Work’s Canceled Tonight - 1st Oil Change Time on the 4Runner!

Ovalnut said:
Boss called me tonight because work was canceled also, I work at the Nissan plant. First time they've shut down for weather in a while. I doubt it even does anything, its not at the moment.
Click to expand...
What area do you live in?

We‘re in Madison and it started with freezing mist around 5 pm and progressed into light sleet, which has continued throughout the evening. And with how cold it’s been, it’s sticking.

It’s done a pretty good job of icing up the streets around here.

There‘s a mild hill out on the street, within view of our living room windows, and I’ve seen cars struggling to get up it. Just sitting and spinning for a couple of minutes, I guess, until the tires get enough heat in them to grab.
 
I'm south of Murfreesboro, everything looks to be mostly north of where I am. There's more behind what were seeing now in Texas and Arkansas that looks unavoidable though.
 
john_pifer said:
How do those vehicles do, starting in that kind of cold? I think the coldest I’ve started a car was in N. IN. a couple of years ago - my 2016 WRX, in single-digit temps with PPPP 10W-30.
Click to expand...
They are fine. Fresh coolant, 5 or 0W oils, good battery (probably most important). We don’t get here these temperatures that often. I see it in the mountains very often, but front range has actually milder winter than rest of the North, Northwest US (and definitely sunnier). Here it is weather roller coaster, and sometimes we see 60-70 degrees temperature swings in the spring. I March and April I can literally drive to ski with open sunroof, enter mountains and see full blown blizzard and 0 degrees, and come back same day to 60-70 degree weather just 1hr drive.
 
@john_pifer So, did you find anything in the oil or filter during this first change?
I did the first oil and filter change on my 4Runner at 5000 miles. I didn't have anything in the filter and the oil drained was pretty clear.
 
I've seen too many vvt/chain/tensionerguide and oil consumption issues with Toyota's just outside of warranty with their 10k mile recommended interval. Toyota also includes a 5k mile special operating conditions interval worth considering. When some call it severe service, Toyota just calls it 'special'. Too bad they watered the definition of special service down and left out plenty common to older "severe service" recommendations. And, if you drive offroad, you have a DAILY off-road interval/checklist. I do like that Toyota stresses the "WHICHEVER COMES 1st" for time/mileage intervals. Too many consumers don't understand time/miles whichever comes 1st. 1st time to see an automaker define it thoroughly like Toyota.

I'd keep OCI under 7500 miles if it were mine. The more you drive per trip, the longer you can go. But, too many short trip their vehicles and cause their own problems with 'interval'. Install an engine timer. Most consumers aren't smart enough to see the difference when one commuter drives 10k miles in 250hrs, and another sits in traffic for 250hrs only driving 3k miles.

I didn't waste money on a silly filter draining tool. If you bought EVER tool recommended in a forum, you'd have wall to wall of useless never used tools. The cartridge filters come with a freebie drain that can be connected to hose from acelowesdepot. BTW, some of the better cartridge filters use a viton o-ring for the filter drain. So, after installing that, I've never used the filter drain on my cars equipped with a cartridge. I've never seen the o-ring 'dry out' even with the cheaper and OE filters. Laughable scare mongering here!

All my new cars had a 1st oil/filter change by 500 miles.
I haven't seen issues with well/over maintained engines. Do see plenty with 'textbook' dealer maintenance... across all makes/models nowadays.
I never cared for the AST oil filter wrench, or equivalent, that gets caught or stuck on the cover or slips off, and the Motivx was nothing special, like most of the equivalent look-a-likes, but has their name and some fancy paint/powder coating whatever. Its was no different than any other $8 chicom oil filter sockets.

I recommend these two over ANY of the others:
CTA makes a quality Toyota oil filter cartridge socket:
www.ctatools.com

CTA Tools - Automotive Specialty Tools for Professionals

CTA Tools - Automotive Specialty Tools for Professionals - From Timing Tool Kits to Extra-Thin Wall Deep Sockets, CTA offers the widest range of professional automotive specialty tools in the market. Whether tuning up your BMW E46 M3 or removing one-off wheels on a Lamborghini Huracan, CTA...
www.ctatools.com www.ctatools.com
Lisle has sells a quality forged steel socket too:

And, if you run out of 0w20, you can use any synthetic oil grade you want because Toyota still tosses this into their owners manual.
An oil with a higher viscosity (one with a higher value) may be better suited if the vehicle is operated at high speeds, or under extreme load conditions.

