gs400998

I change the oil/filter on all my vehicles and use Rhino ramp (Walmart, Sears).

salimshah

I am on 7500miles plan with the dealership. I do the oil change at 3750 (really difficult to remember) myself. The car is lowered so it is a pain. I have not bought the safety stands as I have been unable to figure out where they would go (unless they are modified) and then there is the question of vehicle being level.

Took couple of attempts to figure out how to change the filter from top. I do get a drip or two every time I change oil. Serioulsy thinking of laying down a coat of epoxy-paint on the garage floor.

Salim

Neo

iTrader: (3)

I have these too but they are not useful as driving ramps for lowered cars. I do use it to hold up the car after I jack up the car since changing oil does not require suspension/tire work.

lostinthew

Back when I was poor, I bought a pump that would suck the oil from the dipstick hole through a thin hose that reached to the bottom of the oil pan. It would remove almost all the oil, and I would fill with fresh oil. Then I would pay to have the oil and filter chnaged 3000 miles later. I have always been frugal, but back then it was a way to reduce the cost. It worked!

cliffud

iTrader: (3)

I have ALWAYS taken my car to the shop to get the oil swapped but recently I've been tooling around in the garage more and was wondering if there is a cost benefit.

Normally I can go into the toyota dealership and get an oil change for about $25 bucks. Do they use synthetic oil? - I dunno. Does it run fine when it pops back out of the service garage? yep.

I don't know if I could do this myself since I've had a few too many of those aforementioned pizzas and I don't have ramps or a huge car lift like they do in the shop but if it's "fun" to do and if there's a cost benefit in changing your own oil (how much does synthetic oil cost?) then I may want to give it a shot at least once.

So- any business majors out there wanna do a cost-benefit analysis given the service shop only charges $25?


Thanks!


c.

cliffud

iTrader: (3)

A little off topic but...

I really like Aristo*7's avatar.

Sorry dude if that's your girl...

bigfisch

Changing oil is easier if you use a longer filter, i use filter which fits a big block gm v8 or nippon denso replacement . doing this allows you to remove filter standing up from the top
5-30 synthec or mobil 1 every 6to 9mo. 5-30 gives appx 10% better mpg than 10-40 or higher.

98 gs400 w 105k runs great, undrivable on snow etc. owned 4 yrs

chicagoblknazn

I think I will start changing my own oil this summer. I've been out of the loop with what's going on with my car for a few months and I want to see what's going on down there. Start checking things out for myself and really taking a good look at my baby.

Threxx

A couple of things I noticed going through this thread:

I think somebody early on said that they had to remove ten 14mm bolts to change their oil?!? How? The only bolt I ever remove is the oil drain plug. I have to remove maybe 4-5 screws to pull back the watershield underneath to get to the drain plug... but that's about it.

I'm pretty sure the oil capacity of my GS400 is 5.5 quarts when using a new filter. 5.0 if no new filter. Somebody in here said 6.0. Remember it's generally better to go half a quart too low than half a quart too high. A little too low and your motor might wear in a little more than it would otherwise... but nothing crazy. Too much oil combined with WOT driving will cause the oil pressure to exceed factory limits and possibly blow a headgasket or whatnot.

Neither Toyota nor Lexus dealerships use synthetic fluid of any sort, nor do they offer it even as an upgrade for customers who want it, unless you want to bring in your own oil and still do it.

I'm not a business major. I'm an IT major, but I'm still good with logic and math, so I'll bite.

Here's my costs:
5 Quart jug of Mobil 1 Synethic oil from walmart 18 dollars... figure in another $1.80 for the 1/10th of a jug that I use to fill up for the last .5 quarts. Mobil 1 is leagues better than what is used at the dealership in terms of keeping your motor internally cleaned out and completely wear-free. Some people also say Mobil 1 makes motors run a bit smoother/quieter and ever so slightly better gas milage... which makes sense, but it's more one of those very minor side benefits.

Then the oil filter... if you use the new OEM filter, costs around $5... or if you use the old OEM filter, around $9. I personally have a backstock of the old filters - around 15 of them. But seeing as how most people will be buying the new ones, as no dealership except carson still has the older style... we'll say $5.

So now our total cost of parts is $19.80 for oil and $5 for filter. That's about exactly what you'd be paying at the Toyota dealership.

So what's the benefit if they cost the same? Well you can make sure it's done right, and you also have a far superior oil in your motor now.

Now here's where the real fun begins. Mobil 1 will factually last twice as long as most standard oil... so if you were originally doing 4,000 mile change intervals. You now get to move to 8,000 mile.

So now if we figure cost per mile... Toyota changes cost you TWICE as much per mile, and they protect you less effectively.

But then you ask... what about the time and labor of doing it yourself? Why go to that effort? Well I bet you time wise it takes me less time to change my oil at home than it does for you to drive to the dealership on a busy saturday morning or during your work hours, wait for them to get to your car, change your oil, get the car back, and then drive back home. Plus it costs me no gas money or miles on my car to drive there and back. And considering that you're going to have to drive to the dealership twice as often with their oil as you would have to change your own oil... double the amount of time involved in an 8,000 mile period, vs me just changing my oil once and being done with it.

