Oil change nightmare

Started off simple enough…jacked up the car, removed the plastic cover in front of the skid, dropped the skid, removed that cover plate thing for the drain plug…then all hell broke loose.

First, yours truly forgot to take the center hole cover out of the oil catch container…and walked away for a minute to peepee…came back to oil all over the garage floor. Doh! This is what happens when you try to do car maintenance without beer.

Next, to say the oil filter housing was “over-torqued” would be hilariously understating this situation. I’ve been changing oil on my own vehicles for years, and this is the most ridiculously difficult to get off filter I’ve ever encountered. I ended up having to do this Cobra Kai karate leg thrust technique with my foot on the ratchet handle and my body half hanging out from the front of the vehicle thing. Thank for for the Motiv filter housing tool.

Now, the next issues are more than just whining, I actually could use some advice. As several others have noted, the oil pan drain gasket was stuck in the hole, and I mean stuck…healed…it has become one with the pan. I tried the “smack it with a hammer”, use a flathead, use a pry bar plastic tool, and use a razor blade tactics, but after taking a couple of chunks out of it and running out of time, I suck another crush washer onto the bolt in hopes it’ll stop any leaks, which so far so good…but it’s going to drive me insane with paranoia have that mashed up washer in there.

Lastly ::deep breath:: one of the plastic cover bolts managed to snap when I was putting Humpty Dumpty back together. I’m assuming it’s not the end of the world, but this experience has been a shitshow.

 

Dang - you've had a bad experience, but at least it's better than the experience the bug on the bottom of your skid plate vent grill had...

 

The amount of rocks, bugs, and a random Cheeto that fell out of that skid when I lowered it was awe inspiring!

 

I don't understand stuck washer issue. Was OEM washer or plain aluminum one used? Either one of them shouldn't be stuck so badly that small flathead or box cutter blade couldn't pry out. Be careful not to gauge mating surface there or you will get oil leaks. If you bought this rig used inspect that drain tread for Helicoil or some other hardware installed to fix stripped drain pan treads It may not be a washer and will not come off.

 

'Twas blue in color, looked like the crush washers I got from the dealership, but it definitely wasn't coming off. I'm considering taking it to the dealership to have them look at it, unfortunately...just sucks having to do that.

 

Sometimes it's best to recognize limitations and let the professionals take over...

 

Ya, I’m not trying to screw up the threads in the oil pan, just sucks seeing the carfax show this vehicle has only ever been serviced by the dealership, I feel like the issue was likely caused by then to begin with.

 

You can't be serious. It is a simple oil change.

 

should be, but when the washer has healed to the oil pan, turns out it’s not

 

Chalk it up as a learning experience. It won’t be as hard next time…

Interestingly, Carfax won’t show the oil change by you on their report.

 

An oil change is part of the CPO inspection process by the dealership, so they’d have been the last to do this, according to carfax and all of the paperwork received during purchase.

 

Hmmm, I think you work for Toyota as an oil change tech…c’mon, admit it!!!

Regarding the stuck-on washer..,I bought a 2006 Sienna new. Owned it for 15 years, always did my own oil changes. That drain bolt washer served me well for the first 10years or so, until it finally came off. We currently own an 18 Highlander, bought new. Factory drain plug washer is still going strong

I know you are technically supposed to replace them, but it you do a good job cleaning the mating surface, and you dont over torque and mash it all up, that washer is perfectly fine. I never had a leak.

Oh, forgot to mention, 21 4runner…37k miles. I’ve done all the oil changes…factory washer…no leaks lol

 

Good to know, thanks! I'm just hoping the replacement washer stacked on top of the factory, healed-in-place washer that I marred up a bit trying to get it out will not cause an issue, but only time will tell. So far no leaks, longer drive tomorrow will be telling....will definitely be bringing some oil with me just in case. In theory, it's a pretty simple oil change, just feels like I have bad luck sometimes.

 

My 4R the drain bolt looked like a washer but its part of the pan.

Was like that since day 1 and I've never taken it in for an oil change. I thought the same thing but I know for sure I replace the washer every change as well. I also use plastic ones not metal so I know its not the same one stuck.

 

Well, hopefully putting some decent chunks into the blue washer that seems to be stuck into the pan didn't screw anything up. The new washer over top of it seems to be holding any leaks away, just paranoid.

 

Mine didn't look blue but mine for sure what shaped like a washer.

 

If in fact that was part of the pan, did yours have a washer over it? Mine didn’t. Either way, it never leaked on me. Not that Im against using washers.

But then again, I’m paranoid too…so I would worry stacking a washer on top would leave the drainplug without sufficient thread depth.

