Changing the oil on a 2006 Tundra

Changing the oil on my 2006 Tundra turned out to be a major 2 hour
project. And, as much as I like my Tundra Toyota could have a better
design. Here's my findings:

A large oil pan is needed. My Tundra uses 6.5 quarts of oil.

The oil plug uses a standard 14mm wrench.

The location of the oil filter is somewhat hard-to-reach and can be
accessed with only one hand. I used a pipe clamp on the filter and
used leather gloves to protect my hands and get a better grip. Good
luck if it is on too tight!

As suggested some times ago, I used a zip-lock bag over the oil filter
as I removed it, but still oil spilled onto the shroud below and made
a mess. That was very difficult to clean. I'll be removing this
shroud at my next oil change. A roll of paper towels is a good idea.
Also I use a large sheet of cardboard and a stack of newspapers.

The dip stick is very long, narrow and bends to the left. The dip
stick tube becomes coated with oil, coats the stick, then getting a
accurate reading from the stick is nearly impossible. I found that
allowing the oil to settle out for a couple hours produces a good
reading.

This was my first oil change for the Tundra. The break-in oil was a
cleaner than expected. I have 920 miles on the truck and plan to
change the oil again every 3000 miles. I decided to stick with
Casterol. I'd appreciate any tips for changing the oil, particularly
with a 2006 V8 Tundra.

Go to the dealership... for $22 let them do it. If anything screws up it's
documented that they've done all of the service work.

Lee

"Phisherman" <noone@nobody.com> wrote in message
news:ndb032pcs1vgsh4p9mje7tvc3ls1nqnio5@4ax.com...[color=blue]
> Changing the oil on my 2006 Tundra turned out to be a major 2 hour
> project. And, as much as I like my Tundra Toyota could have a better
> design. Here's my findings:
>
> A large oil pan is needed. My Tundra uses 6.5 quarts of oil.
>
> The oil plug uses a standard 14mm wrench.
>
> The location of the oil filter is somewhat hard-to-reach and can be
> accessed with only one hand. I used a pipe clamp on the filter and
> used leather gloves to protect my hands and get a better grip. Good
> luck if it is on too tight!
>
> As suggested some times ago, I used a zip-lock bag over the oil filter
> as I removed it, but still oil spilled onto the shroud below and made
> a mess. That was very difficult to clean. I'll be removing this
> shroud at my next oil change. A roll of paper towels is a good idea.
> Also I use a large sheet of cardboard and a stack of newspapers.
>
> The dip stick is very long, narrow and bends to the left. The dip
> stick tube becomes coated with oil, coats the stick, then getting a
> accurate reading from the stick is nearly impossible. I found that
> allowing the oil to settle out for a couple hours produces a good
> reading.
>
> This was my first oil change for the Tundra. The break-in oil was a
> cleaner than expected. I have 920 miles on the truck and plan to
> change the oil again every 3000 miles. I decided to stick with
> Casterol. I'd appreciate any tips for changing the oil, particularly
> with a 2006 V8 Tundra.[/color]

You have to remove that rock guard. Its fastened on by 4 12mm bolts and
only takes a few minutes to remove. It'll save you a lot of time.

On Sun, 02 Apr 2006 17:44:06 -0400, "qslim" <Suckers@suckersdotcom>
wrote:
[color=blue]
>You have to remove that rock guard. Its fastened on by 4 12mm bolts and
>only takes a few minutes to remove. It'll save you a lot of time.[/color]

Thanks. Removing the guard will make the process easier.

I'd prefer to select a Pure-One Perolator oil filter and use Castrol
oil. Besides, going to the dealership is not practical.

On Sun, 2 Apr 2006 17:05:34 -0400, "Lee Aanderud"
<aanderud@alltel.net> wrote:
[color=blue]
>Go to the dealership... for $22 let them do it. If anything screws up it's
>documented that they've done all of the service work.
>
>Lee
>[/color]

Phisherman sez:
[color=blue]
> Changing the oil on my 2006 Tundra turned out to be a major 2 hour
> project.<snip>[/color]

No need for it to be an ordeal. It takes me about 1 minute to drop the
skid plate (there are catch fingers at the front), 5 minutes to drain
the oil pan whilst removing the old filter and putting a new one on.
There is a little drool but quickly wiped up with some paper towel and a
shot of WD-40 as a solvent. 2 minutes to put the drain bolt back in and
put the skid plate back on and less than five minutes to put 6+ qts.
fresh oil in while I check condition of belts, fluids, etc.

The whole job takes me less than 15 minutes. Well, OK, maybe twenty if
I'm nursing a cold beer in between turning the wrenches. Add 5 or 10
minutes if I'm lubing the driveshafts with some fresh grease.

I use 5000 mile change intervals (easy to track by odometer) using
Mobil1 5w-30 and only replace the filter every other oil change.

