Doing the maintenance myself

You know how when you take your tacoma to Toyota to get the 5K oil change and they do the 25 point (or however much it is) inspection check?. Do most of you do this your self or do you take it to Toyota? I paid about $119 with synthetic oil and I never want to pay that again.

So, is their some sort of video that shows you what and how to check these things and maybe a video on how to change the damn oil for my truck.. I'm very hands on but when it comes to the truck..

I tried looking for the oil filter, but have failed.

I got 2011 OR

help would be nice

VIDEOS would be even nicer.

Thanks!

 

You paid $119 for an oil change?!?!?!?! Wholly hell man, I hope that at least came with a happy ending! Truth be told, a lot of dealerships don't inspect a damn thing. If you bring it in for an oil change, they claim to give it a however many point inspection but unless something is obviously wrong, they don't do it. It's a gimic so they can charge more.

Go to the top of the page, "Mods and Tutorials" dropdown, 2nd Gen How to's. There are lots of great threads with pictures on how to do most of the required maintenance. If you need more info on a particular item, just post up and people will help out.

All that being said, if you couldn't even locate the oil filter under the hood, you might want to have someone help you the first time. I'm not trying to offend you, but having someone help you who knows what they are doing is a great way to learn things without running the risk of screwing up your truck. FYI, the oil filter is pretty visible, it's right next to the battery.

 

There are plenty of threads and information around here regarding all kinds of things you can do. Check out the Garage section. Wheels & Tires, Technical Chat.

Also, you might be interested in the Deals & Coupons section. All kinds of things pop up on there, like fluid and filter discounts that people find, etc.

 

If you couldn't find your oil filter, you should never open hood again, without someone who knows what they are doing there with you.


(hint: look just to the left of battery, it's black, round and installed upside-down)

 

It costs me about $40 to change my oil with full synthetic and with my limited knowledge I can pretty much do the checks myself. The oil change is extremely easy with the oil filter location and the off road suspension.

Here is how to change the oil.

http://voices.yahoo.com/how-change-own-oil-2005-2007-toyota-289213.html?cat=27

And to reset the maint light.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqChsgaMq_w

Good luck, see if anybody around your area on TW would be willing to help you the first time.

 

X2

If its not done right....could lead to a shit-ton of hurt. And you would've been better off paying someone to do it.

 

Did they do a tire rotation too?

 

Thanks Frank for the quick video on resetting you maint req light after the oil change. Good stuff

 

Buy a Haynes Repair Manual it will tell you what you need to know to do all the maintenance on your truck. The latest they have is 2005~2009 model years there may be some minor differences but should cover you for regular maintenance.

http://www.haynes.com/products/productID/556

 

the oil filter is that round,can shaped white thing on the top front left side of the engine............

 

Even better is the Toyota FSM.

 

I am hoping that he means he looked for somewhere he could buy a replacement oil filter and failed there...Either way, asking it the right thing to do. It may be hard to ask dumb questions, (although I can say it gets easier with practice) but as long as you are learning that is what matters...

http://www.rockauto.com/

 

oil is easy. i dont blame you for missing the filter as it is in a spot that you would not run into on any vehicle i can think of. (its on top side)

just make sure you pull the correct plug. if your truck has an auto trans the trans and engine oil drains are somewhat close. engine oil is the front one.

one difficult thing with these trucks is getting a good dipstick reading. i buy the 5+ quart jugs and use the entire thing for my 4x4 (someone tell me if prerunner is different). once your filled, you have to leave it for a few hours to get a good dipstick read. so i do my changes at night, sleep on it, and check the level when i wake up

 

Ima get my first few free. Then Ill be doing it myself. Not paying stealership prices for basic maintenance. Cant remember the last time I took a car to the dealership

 

My 2000 PreRunner 3.4 V6 had the oil filter on Driver side, side of engine, had to go thru Driver side fenderwell to pull it, no fun. My '06 Tacoma 4.0 V6 has the filter Driver side front top. The PreRunner also took 5.5 quarts. Same as my Tacoma.

 

https://sites.google.com/site/tacomamaintenance/

 

Not sure if serious...

 

K&N's are white. OEM are black