Finished My First Time Doing an Oil Change Questions

[Kira]

1) Indeed, do change your own oil. I'm a firm believer that just plain oil changes are a bother to any garage or dealership.
They commonly assign the most recalcitrant monkey to oil changes. These are the guys who over-tighten or fail to even look if the proper oil is being used. Also, you usually have to fend off upselling whenever you just want an oil change.

2) People here will have a lot to say about reusing oil drain plug gaskets. You obviously can.
However, I've experienced that the flat aluminum washers used by my last 3 Volvo 2,435cc engines, as well as the folded type used by the Subarus in the stable, provide a predictable "crush feel" as they deform into position. This is something the flat copper washers used by Saab and the steel ones mentioned above, didn't provide.

3) I agree with Titan regarding your line, " I tightened the drain bolt til I couldn't anymore with normal pressure..." That's a bit scary.
The last thing you want to do is join the, "I Stripped My Oil Pan Club".
Given the tales of filter overtightening, I suspect there are more members than we think. Most guys wouldn't post that they stripped-out a $450 oil pan.
The torque wrench suggestion is a good one.

4) Also, those meager drips on your rag correspond to what you'd see from a less-than-perfect oil drain plug gasket.
I'd bet money that a large percentage of oil drain hole strippers are done by guys reusing old, crushed gaskets. They'll see a small drip and muscle the plug tighter "because you can reuse them". In reality, they're too lazy or cheap to get a new gasket. Even if you can get 2-3 uses from one, you can't get 5 or more. And you will be increasing your tightening torque.

5) Ascertain (measure) the inner diameter of your drain plug gasket and buy a bag of them on Amazon.
Expect to see numbers like 12mm, 14mm and 18mm (mine).
I have a bunch of aluminum 14mm gaskets for Honda vehicles as I tended a neighbor's Accord.

6) Since you're new, be reminded to wipe around the work area thoroughly as a latent drip might lead you to conclude you have an active drip.

 

[FowVay]

Hello, I have a 2023 Highlander and completed my first DIY oil change and I was hoping to get some advice.

First thing - congratulations on doing your first oil change. In a world of ever dwindling personal responsibility it's great to hear of someone who has taken the steps to do things for themselves. The feeling of accomplishment is a great way to build strong life habits.

A good habit to get into anytime you start something new is to read as much about the task from the proper sources that you can. Our society has become reliant on watching YouTube videos to teach us how to do things but YouTube is a hot mess with regard to people doing things properly.

You need to use drain plug gasket P/N 90430-12031. This is a flat, annealed aluminum gasket with a textured coating on both sides. They come in two different colors and with slightly different dimensional thickness but this is only because there are numerous suppliers to the same part. Whether you get a blue gasket or a black gasket is irrelevant. Just use the proper part number.

You didn't mention whether you had a 4-cylinder or a 6-cylinder but I used the 6-cylinder as a reference. The drain plug should be torqued to 30 lb-ft which is rather high. But, this is the specification so you should try to get close to it when installing the drain plug with a new washer.

The next time you do your oil change it will be more familiar and more fun. I've included a couple of photos of the two different gaskets that you'll get from the dealer under P/N 90430-12031. They come 10 pcs per pack so if you're buying the filter at the dealer then they might just give you a new gasket. If not, buy a pack and know you're doing it properly.

 

[KrisZ]

You need to reset the maintenance minder, that’s all.

 

[Titan]

Well the oil filter is right beside the pan on this engine and Im pretty sure that would leak under pressure

You obviously don't realize that the oil filter is under pressure from the oil pump, and the Oil pump picks up oil from the oil pan which is essentially at ambient pressure, THEN pressurizes the oil to push through the filter. The ONLY reason the oil pan would have higher-than-ambient pressure is if there were excessive blow-by past the rings at the same time the Positive Crankcase Ventilation (PCV) system was malfunctioning. The total pressure at the drain plug above ambient is equal to the height of the oil in the sump...that's all. It's basic fluid mechanics 101.

 

[JeffKeryk]

@DerangedPretzel834 Congrats on your oil change service.
1st, there should be no leaking at all; perhaps you need to snug up the drain bolt. Did you remove the oil washer?
Perhaps get a torque wrench; Tekton and many others make decent ones for $40 or less. Get a 3/8" for low torque and a 1/2" for higher torque settings like lug nuts.

The copper crush washer is old skool Toyota. They work fine. The copper ones do require a bit more turning as they crush quite a bit. As others have posted, the correct way is flat side towards the engine oil pan, but it will seal either way. If it is leaking, I would give it a little tug. Regardless, if I were you I would go buy a torque wrench.

Good luck and well done.

