Aluminum Oil Filter Housing Cap for Tundra - Is there one or not?

Huh lol

 

Using the allen head drain bolt on the filter to tighten the filter housing back down. Cant make it up.

 

Tubing that comes with the filter drain kits work on the Fumoto valve. The kit I bought had plenty of tubing.

 

I broke the original plastic one on my old Tundra. Prior to that incident, I had always just tightened the cap to what felt like an appropriate amount, didn't torque it. This time I decided to do it right and use a torque wrench. Borrowed one from my dad, wasn't a great one. When I tightened the cap, I kept tightening and tightening, never felt it click. At some point I figured it couldn't be right, so I backed it back off and tried again. The second time I felt the click, it was super faint and much less torque than I'd guess it should be, likely never noticed it the first time.

So I got it all back together, filled with oil, fired up the truck, and heard a spraying sound. Immediately shut it down, found oil squirting hard out of the plastic cap. It was fractured from overtightening. What a mess. Made it to a Toyota dealership that day right before they closed and fortunately they had a replacement cap on hand.

The next truck, my current one, I swapped out for the aluminum filter housing cap on the first oil change. I also invested in some better torque wrenches.

 

this is exactly what i am going to do.....you just made sure of it.....I appreciate the story thank you

 

When you changed out your inner tube from the original plastic to the new aluminum filter housing did you have to bend back the tabs or were you able to just push inward and turn to remove it ?

 

Or just don't use toque wrenches on things that don't require them. I do all my own maintenance and don't even own a torque wrench. I've never had a wheel fall off or an a drain bolt leak, nor have I overtightened a drain bolt or oil filter. Its like the world has gone torque wrench happy. I understand there are absolutely some jobs that require a specific torque for something to operate properly, but doing an oil change or tire rotation isn't one of them. I had a friend one time that insisted on using a torque wrench to rotate their tires, so I said, I'll do mine by hand you do yours with a torque wrench. Guess what, all mine were torque correctly as well. I guess a torque wrench can be handy for the gorillas out there that slam everything on as hard as possible but if you have some common sense and knowledge 99% of things do not require a torque wrench. Case in point my oil canister is still intact after at least 6 oil changes.

 

I think I had to slightly bend the tabs, but not a lot. Only had to do it the one time, so my memory is a little lacking on the subject.

I'd say just take your time and look at it to see what you need to do. You will push in and turn it. Try it and see how much bending is necessary. I would try to keep the bending back and forth to a minimum to avoid breaking a tab off.

 

I was never one to torque that sort of thing either. Growing up my dad was a self-employed printing equipment mechanic, and I'd occasionally go on jobs with him. We'd be working on equipment that cost way more than a car, and I don't think he even carried a torque wrench with him. I grew up just tightening by feel, based on the fastener and the application.

The reason I wanted to use a torque wrench on that cap was because it was plastic. I always worried I was going to crack that thing, or under-tighten it in my attempts to keep from cracking it. Kind of ironic that it was when I tried to use a torque wrench on it that I broke the thing.

I agree that people these days can be a little torque wrench happy. That said, I'm glad I bought some nice ones. Can be good for peace of mind, and they've also taught me that I had been overtightening some things, especially lug nuts....and plastic oil filter housing caps.

 

Definitely irony right there. I do intend on buying a torque wrench at some point, its just never been a top priority. I am a tool guy though so its only a matter if time. Nothing I hate more than an over torqued lug nut. Back before I did my own maintenance, I was probably 17 or 18, I got flat and jacked the car up, attempted to take the lugs off and I had to jump on the wrench, ended up knocking the car off the jack. Learned my lesson then, always loosen lugs before jacking, aways carry a 3ft pipe as a cheater bar, and never let anyone else put your lugs on lol.

 

I went with split beam type, a CDI (1/2" drive) and a Precision Instruments (3/8" drive). Between the two, I'm pretty well covered for any torque range I'm likely to need.

