Installation was completed yesterday and appears to have gone OK. I experienced small leaks from several components, but after adding sealant and tightening things, the leaks seem to be gone.
The process can be quite intimidating if you're not familiar with assembling mechanical things and wielding power tools. The instructions you see at
www.oilguard.com are pretty much the instructions you get; it includes no pictures and little explanation of terms. You'll need to buy a few additional parts at a local hardware store and get ahold of a power drill if you don't have one already.
The first step is to figure out where you want the filter to go. The model I got, the EPS-20, is larger than a good-size coffee can (the EPS-10 is about half that size). Luckily, I found a space under the battery that was free of equipment; Toyota had even predrilled some mounting holes for me! The mounting bracket is big and solid and shouldn't have any trouble surviving the road.
The hardest part of this bit of the installation was maneuvering the heavy filter in the confined space of the engine - it's a good idea to rehearse how you're going to move things and tighten nuts within the engine compartment before you do it. Also remember that while the filter can be mounted in any orientation, you'll want to be able to turn it upright before you change it lest the liquid contents distribute themselves all over the bottom of your engine compartment. And remember to install the In and Out fittings to the filter before you put the filter in.
Next, you locate the oil pressure sending unit. I had no idea what it looked like, so a delay ensued while I found it. You should make sure you're able to get to your unit with a crescent wrench or equivalent, as mine was screwed in very tightly. You disconnect it and insert in its place the T-junction they've provided for you (I guess all oil pressure sending units are the same diameter). Then you reconnect the unit and the connector for the hose. This part was quite difficult owing mainly to the inconvenient location of my sending unit.
Lastly, you find a place for the oil to return to the system. Oilguard suggests two possibilities: the oil pan above the oil level, or the valve cover. Both of these involve drilling into your engine block, which made me very nervous. I opted for the valve cover because I didn't know where the oil level was.
My valve cover is topped with a plastic cowling, so I had to cut a notch in this where the hose would go. I placed the hole directly under the oil filling cap, reasoning that this was where oil was supposed to go anyway; furthermore, I could place a paper towel inside the opening to catch the aluminum shavings that would otherwise fall into the engine (that would be Bad). I had to disconnect and remove the air intake box in order to line up the drill properly (another thing to rehearse prior to installation). You drill the hole and then install the self-tapping fitting they provide and the connector for the hose.
After that, you connect the hoses - one from the T-junction to the In fitting and one from the Out fitting to the valve cover - and you're done. I'd recommend cutting the hoses prior to install and attaching the swivel hose ends to the hoses first rather than to the straight JIC fittings. Remember that the new filter will suck up some oil (over two quarts, in my case), so be ready to add more.
Looking back, my primary advice (that I've mentioned already) is to rehearse thoroughly. The instructions assume you know a fair bit about fittings, seals, and the parts of an engine that deal with oil, and every engine is different, so even before you buy the OilGuard you should figure out where you would put it and whether it's possible to install all the pertinent parts in your engine with the tools you have. This will make the installation significantly quicker and easier. As per the second question, all the parts provided fit as instructed and were solidly built - perhaps a little too solidly, since I still haven't been able to either tighten or loosen the element canister, though I haven't tried very hard.
Any other questions, please ask.