 

[DerangedPretzel834]

Re: Q2
How long is your wrench? And is your hand oily? lol

If you do moderate amount of car work or oil changes, you will eventually get a feel for the right torque.
I can get it pretty close to 30 lbf-ft of torque if I use the same length wrench wearing my very dry (i.e. not slippery) blue plastic gloves but I always use a torque wrench and double check.

Buy a torque wrench or give the drain plug a little more squeeze to make sure. I always use a new blue fiber washer since the fiber can wear off but from time to time have reused copper or aluminum washers in my other cars if they looked perfect with no indentation or notch ... Best is to always use a new washer!

Toyota blue fiber washers are aluminum. I recently changed oil and the aluminum inside was a little exposed in my old washer. I think the fiber part helps in absorbing some oil. Was your reused washer the blue fiber or copper?

Surprised your dealer didn't have the blue washer!
When I was buying my filter from the dealer and this is long ago before I knew the fiber washers have aluminum inside, I asked for copper and my dealer said they only sell the blue kind. I like the blue washers now. As long as they gave you the right size washer you should be ok. I always compare the old and new washers to make sure they are within +/- of each other. With thick copper washer, I would give the drain plug a recheck squeeze ... but these tiny oil leaks usually stop. Sometimes there is left-over oil from the oil change that may collect there but will clear. I have seen it around my canister oil filters which eventually cleared.

You can reset the maintenance light. Curious, did your maintenance light came on at 5K miles after you purchased the car? If it's set to every 5K miles, you should have seen then unless the dealer tweaked the intervals at the 10K miles oil change. My tire rotation messages come on at 5K miles.

Is your skid plate off? I keep mine off for a couple days to make sure there is no leak before putting it back on. I don't have the fancy oil filter door in my skid plate and the cartridge type filter in my Tundra has 2 different washers which are easy to misplace and 2 different torque settings and more likely to leak than a drain plug if not correctly done.

Hello,

My wrench was a 3/8". I will definitely buy a torque wrench after this. What I meant by normal pressure was I tightened it til I couldn't anymore but didn't try to force it anymore. Some of my friends said to tighten and then give the wrench a good slap for an extra 1/8" turn. I did not bother for the extra 1/8" turn.

The washer I reused was copper. I didn't swap it cause I figured metal was durable. The extra washer that I bought from the dealer is pictured and also metal. I've ordered some "oem" blue ones from Amazon so I will use that next time.

 

[DerangedPretzel834]

@DerangedPretzel834 Congrats on your oil change service.
1st, there should be no leaking at all; perhaps you need to snug up the drain bolt. Did you remove the oil washer?
Perhaps get a torque wrench; Tekton and many others make decent ones for $40 or less. Get a 3/8" for low torque and a 1/2" for higher torque settings like lug nuts.

The copper crush washer is old skool Toyota. They work fine. The copper ones do require a bit more turning as they crush quite a bit. As others have posted, the correct way is flat side towards the engine oil pan, but it will seal either way. If it is leaking, I would give it a little tug. Regardless, if I were you I would go buy a torque wrench.

Good luck and well done.

I did not remove the old washer. It was on my bolt and I screwed it back in. If I get the torque wrench I should just be able to program it to the specs and see where my bolt is at, correct? Should I loosen the bolt then retorque?

 

[OilUzer]

Hello,

My wrench was a 3/8". I will definitely buy a torque wrench after this. What I meant by normal pressure was I tightened it til I couldn't anymore but didn't try to force it anymore. Some of my friends said to tighten and then give the wrench a good slap for an extra 1/8" turn. I did not bother for the extra 1/8" turn.

The washer I reused was copper. I didn't swap it cause I figured metal was durable. The extra washer that I bought from the dealer is pictured and also metal. I've ordered some "oem" blue ones from Amazon so I will use that next time.

It's been my experience that new people typically under tighten and are more gentle with stuff but it was just a guess ... That's why I said give it a little more turn especially with copper and an old washer. You are on the right track by paying detailed attention to everything.

If you get a torque wrench, check the spec or set it to 30 lbf-ft. I have 4 different cars with 30 for the engine oil drain plug so it must be a safe number but check yours and I wouldn't loosen it but turn it gently till it clicks.

Btw, I've changed oil for decades without a torque wrench like most others using "good and tight" method and never had any issues but ended up buying couple of torque wrenches and now I double check after I'm done. Had a Toyota dealer with big windows in the waiting room you could watch them change oil and never saw a torque wrench. lol

On the other hand, caught Discount Tire setting my lug nuts to 100+ lbf-ft as opposed to the 65-78 lb-ft spec. They were doing a truck and forgot to change the torque settings. Told them I want it at 73 lbf-ft, he said their book shows 80. I said I don't care what your book says, my owner's manual says 65-78. I always recheck after 10-50 miles of drive and then again after a week or two of drive and then every couple months ... Never had any issues at 73 lb-ft or seen anything loose. I rotate the tires myself now but take it there once in a while for balancing since I bought the tires there. Next time I'll go back to Costco.