Yes, Hades just froze over because someone recommended something other than Motivx or AST. And, I recommend Toyota's "special operating" or off-road intervals, next thicker grade full synthetic oil, and shorter than 10k intervals. Oh the humanity! BTW, the coolant/ATF/brakefluid/gearoils don't last as long as Toyota thinks ;)
 
Greasymechtech said:
I've seen too many vvt/chain/tensionerguide and oil consumption issues with Toyota's just outside of warranty with their 10k mile recommended interval. Toyota also includes a 5k mile special operating conditions interval worth considering. When some call it severe service, Toyota just calls it 'special'. Too bad they watered the definition of special service down and left out plenty common to older "severe service" recommendations. And, if you drive offroad, you have a DAILY off-road interval/checklist. I do like that Toyota stresses the "WHICHEVER COMES 1st" for time/mileage intervals. Too many consumers don't understand time/miles whichever comes 1st. 1st time to see an automaker define it thoroughly like Toyota.

I'd keep OCI under 7500 miles if it were mine. The more you drive per trip, the longer you can go. But, too many short trip their vehicles and cause their own problems with 'interval'. Install an engine timer. Most consumers aren't smart enough to see the difference when one commuter drives 10k miles in 250hrs, and another sits in traffic for 250hrs only driving 3k miles.

I didn't waste money on a silly filter draining tool. If you bought EVER tool recommended in a forum, you'd have wall to wall of useless never used tools. The cartridge filters come with a freebie drain that can be connected to hose from acelowesdepot. BTW, some of the better cartridge filters use a viton o-ring for the filter drain. So, after installing that, I've never used the filter drain on my cars equipped with a cartridge. I've never seen the o-ring 'dry out' even with the cheaper and OE filters. Laughable scare mongering here!

All my new cars had a 1st oil/filter change by 500 miles.
I haven't seen issues with well/over maintained engines. Do see plenty with 'textbook' dealer maintenance... across all makes/models nowadays.
I never cared for the AST oil filter wrench, or equivalent, that gets caught or stuck on the cover or slips off, and the Motivx was nothing special, like most of the equivalent look-a-likes, but has their name and some fancy paint/powder coating whatever. Its was no different than any other $8 chicom oil filter sockets.

I recommend these two over ANY of the others:
CTA makes a quality Toyota oil filter cartridge socket:
www.ctatools.com

CTA Tools - Automotive Specialty Tools for Professionals

CTA Tools - Automotive Specialty Tools for Professionals - From Timing Tool Kits to Extra-Thin Wall Deep Sockets, CTA offers the widest range of professional automotive specialty tools in the market. Whether tuning up your BMW E46 M3 or removing one-off wheels on a Lamborghini Huracan, CTA...
www.ctatools.com www.ctatools.com
Lisle has sells a quality forged steel socket too:

And, if you run out of 0w20, you can use any synthetic oil grade you want because Toyota still tosses this into their owners manual.
An oil with a higher viscosity (one with a higher value) may be better suited if the vehicle is operated at high speeds, or under extreme load conditions.

Yes, Hades just froze over because someone recommended something other than Motivx or AST. And, I recommend Toyota's "special operating" or off-road intervals, next thicker grade full synthetic oil, and shorter than 10k intervals. Oh the humanity! BTW, the coolant/ATF/brakefluid/gearoils don't last as long as Toyota thinks ;)
Click to expand...
I definitely don’t agree with Toyota’s recommendation of 10K OCIs WITH 0W-20 oil in hotter climates. Especially not whatever bulk 0W-20 the dealership or indy shop uses.

Now, there may be exceptions for colder climates and better 20 grade oils. There are many 20 grade oils that have little to no polymer viscosity modifying additives, so, they should do very well at resisting shear-down and losing viscosity.

I DO plan on 10K OCIs, but with at least a very good 30 grade.

I’ll go 7000 miles on this M1-AP 0W-20, and might even get a UOA.
 
Greasymechtech said:
I've seen too many vvt/chain/tensionerguide and oil consumption issues with Toyota's just outside of warranty with their 10k mile recommended interval. Toyota also includes a 5k mile special operating conditions interval worth considering. When some call it severe service, Toyota just calls it 'special'. Too bad they watered the definition of special service down and left out plenty common to older "severe service" recommendations. And, if you drive offroad, you have a DAILY off-road interval/checklist. I do like that Toyota stresses the "WHICHEVER COMES 1st" for time/mileage intervals. Too many consumers don't understand time/miles whichever comes 1st. 1st time to see an automaker define it thoroughly like Toyota.

I'd keep OCI under 7500 miles if it were mine. The more you drive per trip, the longer you can go. But, too many short trip their vehicles and cause their own problems with 'interval'. Install an engine timer. Most consumers aren't smart enough to see the difference when one commuter drives 10k miles in 250hrs, and another sits in traffic for 250hrs only driving 3k miles.