Out of the sundry vehicles I've owned over the years, including the
venerable 22R 4-banger in my '84 SR5 pickup, I've never seen an engine
that can run 5,000 miles on oil (80% in-town, 20% highway) and still
have it show a golden amber color on the dipstick (instead of soot black
in 2000 miles). The 4.7l IForce is a wonderfully engineered marvel.

Good wrenchin' to ya,
VLJ
--

I change the oil in my Tundra every 3000 and it always comes out looking
clean.
I would recommend NOT using Castrol in ANY vehical. I had several quarts
with
a very thick (almost like jello) substance in them. I found this out when I
attempted
to pour the oil into an engine and it got stuck in the funnel. The worst
part was how
poorly Castrol stood behind this -- they had me return 3 quarts at my
expense and to
finally send me a letter that said the oil "showed discoloration". This is
oil that would not
come out of the container and they called it "discoloration". I went
through some of
the other Castrol I had and found another quart like that. I still have a
quart left if
anyone wants to see any pictures or videos of it. I can understand a
company having
a problem, but one that doesn't stand behind it is not a company I want to
deal with.
Maybe this stuff would melt at the temperature inside an engine, but the
stuff I tried
heating up did not melt.

BYE!

"Phisherman" <noone@nobody.com> wrote in message
news:ndb032pcs1vgsh4p9mje7tvc3ls1nqnio5@4ax.com...[color=blue]
> Changing the oil on my 2006 Tundra turned out to be a major 2 hour
> project. And, as much as I like my Tundra Toyota could have a better
> design. Here's my findings:
>
> A large oil pan is needed. My Tundra uses 6.5 quarts of oil.
>
> The oil plug uses a standard 14mm wrench.
>
> The location of the oil filter is somewhat hard-to-reach and can be
> accessed with only one hand. I used a pipe clamp on the filter and
> used leather gloves to protect my hands and get a better grip. Good
> luck if it is on too tight!
>
> As suggested some times ago, I used a zip-lock bag over the oil filter
> as I removed it, but still oil spilled onto the shroud below and made
> a mess. That was very difficult to clean. I'll be removing this
> shroud at my next oil change. A roll of paper towels is a good idea.
> Also I use a large sheet of cardboard and a stack of newspapers.
>
> The dip stick is very long, narrow and bends to the left. The dip
> stick tube becomes coated with oil, coats the stick, then getting a
> accurate reading from the stick is nearly impossible. I found that
> allowing the oil to settle out for a couple hours produces a good
> reading.
>
> This was my first oil change for the Tundra. The break-in oil was a
> cleaner than expected. I have 920 miles on the truck and plan to
> change the oil again every 3000 miles. I decided to stick with
> Casterol. I'd appreciate any tips for changing the oil, particularly
> with a 2006 V8 Tundra.[/color]

Phisherman wrote:[color=blue]
> Changing the oil on my 2006 Tundra turned out to be a major 2 hour
> project. And, as much as I like my Tundra Toyota could have a better
> design. Here's my findings:
>
> A large oil pan is needed. My Tundra uses 6.5 quarts of oil.
>
> The oil plug uses a standard 14mm wrench.
>
> The location of the oil filter is somewhat hard-to-reach and can be
> accessed with only one hand. I used a pipe clamp on the filter and
> used leather gloves to protect my hands and get a better grip. Good
> luck if it is on too tight!
>
> As suggested some times ago, I used a zip-lock bag over the oil filter
> as I removed it, but still oil spilled onto the shroud below and made
> a mess. That was very difficult to clean. I'll be removing this
> shroud at my next oil change. A roll of paper towels is a good idea.
> Also I use a large sheet of cardboard and a stack of newspapers.
>
> The dip stick is very long, narrow and bends to the left. The dip
> stick tube becomes coated with oil, coats the stick, then getting a
> accurate reading from the stick is nearly impossible. I found that
> allowing the oil to settle out for a couple hours produces a good
> reading.
>
> This was my first oil change for the Tundra. The break-in oil was a
> cleaner than expected. I have 920 miles on the truck and plan to
> change the oil again every 3000 miles. I decided to stick with
> Casterol. I'd appreciate any tips for changing the oil, particularly
> with a 2006 V8 Tundra.[/color]
Yep, take off the skid plate. Be sure you get the bolts into the
threads straight when you reinstall it. As said, the tabs in the
front hold the front end of the plate up, so you can use your knee
(while laying on your back) to hold the back end up while you get
one bolt started to hold the plate. Get all the bolts started
straight and run them up by hand. Don't tighten any until all are
started.

3000 mile oil changes are a waste of oil, time, and money. 5000
miles is no problem for these engines...I'm running 10,000 miles on
synthetic with good analyses. Castrol is a good oil, and I haven't
heard of a problem 'til now. Castrol isn't wonder oil...there are
others equally good...Chevron Supreme, Havoline, Pennzoil (no, it
does not make sludge or wax), Conoco/Phillips/76/Kendall.


