This Toyota Manual Will Guide You of How to Install a Toyota Oil Filter
Changing the oil and oil filter on your Toyota is an important maintenance procedure to properly take care of the engine. Different models and engine sizes on Toyota vehicles feature a wide variety of removal and installation procedures for the engine oil filter. While Toyota Motor Corporation recommends changing the oil along with the filter between 3,000- and
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5,000-mile intervals, some enthusiasts who use synthetic oils like to change the filter only halfway through the life span of the motor oil to get more longevity out of it. Drive the Toyota up onto car ramps and apply the parking brake or apply the parking brake and then lift it with a jack and support the frame rails on jack stands.
Release the hood latch and open the hood. Remove the oil filler cap. Even if you’re not replacing the oil, the air pocket created by the oil filler cap being removed will allow the oil to escape from the oil filter more quickly. Put on the latex gloves and safety glasses. Grab the equipment and crawl under the front of the Toyota. Locate the oil filter. Most newer Toyota cars feature the filter right by the oil pan. The older Toyota trucks and SUVs may have them located on the upper passenger side of the engine near the firewall. Some of the newer trucks have them under the hood on top of the engine. Refer to the owner’s manual if necessary to locate the filter.
Place the oil drain pan directly beneath the oil filter. Place an oil filter wrench or an oil filter socket wrench on the filter. If you’re using the socket wrench, attach a ratchet to the square-drive fitting on the socket. Turn the oil filter counterclockwise to loosen it on the threads of the oil filter housing. Remove the wrench when you can finish removing the filter by hand. Oil will begin to drip from the filter as soon as the gasket seal is loose. Remove the filter completely and turn it upside down in the oil drain pan to allow excess oil inside it to spill out.
Wipe the oil filter mounting surface and threads with a shop rap. Be sure the gasket from the discarded filter did not remain behind on the mounting surface. If so, remove it by hand and rewipe the surface. Wipe off any oil that has dripped onto other components if applicable. Add a light layer of clean 5W30 motor oil to the gasket of the new filter using your finger. Hand-thread the filter onto the oil filter mounting threads and tighten the filter clockwise with your fingers. Do not use a wrench or socket wrench to tighten the filter. Turn the filter 1/4 turn more with your hand when you can no longer tighten it with your fingers.
Crawl out from underneath, replace the engine oil fill cap and then run the engine for one to three minutes. This will pump oil through the new filter. While the vehicle is running, visually inspect underneath the Toyota to ensure that no oil is leaking from the filter area. Shut the Toyota off and then check the dipstick in the engine compartment. Add the required amount of 5W30 oil into the oil fill by removing the cap again and placing a funnel into the neck. Add until the oil registers full on the dipstick.
Older Toyota car models, like the Camry and Corolla, feature oil filters that used to be located beneath the manifold. This location did not require lifting the vehicle in order to access it. However, the manifold would have to be cool in order to grab the filter without burning your hand accidentally.
You’ll need:
Car ramps or jack and jack stands
Oil drain pan
Replacement filter
Oil filter wrench or oil filter socket wrench
Ratchet
5W30 motor oil
Funnel
Shop rags
Latex gloves
Safety glasses