I didn't waste money on a silly filter draining tool. If you bought EVER tool recommended in a forum, you'd have wall to wall of useless never used tools. The cartridge filters come with a freebie drain that can be connected to hose from acelowesdepot. BTW, some of the better cartridge filters use a viton o-ring for the filter drain. So, after installing that, I've never used the filter drain on my cars equipped with a cartridge. I've never seen the o-ring 'dry out' even with the cheaper and OE filters. Laughable scare mongering here!

All my new cars had a 1st oil/filter change by 500 miles.
I haven't seen issues with well/over maintained engines. Do see plenty with 'textbook' dealer maintenance... across all makes/models nowadays.
I never cared for the AST oil filter wrench, or equivalent, that gets caught or stuck on the cover or slips off, and the Motivx was nothing special, like most of the equivalent look-a-likes, but has their name and some fancy paint/powder coating whatever. Its was no different than any other $8 chicom oil filter sockets.

I recommend these two over ANY of the others:
CTA makes a quality Toyota oil filter cartridge socket:
www.ctatools.com

CTA Tools - Automotive Specialty Tools for Professionals

CTA Tools - Automotive Specialty Tools for Professionals - From Timing Tool Kits to Extra-Thin Wall Deep Sockets, CTA offers the widest range of professional automotive specialty tools in the market. Whether tuning up your BMW E46 M3 or removing one-off wheels on a Lamborghini Huracan, CTA...
www.ctatools.com www.ctatools.com
Lisle has sells a quality forged steel socket too:

And, if you run out of 0w20, you can use any synthetic oil grade you want because Toyota still tosses this into their owners manual.
An oil with a higher viscosity (one with a higher value) may be better suited if the vehicle is operated at high speeds, or under extreme load conditions.

Yes, Hades just froze over because someone recommended something other than Motivx or AST. And, I recommend Toyota's "special operating" or off-road intervals, next thicker grade full synthetic oil, and shorter than 10k intervals. Oh the humanity! BTW, the coolant/ATF/brakefluid/gearoils don't last as long as Toyota thinks ;)
Click to expand...

So how common is the timing chain/phaser/tensioner issues? I already have that to worry about with my Ecoboost, I didnt think I would have to worry about it with my GX460.

So would you recommend 5W-30 in the GX as well? I do tow with it once in a while.
 
Its very common on neglected engines by clueless consumers.

I would recommend a synthetic 5w30 in the GX as well, and a shorter interval.

No 10k intervals in any of my Toyotas, no 100k coolants, and no lifetime ATF
 
I'm a little late to the party, but I usually pick up the filter at the dealer. Mine sells the filter and drain plug gasket for around $8 plus tax. Been using them on the Camry (same filter as my Tacoma, not sure on the 4R) since new. They're good filters.

I'm waiting till about 5K on my truck. If my timeline lines up correctly the Camry will be due at the same time so I'll just pick up a couple filters and a 12QT case of TGMO 0w20 at the dealer. From what I can see the TGMO is still a very good oil. I'll run that till my warranty runs out on the Tacoma (if I keep this one that long and not get a new one, LOL) and then probably bump it up to a 5w30. The 2GR in my truck probably won't tell a difference.
 
john_pifer said:
What kind of operation are y’all? Line maintenance or MRO?

We‘re an MRO, and we’re also a good-sized corporation, so, often, the decision comes from corporate down in FLL.

I think they’re afraid of liability - that someone might possibly crash, get hurt, and Sue.
Click to expand...
I work for Envoy Air...little brother to AA out of DFW airport.
 
Greasymechtech said:
I've seen too many vvt/chain/tensionerguide and oil consumption issues with Toyota's just outside of warranty with their 10k mile recommended interval. Toyota also includes a 5k mile special operating conditions interval worth considering. When some call it severe service, Toyota just calls it 'special'. Too bad they watered the definition of special service down and left out plenty common to older "severe service" recommendations. And, if you drive offroad, you have a DAILY off-road interval/checklist. I do like that Toyota stresses the "WHICHEVER COMES 1st" for time/mileage intervals. Too many consumers don't understand time/miles whichever comes 1st. 1st time to see an automaker define it thoroughly like Toyota.

I'd keep OCI under 7500 miles if it were mine. The more you drive per trip, the longer you can go. But, too many short trip their vehicles and cause their own problems with 'interval'. Install an engine timer. Most consumers aren't smart enough to see the difference when one commuter drives 10k miles in 250hrs, and another sits in traffic for 250hrs only driving 3k miles.

I didn't waste money on a silly filter draining tool. If you bought EVER tool recommended in a forum, you'd have wall to wall of useless never used tools. The cartridge filters come with a freebie drain that can be connected to hose from acelowesdepot. BTW, some of the better cartridge filters use a viton o-ring for the filter drain. So, after installing that, I've never used the filter drain on my cars equipped with a cartridge. I've never seen the o-ring 'dry out' even with the cheaper and OE filters. Laughable scare mongering here!

