Oil change question / what is this stuff????

My Toyota care finally ran out on my 2017 Tundra 4X4 SR5 Double Cab and after reading a ton of post here on oil changes I thought I was ready to tackle the job and hoped it wasnt as bad as some have said it was.
We just returned from vacation last week and after 7400 Miles in 27 days on the wife's 2019 Highlander I changed the oil on it and had a history of 1 with the new type of oil filter cap and I found out that while the filter cap is a pain it wasn't that bad . The oil change went well on the Highlander and today's oil change on the Tundra wasn't that bad except for a few equipment problems (LARGER DRAIN PAN)that I will correct before doing it again.

BUT
before removing the filter on the Tundra I noticed a red grease type of stuff on the outer ring of the filter cap. Being red it got my attention and I immediately thought it was gasket sealer and wondered why in the hell would they use it. I removed the filter and found it is a red type of grease that extended up into the first 3/4 of the filter threads. As you can see from the pictures there is a lot of it and while it didnt make a mess except for removing it I have to wonder what it is and why it is there? Any ideas??

 

My guess is that the previous mechanic greased the threads for easier future removal. Maybe just used more than really needed.

 

That would be the lube the mechanic put on the O-Ring for the filter housing.
Me- I lube it with oil as it’s dripping or draining from the oil pan.

 

That’s how I was taught to do it .

 

Me- I lube it with oil as it’s dripping or draining from the oil pan.[/QUOTE]

And that is how I have always done it also, with oil. I guess if I had my own dealership I would use something other than oil..... LOL...... Now I know.

 

Man ! Really lubed it up for easy removal !

 

Not a terrible idea.

 

It’s to lube up the oil filter housing o-ring. The cap is plastic and if it’s not lubed up then it will be so hard to take off that you break the cap and hafta get a new one. Keep lubing it up. Don’t just use oil thou grease it but not a ton and it will always come off. I’ve seen even oiled up ones freeze the cap on there. Always fun when ya hafta explain to a customer why they need to buy a new cap

 

Also Vaseline works great if ya don’t wanna go buy grease