So half the price, less than half the time involved, better engine protection, better peace of mind knowing your car is being taken care of... the only thing that's reasonable, IMO, to be turned off by is if you just despise working on your car in general.

Mr Johnson

I still do them but I find that I don't like to do it as much as I used to. Takes too much time away from other things I'd rather be doing.

LB Lex

That was me who mentioned those bolts. I just like removing that whole plastic shield because it's much easier for me to slide under the car with it completely off. It seems that most people just remove a few screws and pull it back, but that's easier for them.

LEXUS_KID

iTrader: (4)

Not to change the subject here but i pulled this from the thread on oil filter's and no boby really had anything to say on it so I will put it in here and see waht happens. Personally I think it's just an oil filter, I bought the K&N filter for my car ( 99 GS 400 ) for $9.00 at the local part's store. Really didn't think their would be so much hype on a oil filter? I thought it was the oil that matter. ( MOBIL 1) How often our you guy's changing your oil every 3K or 5K. I really don't think the car will know if it's even a $3.00 filter they pretty much are all the same aren't they? I think they put those price tags out their so people like us will by them after all were all CAR NUT'S right. But I like the thread and reading what you guy's think I really think the info here is the best. True and real but we all have different options that's why there are people that will pay $20.00 for a filter and people that won't.
__________________ People are we really going to if the motor is going to know what filter is on there or not . Just wanted to know like I said before please tell me what all the hype is on the filter What filter does the dealer give us when we get the oil changed at the dealer? Just wnat to know if the K&N filter is not the way to go. OIL change @ dealer $40.00 doing it your self $35.00 (K&N filter) $10.00 (MOBIL 1) 6 pack $25.00 TIME PRICELESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! But if you enjoy your car and have the time I say change your own oil

Threxx

There is a substantial difference between most of the cheaper and most of the more expensive filters. Go look at some of the pictures and see for yourself... there are comparison pictures of disassembled filters all over the 'net, and its obvious which ones are cheap and which ones are quality (although price doesn't always directly correlate with quality, so do some research on your own, as all filters are most definitely not made equal.

The dealership uses an OEM filter. Toyota has very good quality OEM filters... so it's definitely not a bad filter at all. Some people including myself are a little mad that they discontinued their super nice japanese-made -20004 filter and now make a filter in Thailand that is obviously cheaper to make if you take it apart. Still not bad at all, but they took a step down in the name of saving 4-5 bucks.

the K&N filter is just a rebranded Mobil 1 filter. Either one will do the same excellent job. Just buy whichever one is cheaper if you decide you want to go that route.

Oil analysis tests prove the results of good filters vs bad filters. As do stories from people whos valvetrains wore out early in their cars life only for people to find out their cheap filters had a ****-poor excuse for an anti-drainback valve, or people who had excessive sludge buildup only to find out that their filter element is hardly more than a piece of paper with a bunch of holes punched in it and/or that their cheap oil's detergent properties were dead within the first 2500 miles of use... and they've been waiting 7500 miles between changes as the manufacturer recommended.

LB Lex

I agree with what Threxx said. To add a little, the difference between good filters and bad filters are filtering ability and the anti-drain back valve. Toyota filters have more filter material and this material is a lot more thicker and better quality. What that means to your car is that it will keep your oil as clean as possible so that the moving parts inside the engine don't wear down as quickly. In the long run your engine will appreciate the clean oil and it will reward you with a powerful and reliable car for years.

The anti-drain back valve is important too. Some filters don't have them and those that do come with really poor valves. The Toyota filters come with very good valves. The reason you want a good valve is that it prevents oil from draining out of the filter when your engine is off. When you start it, there is already oil in it so oil gets to the moving parts of the engine more quickly to prevent excessive wear. If you car has been sitting for a few hours or more, the oil will drain down into the pan, so when you start the engine the moving parts are not coated with a good amount of oil so there is a little wear. That's why in motor oil commercials they mention that most engine wear occurs when you first start the car in the morning. Good oil and an anti-drain back valve help to pump oil into the moving parts as soon as possible to minimize wear. Some filters come with this valve but they tend to leak and let oil drain back into the oil pan. By far Toyota has a first rate filter.

So these are the reasons we choose Toyota filters. Toyota also makes the best air filters too. Compare them to the ones you find at any local parts store and you can immediately see the difference in quality and the ability to filter air. Toyota parts get my thumbsup

Ex540guy

One of the first (and only) mods I did was to cut a square section out of the splash shield, or whatever you want to call the plastic cover that goes under the engine. About 5" x 5" as I recall. Makes removing the oil filter a piece of cake.

Like the other guys said, I do my own changes for peace of mind. The Toyota oil filters have a good reputation, and I've used them on my Toyotas for over 20 years, but I don't know how important the anti-drainback valve is. The way the filter's positioned on the V8, there's no way the oil's going to drain out unless it goes uphill, which is pretty unlikely. I've run Fram filters on a number of American cars for almost 30 years, and most of them have gone 150K+. What's most important is to change the oil and filter regularly. And don't beat on your car when it's cold!