Oil Change drama

So let me set the mood; to all of you guys who have perfect oil changes, never spill a drop, everything goes perfectly, and you're done in 20 minutes - I hate your guts with every ounce of my being!

OK, I admit that's over the top, and once I calm down we can be friends again. Let me explain.

We have 3 vehicles, a G37 convertible, 5th gen 4Runner, and the 2.5 gen Tundra. All 3 were due for an oil change at the same time. Sunday looked to be a nice day, so I went and got all the supplies. Oil, oil filters, air filters, and cabin filters (I change the air/cabin filters about this time every year.)

First up, the G37. Aside from having to remove about 2 dozen (not much of an exaggeration here) 10mm bolts to remove the plastic aero shield that stretches from bumper to transmission, it went well. I thought I was in for a good day, didn't spill anything, no mess. Perfect.

Then I moved to the cabin filter. I'd like to kick the engineer that dreamed this up in the nuts with a square toe steel toe boot! Have to pop off two panels, and remove another half dozen +1 screws to remove the glove box assembly - THEN you get access to the filter box. Naturally, the last, hardest to get to screw had to fight me to go back in. Aggravation level 3.

Next up was the 4Runner. I installed a Fumoto valve on the Tundra, and have one for the 4R, so I thought I'd install that today. The location of the oil plug is super simple to get to, so I decided not to install the valve. Initial oil drain went fine - even romoving the front (factory) skid wasn't too bad.

On to the oil filer. The little metal plug to drain the filter wouldn't budge. I tried holding the filter with a wrench and trying to loosen. No go. OK, I'll drop the whole filter and make a mess. Which I did. Oil splashed out of my drain pan everywhere. Great. Took the filter to a workbench, and using a vice, pliers, and the socket finally got the plug loose. OK, good. Don't tighten it as much this time, reinstall and move on. At least I didn't crack it (that I can see, no leaks so far). Did slice my pinky finger open on something during the stuggle, resembles a deep paper cut so nothing major, just another annoyance. I'm sure all the oil in it will be fine. Aggravation level 5.

On to replacing the front skid, again, last bolt in is sketchy to start with, and decided it wasn't going to thread in right. Spent too much time fighting this, but finally got it to tighten up. Again, at least I didn't break it. That will probably wait until I try to remove it next time. Aggravation level 7.

Now, lube the u-joints and all should be good. Locate a small gap to get my hand barely in to the front of the front shaft (slightly more difficult with the RCI skid, bit it was tough to reach anyway). Got the Locknlube to grab in, one squeeze, good. Second squeeze... nothing. Damn, out of grease. OK, I've got more tubes. Pull it apart, and somehow half of the first tube has squished out behind the plunger into the spring. Not sure why, but a lot of time spent trying to clean that up. Aggravation building as it's a super messy process. I'm probably at level 8, 8.5. Finally get it back together, crawl back up under the 4R, lock on, squeeze... nothing. Fight with it some more, try again... nothing. Realize I forgot to take the foil cover off the top of the grease tube, so half my grease is likely back in the spring behind the plunger. I may or may not have thrown the grease gun across the garage at this point.

Took a break, calmed down, cleaned up the gun (again) and inserted my last grease tube - making sure to remove the foil seal. Test squeeze, seems to be working. Back under the 4R. Locknlube won't attach to the zerk. It doesn't even want to open. Inspection reveals damage received on landing after it's little flight across the garage damaged (bent) the opening. Tried to pry it back out for a little bit. Decided to take another break, drain my oil pan back into empty oil jugs to take in for recycling. Naturally, wind up somehow spilling a bunch everywhere. Great. At this point I decided to throw in the towel.

Tundra oil change will wait for another day. I have a new locknlube on order, and am going to pick up a new grease gun (this one was super cheap - the locknlube cost twice as much as it did). Oh yeah, I was going to rotate tires on 4R and Tundra too. That will be another day too.

The Tundra hasn't fought me in the past, but that damn 4Runner. It's always battled me during oil changes. Not sure why, it's a straigh forward process. Other than oil changes, I really like it.