Ken

hear that clean looking oil at 3000 or 5000 miles only means the oil is
not cleaning the engine. better to have oil that is a little dirty
looking at oil change, means oil is cleaning engine. what do you all
think?

Dave Dave wrote:[color=blue]
> hear that clean looking oil at 3000 or 5000 miles only means the oil is
> not cleaning the engine. better to have oil that is a little dirty
> looking at oil change, means oil is cleaning engine. what do you all
> think?[/color]


Where is the "dirt" coming from?

On Tue, 4 Apr 2006 14:24:30 -0400, [email]daveooo58@webtv.net[/email] (Dave Dave)
wrote:
[color=blue]
>hear that clean looking oil at 3000 or 5000 miles only means the oil is
>not cleaning the engine. better to have oil that is a little dirty
>looking at oil change, means oil is cleaning engine. what do you all
>think?[/color]


I don't go by looks, I change it every 3,000 miles. And it does no
good to change the oil without changing the filter.

Dave Dave sez:
[color=blue]
> hear that clean looking oil at 3000 or 5000 miles only means the oil is
> not cleaning the engine. better to have oil that is a little dirty
> looking at oil change, means oil is cleaning engine. what do you all
> think?[/color]

Oil discoloration is from combustion gases & by-products that "blow-by"
the piston rings, not "dirt" ... An engine with very tight tolerances
will have much less in the way of hydrocarbon contamination of the oil
than a loose tolerance engine will. The high degree of tolerance
control in the machining and assembly process is what yields the
long-lived and legendary performance of Toyota engines.

Good wrenchin' to ya,
VLJ
--

Phisherman sez:

<snip>[color=blue]
> I don't go by looks, I change it every 3,000 miles. And it does no
> good to change the oil without changing the filter.[/color]

This is nonsense. The primary reason to change your oil is because it
suffers viscosity breakdown from shear forces over time. Oil analysis
has shown that modern synthetic oils will hold their viscosity and
provide adequate lubrication for up to 10,000 miles and even beyond in
general medium-to-low-rpm automotive engines. Conventional oils do not
share the long-term resistance to shear induced breakdown that the
synthetics do and may only stretch to 5,000 or 7,500 miles. Only
laboratory testing will know.

The secondary reason to change oil is moisture from condensation formed
when an engine does not regularly reach full operating temperature for
an extended period of time (i.e. short trips around town) combines with
the hydrocarbon contaminants and forms acids. Those acids attack the
softer metals in journal bearings, etc. and will shorten engine life.
By dumping the old oil for new, this acidic contamination is gotten rid
of. That is why frequent short trips are classified as "severe duty"
and call for more aggressive maintenance schedules. If your drive
patterns involve commutes of 20 miles or more one-way, this is less of a
problem.

The oil filter is there to trap suspended solids in the oil that may be
metal shavings from the machining/manufacturing process or that may come
from fragments that break free from internal components from wear. Some
silicate particulates may be trapped if they are large enough but proper
air filter maintenance is what will be control this type of
contamination. Think about the mechanics of filtration. Just because
you add fresh oil doesn't mean that all those trapped solids will
suddenly be released to be re-circulated and trapped all over again -
they will simply remain suspended in the filter's mesh. Unless there is
something severely wrong with an engine or it is heavily contaminated,
no filter is going to get plugged to the point where the majority of the
flow will be through the bypass valve in 10,000 or even 20,000 miles.

If your vehicle use is primarily operated on paved roads in generally
non-dusty environments, there is no reason why a single filter will not
suffice for two oil changes. However, if your vehicle is operated in
very dirty/sandy conditions, it would be best to change both oil and air
filters on a more frequent schedule. There may be a small volume of old
oil in the filter that will mix with the fresh oil, but it cannot amount
to anything more than a few percent of the total volume.

Good wrenchin' to ya,
VLJ
--

in article [email]ndb032pcs1vgsh4p9mje7tvc3ls1nqnio5@4ax.com[/email], Phisherman at
[email]noone@nobody.com[/email] wrote on 4/2/06 1:21 PM:
[color=blue]
> This was my first oil change for the Tundra. The break-in oil was a
> cleaner than expected. I have 920 miles on the truck and plan to
> change the oil again every 3000 miles. I decided to stick with
> Casterol. I'd appreciate any tips for changing the oil, particularly
> with a 2006 V8 Tundra.[/color]

I waited until the recommended 3000 mile mark to do my first change a couple
weeks ago. It went against my instincts but the oil stayed clean and some
folks said that for break-in, it was better to let it go to 3000 miles, plus
what the hell, it's what the manufacturer recommends!

I plan to change it again at 5000 miles, which will put me in sync with the
maintenance manual. I will be swapping to Mobil One synthetic at that point
and changing it every 5000 miles thereafter. That's the plan anyway.

I agree that the skid plate/oil filter thing is unfortunate. I spilled some
on the skid, looked at it a minute, cussed, and took the skid off and
cleaned it up. PITA.

-jeff