Oil Change - How to avoid a mess when dropping the oil filter???

The people who designed our 4Runners have the water sprayer integrated into the toilet seat, complete with jog dials for microprocessor-based control and "scene lighting":

 

What kind of oil should I use? I want the most moly because I'm on molly.

 

I use the hose thing linked a few posts ago. Ohio is windy and any oil not draining through a hose blows all over the place.

 

I got this and used it on my first self-induced oil change. It works as advertised. If one doesn't want to use it, plastic thingy away and enjoy. Or, pull off the housing in a plastic bag and be happy.

With the above tool I avoided 99% of the mess of removing the filter canister, and that is what the OP wanted to find out.

 

So in your opinion this device was more effective at draining the oil from the cannister than the plastic fitting?

 

Yes. I liked that I could direct the oil wherever I wanted (an oil quart bottle, for example) and not try aim at & hit a drain pan on the ground. All this was done with the skid plate off, as it was my first oil change attempt, and I wanted as much room as possible to see how things worked. I imagine this would work through a skid plate opening as well. I'd also read of the free plastic drain tool breaking off in the filter housing, and didn't want to risk that.

For what it's worth, all this is only done every six months or so, so whatever works for people is fine.

 

No, it's not.

Either the tube or the plastic thing compresses the spring loaded drain to release oil. Neither is going to cause more oil to come out than the other. The only difference with the tube is the ability to direct the oil being drained and the release point being closer to the ground. The end result will be the exact same amount of oil left in the canister.

 

That was my primary concern, getting the oil out of the canister. What happens below whatever device you thread in to release the oil only impacts the overall cleanliness of the job. I'll just pick up a short length of tubing to slip onto the free drainer for 25 cents instead of spending $15 to $30 on another solution that doesn't really address the underlying problem.

 

Can you just put a piece of tubbing on the plastic drain? As of this point, I have only used the plastic and have had mix results, sometimes I have been oiled up, and others I’ve done well.

 

I bet you wear outdoor shoes inside your home?

 

This is the most ridiculous thread ever. @GrimJeeper91 obviously you are adverse to spending any money to make your oil change easier and more sanitary. The MotiveX tool was invented for a reason. Either way, make sure you remove the old O-ring to get either tool to properly seat. You will get 95% of the oil to drain out. Gravity works, you just need to be patient.

 

lol wtf ?

 

Loosen it with a filter wrench/tool, slide a used zip lock bag over it, remove the rest of the way by hand, allowing the zip lock to catch the oil that will spill out

 

It's gone of the rails a bit! I was looking for tips on getting more oil out of the filter canister. I already have the Motivx canister wrench which is sweet as well as the ValvoMax drain plug system (which is also the bomb!). So no, I'm not adverse to spending money to make life easier. Your suggestion to get the aftermarket cannister drain system appears to be a means to help do things more cleanly, but I was questioning if this would address the primary concern, getting more oil out of the cannister. Does it? One guy said yes, the other said no.

 

IMO it does. Again, I have found that you need to make sure the old o-ring is out, I.E. the one that goes between the drain cap and the canister. This helps seat whatever tool you decide to use evenly. It helps to loosen the canister just enough before you start to drain so that it only requires your hand to loosen later. As the majority of the oil drains out, it will create a vacuum. This is why you have oil left in the canister. To remedy this, loosen the canister by hand slowly to start alleviating that vacuum. Again, this takes time. Crack a cool beverage and be patient. Like I said, I can get 95% of the oil out without mess. I started this on a 2007 Tundra and rolled right into my 2011 4Runner. Been doing this shit for 17 years. Every. Oil. Change. It's taken a bit of trial and error but I seem to have solved both issues. Mess and emptying the canister. Good luck with whichever direction you decide to go. BTW, my biggest win is not having to take the damn skid plate off every time. I finally ponied up and got the RCI full skids which have a removable panel for the filter. Highly recommend.

 

I don't even wear shoes outside. My all natural feet on feet finder is what paid for your dad's house

 

I now enjoy mess free oil changes with a fumoto valve and the brass filter drain tool to empty the filter housing of oil. I used to think it was impossible to not make a mess and boy I've made some messes with the 1st couple oil changes. Running an RCI front skid with the oil filter access plate. I also use the big funnel that screws into the oil filler cap. Got it on Amazon for about 15$.

 

Thanks for the link! I just put that funnel in my cart on Amazon.

 

The canister drain tool is certainly worth a try (already in my Amazon cart). I like the suggestion of loosening the canister to allow venting. Although the crank case is vented is makes sense that the oil pump would prevent the canister from being vented to atmosphere. I have the Talon's Garage full skid plate package and also have a door to access the filter. However, until I can knock out these oil changes with less mess I'm compelled to drop the front skid. Hopefully these tips will do the job. Thanks all, good information here even though the thread jumped the shark.

 

FWIW, I have a custom front skid with no filter access. 6 bolts hold it on. It's not bad, but it can be a bit awkward trying to hold it up while laying on the ground and trying to get a few bolts started. I've found that the easiest thing to do is get it in place and use my knee to support it.

If you have a garage with a lift, it might be easier for you.

 

The Talon's front skid is easy to remove and reinstall, 4 bolts and not too heavy because it's aluminum.

 

I have been using the same system for for a couple of years after several messy attempts previously. Works great!

 

@jdm-v35 , I'm surprised you haven't heard of this. Oil tech has improved insanely fast over the last 20 years (thus the 10k-15k mileage achievable via full-syn options). BUT,,, filter tech still basically sucks by comparison and has not kept pace. This is what drove my 5k filter changes and 10k oil. My Cruiser still purred like a kitten at almost 400k miles using that strategy.

 

I have never really had ton of debris in the filter when I do changes so the 10k/1yr oil and filter interval seems to have been fine for me. I do only use the TRD filters though as they have metal structure and thicker material so they hold together better than the OEM paper ones. I usually don't hit the 10k per year anyway since its not my daily.

 

I’m gonna vouch for the MeefZah Method. I have a MotiveX filter drain tool and it works well. Except now that I have a metal filter canister it tends to unscrew before the filter drain plug breaks free. (The OEM plastic housing stays in place while unscrewing the drain plug, as long as they’ve been properly torqued).
So instead of using a big channel-lock pliers to hold the housing while breaking the drain plug free I just wrap it all in a plastic bag and unscrew the whole thing and carefully dump the oil into the container. It’s a little more cleanup to the housing but it’s quicker.

 

Great idea.

 

I use one of these. Works perfectly. I let it drain directly into a container, no mess what-so-ever.

 

Haven't heard that one in a while. how's Fonzi these days ?

 

Torque spec, ( remind/correct me as needed) 18 ft lb.s on the housing, and 10 ft lb.s on the plug at the bottom of said housing.

Has anyone drilled and safety wired their aluminum housing ?

Also, I use Fumoto drain valves for the oil pan, so cannot use a mag plug, have been placing a strong magnet on the pan near the Fumoto but without dropping the pan, I have no idea if it does anything ( on my FJ ).

I'm still 4700 miles from my 1st oil change.

Cheers.

 

Safety wire? Why? That "O" ring provides all of the self-locking friction that you need. I bet that nobody has reported a filter housing come loose as long as it was installed far enough that it doesn't leak.

Plenty of filter bowls on aircraft turbine engines are not safety wired and never come loose.