Oil Filter Cap Assembly ?

Hi - I purchased the aluminum cap to replace the OEM plastic one. This ahead of an oil change due in about 500 miles. I also have a new OEM plastic cap.

Aluminum & plastic cap assemblies. Filter element on right.

I switched out the long screen tube into the aluminum cap.


Aluminum cap with long screen tube. Note relieved threads.


Plastic cap with metal clip??

There are two differences between these caps. 1) The aluminum cap has relieved threads in two places on opposite sides. 2) The plastic cap contains a metal clip which isn't on the aluminum cap. There is no place for it either. Does someone know what the clip is for and if it's required? Also any potential issues with the relieved threads? Otherwise the caps are physically identical. Can the aluminum cap be used without any problems? Just curious if anyone else has done this. Many thanks.

 

No issues with the thread relief and lack of clip minus the aluminum cap isn’t needed. Also swap the spring in case it’s different.

 

Are people just buying these off Amazon? I'd like to get an aluminum cap for mine.

 

Yes you can get them on Amazon. That's where I got mine.

I will give you a heads up when ordering from there...........I ordered an OEM Toyota one and the picture and description on the sellers page said it was an OEM Toyota part. When I received it, it came in a real cheap white box with a really cheaply printed out sticker on it with the OEM part number and said Toyota on it. The part it self seemed to be decent quality and would have probably passed as OEM if it weren't for the cheap packaging that made me give it a second look. After looking at it more close I could see some of the machining was real sloppy and not uniform. I sent it back and ordered one from a different seller and it was an OEM Toyota part. Easy way to tell is if it has Toyota on the cap as part of the casting.

 

I’d definitely buy from a dealer to avoid a fake.

 

Whippersnapper02 - Thanks. Do you know what the clip is for? This is the first car that has this type of oil filter. All previous vehicles had canned screw on units. As for springs, they appear to be the same.

I bought the aluminum cap from the dealer and paid accordingly. I've been told that some products on Amazon are knock offs. Those doing this include all the labeling, etc. The OEM red/white box mine came in says "Toyota Genuine Parts" and "LEXUS Genuine Parts". P/N is 15620-31060. It does not come with the screw in plug or O-ring but the plug from the plastic cap will fit. Same for O-ring. I might be a bit old school on this but a plastic oil filter cap doesn't sit right with me.

As for Amazon, I did buy the MOTIV X TOOLS cup wrench and it's very well made. P/N MX2320-US

 

I’m assuming the clip it to prevent over torquing as people seem to do.

I’m not sure if the spring tension is different which is why I suggested it. I don’t remember if I swapped springs but I’m ditching the aluminum cap for plastic again so there’s no chances of any differences.

 

The clip on the plastic housing lines up with another mark on the engine, when you put the filter on. I always hand thread the plastic housing, then torque to factory specs.

 

You should get new o-rings when a new filter is purchased.

2 schools of thought on metal vs plastic filter housing - plastic will and has worked perfectly fine for decades on thousands of 4Runners previously sold. Metal seems to be sturdier, but could give oil change shops the chance to over torque them, making them near impossible to remove later. Not to say that the oil change gorillas wouldn't overtighten the plastic one also, though...

 

See minute 15:49

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_vl2AYe7Yg&t=6s

 

Strongly encourage you to read through this thread: https://www.4runners.com/threads/metal-oil-filter-housing.25404/

Long story short, the typical aftermarket aluminum option is crap. Asking for trouble.

Toyota does make its own version which should be fine so long as you replace the tube and spring with the ones from the OEM plastic version.

That metal clip lines up with a protuberance on the engine block to show when you’ve tightened the housing enough. Many people, including me, have the tendency to overtighten. Which can lead to disaster.

 

I checked the springs. Both are the same length, tension and measure 1.50mm wire diameter so there are no issues. I'm guessing the plastic cap's threads are more delicate hence the alignment marker. It's the O-ring in the assembly that seals it not the threads. Torquing would be required to just keep the cap in place. Near as I can tell, the spring and diaphragm are a pressure regulator of sorts. I haven't been through the oil change exercise yet. Plans are to do a break in change @ 1000 miles. Then 5k miles thereafter. My neighbor has the same car in a 2019 and offered to go through the process with me. Oil changes on the XTerra were very easy and I did 42 of them lying on my back on a sheet of cardboard. I'm anticipating the Toyota will require more effort.

I have moved the spring and screen tube over from the plastic cap assembly. More later when I crawl under the car to change the oil.

Thanks for the tips, thread and info.

 

I see why you would have had a new metal housing, but curious why you had a new plastic one also...

 

Not sure why people dont just listen to the Car Care Nut. The Engineers at Toyota literally could have walked across the building, and asked some dude named Takashima (Who works in the Highlander department) to hand him a metal one and say "This one is it".

If you are hitting your oil filter (Edit: On rocks or obstacles) you're a suck driver.

 

Also, buy a torque wrench on Amazon for $40.

Drip cap is to 15lb torque and the filter is to 25lb torque. Oil the new o-rings and use a torque wrench. It will never be a problem.

 

I bought both housings for educational purposes and wanted to see the details before seeing oil draining. Oil changes are important so I wanted to gain a comfort level with all this. I wasn't planning on hitting my oil filter. But I do wonder how a plastic part will tolerate 40-50 oil change cycles and perhaps more. It's also interesting why Toyota offers an aluminum version (for the Lexus) if the plastic cap holds up. I've watched many videos from the Car Care Nut and all of them are excellent!

 

The clip is a witness mark, basically, to line the filter up correctly after install to avoid over torqueing it.

 

Sorry the hitting your filter statement was not directed to you specificlly, but to the brain dead idiot trolls that suck on crocodile vaginal discharge. They are out there.

 

I'm curious about the method you used to remove/swap/reinstall the center tube between the two caps. There's some debate as to whether bending the tabs that hold in the tube is necessary or not. What say you?

 

The tabs are slightly flat which causes interference with 4 bosses inside the cap. This prevents the filter screen from twisting out. That screen is also under spring tension pushing the filter screen up. If you bend the tabs up (carefully), push down on the screen and twist it the tabs will clear the bosses and the filter screen pops out. In my case, I had to bend the tabs otherwise the filter screen was locked. This all made perfect sense. Not a fancy restraint but effective. A flat blade screwdriver will easily bend the tabs. Do so carefully.

As for idiots, I've seen plenty of them!

 

Curious as to where you found those torque specs? All the references I have found indicate Filter Housing drain plug is 10 Ft Lb. Filter Housing is 18 Ft Lb.

 

The torque spec is printed on the caps. Aluminum is 25N-m +/- 5N-m, plastic is 25N-m (no tolerance). 25N-m = 18.44 Lb-ft. The oil filter element box specs the cap drain plug at 12.5N-m +/- 2.5N-m which is 9.5 Lb-Ft +/- 2 Lb-ft. Hope this clears this up.

 

I have this one ready to roll for my next change:

https://jowettperformance.com/products/coming-soon-billet-oil-cap-for-filter

 

Thanks for listing the specs. I own both vehicles and I use the same torque settings on both to keep consistent.

 

One of torques is on the filter housing and the other is on the filter element box.

 

Mmmmm crocodile vaginal discharge

 

Even trolls get their vitamins and minerals

 

I have literally no idea how I found this

https://www.reddit.com/r/WTF/comments/1dz10w/a_man_licking_what_appears_to_be_a_crocodiles/

Edit, NSFW I guess????

 

Whoa.... there are some pretty mental people out there...... i just randomly made that up lol

 

Wait..... Are we saying going to the metal oil filter housing is bad now?