All my new cars had a 1st oil/filter change by 500 miles.
I haven't seen issues with well/over maintained engines. Do see plenty with 'textbook' dealer maintenance... across all makes/models nowadays.
I never cared for the AST oil filter wrench, or equivalent, that gets caught or stuck on the cover or slips off, and the Motivx was nothing special, like most of the equivalent look-a-likes, but has their name and some fancy paint/powder coating whatever. Its was no different than any other $8 chicom oil filter sockets.

I recommend these two over ANY of the others:
CTA makes a quality Toyota oil filter cartridge socket:
www.ctatools.com

CTA Tools - Automotive Specialty Tools for Professionals

CTA Tools - Automotive Specialty Tools for Professionals - From Timing Tool Kits to Extra-Thin Wall Deep Sockets, CTA offers the widest range of professional automotive specialty tools in the market. Whether tuning up your BMW E46 M3 or removing one-off wheels on a Lamborghini Huracan, CTA...
www.ctatools.com www.ctatools.com
Lisle has sells a quality forged steel socket too:

And, if you run out of 0w20, you can use any synthetic oil grade you want because Toyota still tosses this into their owners manual.
An oil with a higher viscosity (one with a higher value) may be better suited if the vehicle is operated at high speeds, or under extreme load conditions.

Yes, Hades just froze over because someone recommended something other than Motivx or AST. And, I recommend Toyota's "special operating" or off-road intervals, next thicker grade full synthetic oil, and shorter than 10k intervals. Oh the humanity! BTW, the coolant/ATF/brakefluid/gearoils don't last as long as Toyota thinks ;)
Click to expand...

Well, the Lisle is more expensive and doesn't work any better than the MotivX. The CTA is about the same price. Any of them are better than the cheap stamped and spotwelded crap adapters you might find at Autozone, etc. But even the cheap ones from AZ, etc. will probably work, unless the housing has been grossly over-torqued by a ham-fisted hack.

The MotivX mostly gets recommended because it is better made than some, and is relatively inexpensive and easy to find.
 
The weather that I’m reading about hitting across the country, unfortunately is what I deal with almost every day in the winter in New England.

I have a 2016 Toyota Avalon with the 3.5...it “requires” 0W20...I’ve been running the 0w20 now since I’ve owned it, I’m thinking at some point of bouncing it up to a 0w30 or 5w30. I only do 5,000 mile oil changes, so maybe it’s not even worth the switch, but I’m considering it. I’m at 64,000 miles now.

And I hate Toyota’s oil filter housings. Someone wrote, to just unscrew the housing and don’t bother with the drain...think I may start giving that a try.

Good luck with your 4-runner, love those things.
 
doublebase said:
The weather that I’m reading about hitting across the country, unfortunately is what I deal with almost every day in the winter in New England.

I have a 2016 Toyota Avalon with the 3.5...it “requires” 0W20...I’ve been running the 0w20 now since I’ve owned it, I’m thinking at some point of bouncing it up to a 0w30 or 5w30. I only do 5,000 mile oil changes, so maybe it’s not even worth the switch, but I’m considering it. I’m at 64,000 miles now.

And I hate Toyota’s oil filter housings. Someone wrote, to just unscrew the housing and don’t bother with the drain...think I may start giving that a try.

Good luck with your 4-runner, love those things.
Click to expand...
Yeah, long-term, this will get a heavier grade. Just have a bunch of 0W-20 lying around, and it’s pretty good stuff (M1-AP & VME).

You know, someone earlier in the thread said he does 2 oil changes a year on his stuff - every April and October.

Sounding better and better to adopt that strategy!
 
So I may have missed it, but how did the oil change go? Any problems with the filter housing, skidplates, etc?
 
02SE said:
So I may have missed it, but how did the oil change go? Any problems with the filter housing, skidplates, etc?
Click to expand...
None at all!

Enjoyed using the MotivX oil filter socket you guys recommended, so, thank you again for that suggestion!

Since I changed the oil on Sunday night at the start of this winter storm thats been going on, I haven’t had the chance to do any driving since filling the crankcase with M1-AP 0W-20, and installing the Fram Ultra filter.

My wife drove it the 1 mile to the grocery store today.

I look forward to getting the chance to drive it a bit; it‘s always a nice feeling, taking your car or truck for a drive after an oil change.

Even if you can’t tell any real difference in the sound, the feel, the responsiveness of the engine, sometimes you’d swear you can :)

I think some BITOG members know what I mean!

@02SE What oil are you using in yours?
 
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