 

I agree 100%. I see posts on here all the time where people are asking for torque settings for things where there is absolutely no need for a torque wrench. The last one I recall was for bed rails. The guy I bought a new propeller from installed it for me. He often mentions torque settings for certain props. I asked him if he going to use a torque wrench he pointed to his wrist. I just snug the filter cap and never had a leak.

 

I remember that bed rail torque question. That one stood out to me too.

FWIW though, an oil filter housing cap made out of plastic that can be cracked if tightened too much, at a high enough risk for such a problem that they felt the need to put the torque spec in raised letters right on said cap...that might be worth using a torque wrench on.

 

ok...thanks for the post and all your help...I ordered the aluminum housing and oil cap wrench and gaskets last night

 

2008, 213k current miles, my plastic filter one never leaked or crack. The key is to not over tighten them. It comes with a new gasket every time so there’s no need to go hulking on it. Once it stops turning, you are nice and tight

 

Tell that to the Toyota dealers. When I did my first oil change I broke a cheap filter wrench. I bought a better one and had to use a 2' cheater bar and have my neighbor hold my legs. I was fortunate to have an aluminum cap ready to go.

 

If you're looking into the canisters, you have to bend the two tabs slightly up. In the original position, those two tabs prevent you from being able to push down on the tube, turn it, and remove it. You can push down, but when you go to turn it, the tabs stop you.

Just got back from an oil change at Cedar Park (Texas) Toyota. They refused to install my aluminum canister, because it was "a liability issue"; if they screwed it up, they didn't want to be responsible for a $10K motor. FFS, if they are that scared, I probably don't want them working on my truck! I'll be doing my own oil changes after this....

 

did you just reuse the oil filter housing plug from the plastic housing on the new aluminum filter housing or did you buy another new plug ?

 

Reused the one from the plastic cap.

 

I didn’t have to bend the tabs on mine at all… just pressed down against the spring and turned it. Came right out. I did bend them out a bit after I put the tube in the new aluminum though. Just to be sure it wouldn’t accidentally come out of place when changing the filter out.

 

A friend of mine didn’t take me up on my offer to let me change his oil, but took it to a local Firestone for it just a few days ago. Their kid must have put it on too tight… when he pulled it out of the service bay, oil was going everywhere. SMH. The vehicle was laid up for a day while they sourced a new plastic cap. This is why I’ll never let anyone touch my truck if it can be helped.

 

ok....thanks again for help

 

Ahhhhh. You one smart grasshopper.

The factory oil filter cap is friggin' plastic. The oil filter housing is aluminum. Come on guys. Plastic into aluminum. Get it snug. And don't go all mondo on it. Done.

In the meantime keep an eye out in the marketplace forum for the ubiquitous Jowett Performance oil filter cap.

 

https://jowettperformance.com/products/coming-soon-billet-oil-cap-for-filter

 

Yeah, I was looking at the online report of the service, and evidently, they replaced my driver's side seat belt. Except they didn't. WTF?

 

Yeah I agree don't be a neanderthal and you'll probably be fine. My family has had volvos for a looooong time, never broken a filter housing cap and never leaked oil from it. Looking for problems where none exist, methinks. But I'm very guilty of that too

 

Is the torque the same for the aluminium oil filter cap? or is it more than the plastic cap?

I think for the plastic cap, the spec is 18 lbf-ft. Can't recall the alum. Since Tundra does not come with alum cap, maybe the spec for Lexus or other Toyotas with the same alum housing can be used.

@PA452 may know since he's got fancy torque wrenches!

 

Hand tight always works.

 

Yeah it takes some force to fully thread on the caps because of the o rings they use for sealing. Torque probably doesn't matter so long as it's fully seated and you don't break the cap. It would take way more than normal oil pressure to bypass the seals, such that the torque load on the threads would stop a leak.

 

I don't remember what the torque specs were, but I'm pretty sure it was embossed in raised letters on the aluminum cap just like on the plastic cap.