 

[JeffKeryk]

I did not remove the old washer. It was on my bolt and I screwed it back in. If I get the torque wrench I should just be able to program it to the specs and see where my bolt is at, correct? Should I loosen the bolt then retorque?

No need to loosen the drain plug. Just smoothly pull the torque wrench until it clicks; try not to continue to pull or you will over torque the fastener.

If I understand your post, you did not double gasket the washer; that's good.
Bottom line is, the drain plug should be dry; no leaks! Good luck.

 

[DerangedPretzel834]

Bitog Update.


Amazon Basics torque wrench came in. I inspected my oil plug and did wipe a little bit of oil (very small). So I set my new wrench to 30 and got to torquing away. In the picture, the left is the new torque wrench and to my surprise it needs to be pointed to the left to tighten!

I hadn’t accounted for oil coming out so I rushed to get my oil pan to figure out what was going on. As I’ve gotten older I’ve realized if what you’re doing isn’t right to flip it around. Crisis averted. While I did not hear a click in the wrench, I read that “cheap” wrench’s don’t click if having to turn counter clock wise. I can’t turn it anymore so i figure its good.

Pictures are my new torque wrench and what I set the wrench to.

 

[Duckless]

Bitog Update.


Amazon Basics torque wrench came in. I inspected my oil plug and did wipe a little bit of oil (very small). So I set my new wrench to 30 and got to torquing away. In the picture, the left is the new torque wrench and to my surprise it needs to be pointed to the left to tighten!

I hadn’t accounted for oil coming out so I rushed to get my oil pan to figure out what was going on. As I’ve gotten older I’ve realized if what you’re doing isn’t right to flip it around. Crisis averted. While I did not hear a click in the wrench, I read that “cheap” wrench’s don’t click if having to turn counter clock wise. I can’t turn it anymore so i figure its good.

Pictures are my new torque wrench and what I set the wrench to.

View attachment 223591

View attachment 223596

Multiple styles of torque wrenches. It could click, it could kind of "give way" at the torque. It should do one or the other when you get to the right torque.

 

[OilUzer]

You were supposed to tighten. You know righty tighty ... If you had done that, you would have known it's not doing anything and then would have flipped the switch!

Also most torque wrenches only work (read the torque) in the clock-wise direction. My Tekton from Home Depot is like that and it clicks only when you are tightening. That's a good and inexpensive torque wrench. Forget Amazon unless you know exactly what you are buying and have seen it or played with it. Otherwise it's harder and more hassle to return. I think my Tekton was under $40 and I've had it for many years. I have another fancier CDI for my tires that may torque in both directions not sure ... but I've never had to torque in counter clock-wise direction.

 

[OilUzer]

As previous poster said, did you feel is was tightening and then it kind of stopped?

Next report is if the leak has stopped or not. Good job by being on top of things!

 

[DerangedPretzel834]

As previous poster said, did you feel is was tightening and then it kind of stopped?

Next report is if the leak has stopped or not. Good job by being on top of things!

Yes, it did feel like it stopped. Also, yes, it is officially stopped. I am a happy camper!

 

[DerangedPretzel834]

You were supposed to tighten. You know righty tighty ... If you had done that, you would have known it's not doing anything and then would have flipped the switch!

Also most torque wrenches only work (read the torque) in the clock-wise direction. My Tekton from Home Depot is like that and it clicks only when you are tightening. That's a good and inexpensive torque wrench. Forget Amazon unless you know exactly what you are buying and have seen it or played with it. Otherwise it's harder and more hassle to return. I think my Tekton was under $40 and I've had it for many years. I have another fancier CDI for my tires that may torque in both directions not sure ... but I've never had to torque in counter clock-wise direction.

Clock wise is the opposite when doing things on the ground, isn’t it ?. Thinking back on the filter I had also thought it was strange it was tightening in the direction it did. I will just focus on righty righty from now on instead of clock directions.

 

[Duckless]

You could work at a quick lube place at this point..

 

[Elkins45]

You could work at a quick lube place at this point..

Now that he has a torque wrench he’s probably overqualified for some of them.

 

[DerangedPretzel834]

Now that he has a torque wrench he’s probably overqualified for some of them.

I'd lose my job advising people on the benefits of heavier oils because I spent an extra hour reading on here.