Went in, and noticed I was really tired and hungry. Figured I hadn't had any water for a while too. Suppose my mood/issues may have been partly caused by dehydration and hunger? So I did the right thing and blamed it all on my wife for not bringing me a sandwich and water before I started working on the 4Runner. She didn't think it was funny.

 

Wow! Praise to you for trying all that in one day.

You need a beer or 4!

 

Got the Tundra done tonight. Piece of cake! Was excited to finally try out the fumoto valve and motive-x kit. Both worked like a charm!

 

EPIC rated!!

 

On a serious note I’ve learned NEVER to do
any work without some water and food handy. Had a flat tire last summer and decided to power through before stopping for a drink. Once done I was so gassed and lightheaded/nauseous from lack of water that I damn near got heat exhaustion. All those briefings in the Navy/Army Reserves and I never paid much attention till last summer.

 

Toyotas and Suzukis are such a pain in the ass to perform oil changes on. I don't know why I continue to do them myself. It's because I don't trust anyone else.

 

I changed the oil on my daughters Hyundai Kona tonight. It was stupid easy. No skid pans to remove and the port was big enough for the oil to drain. 20 minutes…

 

Oil change without a six pack is pointless.

 

After the first oil change when I pulled the drain plug and the oil flew out so hard it coated the brakes, front rim, and tire.... found a way to make the oil change pretty easy and with minimal mess.

https://www.tundras.com/threads/oil-change-at-5k-or-10k.119737/page-6#post-3088640

 

Good story, reminds me of my misfortunes, I always lay down cardboard, I have a large one that's got splatter stains from constant use. Also have 2 4x4 pieces of wood I place by the wheels, because wind always picks up when the oil starts flowing out.... lol plus frozen capri suns and lots of water.

 

I modified my skid plate by cutting slots in the two center mounting tabs (see photo). When I remove it, I only loosen those two bolts, removing the other three. Slide forward a bit and it drops free. When replacing, bring into position, slide forward a bit and then back engaging the slots. This will hold it in place to start the other three bolts. It is a little bit of a wrestling match to line it up for re-attaching but once the bolts are in the slots, the rest is easy.

 

That is an awesome idea! Well done!!

 

I'm copying that one. Great idea!

 

Thanks for sharing! More entertaining than I had expected!

 

Been there done that............. This is why I drink a beer before starting....

 

I have been using a 1 gallon milk or water jug and cutting it in such a shape that I can hold the handle and control the "blast" of oil into my catch pan. Same as you, I completely covered my brake rotor and made a huge mess the first time I changed it on my 5.7. Then my first instinct was to try to put the drain plug back on as oil was shooting everywhere which made things ten times worse.

8 quarts of 0 weight oil can produce quite a stream coming from that small drain. What a mess.

 

. Good times! Memories of jacking the truck up, pulling off the tire, scrubbing everything down, twice, and then using a whole can of Brake cleaner. So fun!!!
Volvo max drain plug to the rescue!
https://www.valvomax.com/

 

What I do (no pictures, unfortunately) is run the truck up on Rhino ramps. This gives plenty of clearance for a 5 gallon plastic bucket (made for oil changes) to position next to the drain plug. Remove the drain plug and the oil runs straight into the 5 gallon bucket, not a drip anywhere else. After fully draining and replacing the drain plug, I have it on a piece of cardboard and can (carefully) slide it forward to drain the oil filter before removing the housing for a filter change.

Dan

 

This is what I use as well. It’s great.

 

Do these protrude into the pan a bit? Someone mentioned that he could not quite get out the last pint of oil, that may have been with a fumoto valve though.

 

Thru all your blunders, hopefully a lesson was learned at least on that approach. Happy Wife, Happy Life !

 

Protrudes probably less than the Fumoto valve and I just changed the oil and filter last week. Had to put 8.5 quarts into it to be in between the marks on the dipstick so no retention here.

 

I forgot to mention (in post #11) that I bent over the front hanger hooks to get them out of the way (they are worthless anyway). This makes it easier to slide the skid plate fore and aft to position for slot engagement.

 

I found it easiest to throw away the factory skid and install an RCI.