We all have bad days…in fact my last oil change was kinda like yours, really it approached comical levels of “bad day”. I’d say more about it, but I do want to preserve my dignity, so I wont

If it’s not leaking now, You’re probably good. Leave the skid plate off, and take along a wrench in case you need to snug it up a bit.

 

Interesting. I also noticed a blue washer stuck to oil pan that would not come off. So I just left it there and screwed the bolt back in. It was so stuck that I wondered if it was part of the pan, but I don’t think it is cause its surface was rubbery and blue. On next DIY change I may go with the add-a-washer approach like OP @GJ4R …

 

I honestly don't remember the first oil changes but I've always put a washer.

I don't have my 4R to crawl under there and look but I do remember trying to pick that damn thing off before because I thought it was a washer also. I believe my Tundra pan is the same.

 

Mine wasn't rubbery it was all metal just raised outside of the pan and the perfect size same as the bolt.

 

I admit I also made a bit of a mess the first time I did it, but I have perfected my technique as I keep doing them both on the taco and the 4R. Putting down everything you need, starting with that water and beer is much of the ritual I do when I get underneath. I think there is still plenty of value in DIY for this particular job.

 

I just reviewed several YT oil change videos. I only found two that actually showed the drain hole, but interestingly on one of them the area around the drain hole looked smooth and on the other there is apparently a flange. Check out these screenshots:

 

Mine for sure looks like the top one.

I remember being like wtf trying to pick at it. I wonder if you don't need a washer with it but I still put.

 

Interesting, I’ll have to check mine out next time as well.

 

The blue washer is a crush washer. I have a whole package of them. Mine was stuck and I couldn't find my package so I just reused the one that was on there. Next oil change I will remove it. I think 30# of torque is too much and it squeezes a little of the crush washer into the drain plug hole at the inside edges causing it to get stuck.

It will come off. You can use a screwdriver or blade or other implement. If it is still stuck at the next oil change, I'm going to start with a plastic trim tool to pop it off. If that doesn't work, i will grab it on both sides with pair of pliers and twist.

 

Thx for posting that. Mine looks like the top photo, but it was definitely blue and rubbery. So it had to be a washer. Can't tell for sure in your pic, but it could simply be a washer that was stuck on like mine, and like the OP's.

 

I think this confusion is exactly why I just let mine ride until it fell off on it’s own .

 

I bet my oil change was worse! Much worse! And I've already lost my dignity with this story so will repeat it here:

No prob draining the old oil out of the pan -- just left that blue rubberized washer stuck on there.

No prob with the skid plate, the bolts and threads were in good shape and I just let the skid hang down from its hooks.

No prob draining oil from the filter housing. Used the plastic insert and it poured out nicely into my dirty-oil receptacle.

Some prob removing the filter housing. Required a lot of torque and my wrench didn't fit snuggly so there was some disconcerting play. Upon removal, noted some mangling of one of the plastic tabs. Looked like pre-existing damage, but couldn't be 100% sure. In any case, it wasn't severe.

No prob swapping the filter element and O rings.

And then it all went downhill... I gorilla'd the reinstall of the filter housing, for some stupid reason thinking it needed to be extra tight, and with extra help from my crappy wrench I broke off one of the other tabs. Well, I said to myself, no big deal. Those tabs are trouble anyway. So I poured in 6.6 quarts of pristine Mobil 1. And started the engine. And it was Niagara Falls down there. Quarts of new oil spurting all over the place from the crack in the housing I had caused.

Ok, I say to myself, well that sucked but I'll clean it all up and install the new metal filter housing that was scheduled to arrive later that day.

Buuuuut noooooo. The broken housing will NOT come off. Not for nothing. I tried different wrenches, longer levers....hammering at it.... Nothing worked. It would not budge one fraction of a millimeter. I just beat the poor sucker up more.

Sooooo after another failed attempt the next day I gave up and had it towed to my local shop. Those guys wrestled with the housing too, but got it off and replaced it with the metal version.

So that was one very expensive -- and messy -- oil change!

 

That’s humiliating alright. But hold my beer:

When I was performing my very first oil change — on a 1971 Datsun 510 wagon, yellow — I filled the car with oil, having neglected to replace the drain plug. I closed the hood, hopped in, started her up, and backed down the long concrete driveway. Leaving a nice long strip of oil on the pavement all the way down. I spent 2 weekends getting the stain off the driveway, and even years later my dad never passed up on an opportunity to remind me of the incident

 

I put all of the used drain plug gaskets on a key rig, then I can present them to a prospective buyer in the unlikely event I decide to sell my 4R.

I did this with my Tacoma after 20+ years of ownership and the buyer was in disbelief. Yes, I know, it’s a little OCD.