Tundra oil change

The dealership I bought my Tundra at offers free oil changes for life. I really had no intention of using that as I've seen and had too many bad experiences with taking vehicles in for maintenance unless it's really necessary (something I can't do myself or it just isn't worth my time).

Just watched a couple of videos on a newer Tundra oil change; they sure look to have made it a pain in the ass compared to my old Tacomas. I'm mainly referring to having to remove a skid plate to get at everything, and the design of the filter.

On the skid plate, are you guys finding the bolts that hold it on are handling the elements well? Should I expect them to get rusty and be a pain to remove after a few years? I'll be applying Never-Seez to the threads the first time I remove them.

On the filter, I loved on my Tacomas how the filter was easy access right up top. What I'm seeing on the Tundra makes me think they were trying to keep people from wanting to do their own oil changes. Looks like I absolutely need a special tool? Is that piece the special tool goes on plastic? Much risk in stripping off the threads? Whole thing looks stupid to me.

 

The Tacoma V6 oil change ruins you for life. It ruined me. Every time I change oil on any number of cars, I can be heard whispering "why cant this be like the tacoma..."

I'm not sure why people make such a big deal over the skid plate, it takes (not exaggerating) 1 minute. Just give it time you will get used it. It will feel easy. but never as easy as the tacoma lol

 

My Impreza filter location is just like the Tacoma except no drain spout under the cup. Doesn't matter though, most of the oil seems to drain out of the filter on that car before you try to remove it, so it's an even cleaner and easier change than the Tacoma.

I was just kind of hoping that sort of thing was the new standard. I haven't had to pull an oil filter on a car/truck from underneath in almost 12 years.

 

mmmm $300 for a skid plate that replaces the thing that's already there? it takes two minutes to drop the skid plate.

 

It also took only 2 minutes of semi serious wheeling to frack up the OEM slightly stronger than sliced cheese piece of crap "skid plate".

 

Two minutes to drop but literally took me 30 minutes to reinstall on the ground after dark with a headlamp on. Not sure they could have made it more of a pain in the ass if they tried. Why does it have to slip into two little slots instead of just bolting up? They couldn’t foresee the fact that it needs to be removed to change oil?

 

yeah....
the percentage of tundras being beaten off road compared to the total units sold is prob pretty narrow...

The hooks are so you can 1) hang it and 2) it doesn't fall on you
I think people are overthinking this thing... def doesn't need a $300 'fix'

 

Agreed. Definitely overthinking going on. Would be pointless to spend $300 for a skid plate on a mall crawler let alone just to make it easier to change oil.
It will provide actual protection compared to OEM when a road hazard may pop up out of nowhere on the highway.

It's quite simple to actually fab an access door on the OEM "dust" plate. I believe there are a couple examples here on the forum.

 

I considered just cutting an access port into it win a grinder, but that seems like a great roadkill collection device.

 

You can cut out and reuse the piece as a hinged door that's latched with recessed fasteners or like the way the TRD or RCI version is.

 

Hey we all spent money on things we don't really need...how is the skid any different...
I think it's easy to remove the factory skid and the oil change is easy as well... after you have done it once..
Guys buy the fumoto valve too...but not me..I just bought other things I didn't really need. Lol

 

True..hehehe. The factory skid isn't that heavy either. My RCI was heavy but it does have the access plate. The Fumoto would be nice to have.

 

I know the Fumoto valve is a popular item, but to me there's just something unsettling about having a quick and easy valve that can dump my engine oil. I've never seen one in person though.

 

Had one for years on my Tacoma, and was one of the first things I bought for my Tundra. I could change my Tacoma oil with no tools! Can’t do that with a Tundra, but no concerns about the valve on my part.

 

The fact that it's under a skid plate on the Tundra would make me feel slightly better about it.

 

I don't have a problem with a filter that you have to disassemble; those other self-contained filter canisters make a mess anyway when you have to pull them off. Sure, it requires a tool that you have to buy once and a few extra steps with the o-rings and whatnot, but I appreciate that you can actually see the dirty filter, so you have a better idea of the state of your oil and filter when you're changing it. You can't see that detail with a canister filter unless you cut it open...

The skid plate isn't a big deal, I have a car with a plastic air deflector that's a million times worse to deal with (I bought it used, so half of the bolts are rusted, the other half have been replaced by zip ties >.< ). I once had a car with a Fumoto valve and easy-to-access canister filter, so an oil change took a matter of minutes and no tools. The Tundra requires more tools and time, but a good ol' fashioned oil change is kind of fun.

 

My OEM skid was pretty beat up and got real hard to deal with not to mention replacing bolts all the time.

 

My first time messing with the skid plate took a little longer than it should have, but it wasnt like it was fighting with me. After i understood how it worked it made perfect sense.

It is an extra step, and sometimes even just one extra step can be incredibly annoying, but in the end its only a hassle if you are trying to fight it on.