from the fill plug, then you are full. Place the fill plug, tighten it up and torque it to 23 FT Lbs. Clean the mess up, jack it up again, take the jack stands off the axle, slowly lower the jack. Put the spare tire back to its carrier. Then you are all set. Run the vehicle for about 15 minutes, then check for leaks. That's it and you are all done. Sit back, relax, pop a bottle of Corona with lime and admire your self for what you have done.
Any questions shoot me a PM.

Noel

4x4CPOSEADOG

Make sure you have three quarts of diff fluids. The manual recommends 80w90 but I filled mine with 75w90 for fuel economy.

Noel

amorphous

another reason why this forum rocks ->HELPFUL, INTELIGENT folks just like YOU!

damn, I'm learning a lot...but really though...it's time for me start wrenchin'!

~aaron

RidgeRunner

I just changed my AMSOIL SDF57 oil filter today after 4,200 miles since I changed oil in Dec. (I don't drive much during the winter). It was a snap to pull it off through the drivers side fender well.

Put a couple old rags down below and you can prevent a mess easily by tilting the filter and carefull pulling it out. I lost about 1/2 quart, installed a new filter, then topped it off after warming up the engine and letting it sit for a few minutes to drain most of the oil back into the pan.

Mick

GV27

You can also get a gear oil pump at the parts store for ~$6 that works very well in place of the funnel.

Chris