2.7L 4 Cylinder Oil Filter Removal without Spilling

I like this better than my milk carton. Definitely trying it next time.

 

Ugh, you guys aren't kidding. I did my first oil change last week and was the first time I've ever had oil running down passed my elbow while removing the filter, ha! Some great recommendations (bag, bottle, cardboard etc) should make it ez-pz next time! 5.5qt's got me right to full on the dipstick.. it was at least an inch over full (on the stick) from the dealer, smh.

 

Yea. I was surprised I didn't find more threads on this when I searched. It's kind of a PITA.

 

im trying the poke hole method soon, my maintainence light started flashing, im usually let it go 6k miles between changes, f**k the 5k, the recs on new 2016 2.7l engines is 10k miles from what im hearing.

 

yeah im good at 5.5qts too, an inch over the line cant be right, also Toyota does make mistakes as far as fluid amounts, my last truck was a 2004 v6 auto trans,the manual says a trans pan refill/drain refill amount as 2.1 quarts(manual says) in reality it was 4 quarts pan drain this is well known error in the GEN1 auto trans

 

Dealer changes mine once a year because it would take several years for me to put 10K miles on my truck.

 

I do 5.5 also.

Works easy, I buy two 5 qt jugs and a single quart bottle for 2 changes worth. #idiotproof

 

I've had only ONE oil change where plastic bags worked and I didn't spill a drop out of the 5 or 6 oil changes I've done. I'll be trying the various methods posted here in the future.

 

Not sure if this will help you guys in the states but i use a 3lt milk container it is rectangular in shape, I cut a piece out on long edge near bottom it you will need to do some trimming to get right size/shape to let it sit flat under filter with lid of container facing to front Undo filter let it drop into container and carefully pull out.Leave lid on when using as when you start to pull it out you will need to tilt container down and the oil will run up into lid. Hard to explain i will take photo tomorrow. Hope this helps.

 

tried the cut-in-half 1liter coke bottle trick, did not work for me, I understand the principle I think is to unscrew the filter with one hand and holding the bottle and catching oil with the other? there is not enough room in the filter area to hold the bottle and turn the filter and then catch the oil explosion. I tried it a few times and got frustrated retightened the filter took a chill pill and just unscrewed the filter till I got a somewhat controlled dribble/flow into my oil catch pan but still got some oil on the crossmember and the 2 auto trans lines that are close by, this worked better than my previous tries with baggies but was not close to being 100% clean. one thing im learning about this is be a little patience when doing each calculated step knowing whats going to happen, my usual is to blast thru and get it done. after putting on a new filter and cleaning up oil spillage I studied the bottom of the filter looking for a place to poke a hole into it for the next time, one thing I noticed is to position your body with your head facing the front of the truck and feet rear, not to come in from the side this only allows you use of 1 hand, positioning your full body under the truck head forward gives you 1.5-2 hands, also I don't jack up the front of the vehicle. also using a cardboard box oil mat is an absolute requirement my driveway would have been Exxon Valdez part 2 without it. next time it will be poke a hole to see if its any better. also at about the 5k miles interval my oil was Black as hell using OEM YZZD3 filter too, so Im not going to try extended intervals maybe 6k max.

 

ive only used the Ziploc route and it seems to do about as well as I could hope. I think I only screwed it up once and lost oil but the bag had a damn corner blown out of. I think just being careful with the bag seems to be a pretty solid option. the milk jug would be a great idea too.

 

I must have gotten lucky. The plastic funnel I have fits right up in there. I just flex the side a little an pop it in below the filter.
I loosen the filter first, and pop the funnel in place. It is cradled and pointing down. I then reach up and spin the filter a little and let it drain into my pan. After it has drained, I reach up again and spin it off and flip it over in the funnel. I have not spilled a drop yet. Neatest oil change on any vehicle I have owned. I also wear nitrile gloves.
I have not the 2016 4x4 5 speed.

 

What are the dimensions of this magical funnel?

 

I'd like to know as well but I'll have to remove my skid plate to pull off what he did. There's only room for one arm up there comfortably with the skid plate on and I'm not taking it off to change my oil. Let it spill is my attitude. I would surmise a smaller guy could do it with the skid plate on but I'm older, not as flexible and although skinny for my age. Still too fat and out of shape for an "under the Taco gymnastics and contortionist " performance. Which I wouldn't want anyone to watch or, worse yet, listen to. I can get two arms up there but it ain't very comfortable for long. I'll search out another solution to this dilemma. A few have been mentioned here that even "I" might be able to accomplish. In another 7500 miles that is.

 

I'm not home right now. I have been traveling, so I don't have the funnel near me. It came in an assortment stack I bought at Walmart years ago. If you happen to have bough this, it is the red one. It's pretty good size, maybe 8 or 10 inches in diameter...seems like...my memory sucks. I do not have a skid plate.

 

Ya know? I think I have that red funnel somewhere. For whatever reason I've collected a lot of funnels and i have a huge, red one that I probably did buy at Wal-Mart years ago. I might dig it out and give it a whirl. The worst that can happen is I'll spill it all anyway.

 

I was doing great working towards a no-mess oil change. Cracked the filter a bit to let the top dribble off into the catch pan while I got the compressor and impact out to rotate the tires and walk back to the oil filter feeling great. The dribble barely caught the oil pan and stopped flowing so I was confident that it would be a no mess change. Reach up and unscrew the filter, and in slow motion watch as the filter slips from from my hand and goes flying across the floor.

So close . . .

 

yup I know exactly what your talkin about, if u crack it let drain like that the outside of the filter becomes a slippery mess, I have to remove my nitrile gloves in order to twist the filter all the way off cause I cannot twist with slimey gloves on, creates another hazardous waste issue. usually i position the drain pan(full of oil) under the filter a let it drop into the pan,splash!

 

I used to get a screwdriver and poke a couple of holes on the bottom of the filter and let it drain before i removed the filter on my last car but considering where the filter is on the 2.7 and having a skid-plate it's impossible, or close to it, to let the oil out that way before removing the filter to prevent the slimy, slippery mess.

 

I tried the Z-bag method for the first time and all I can say is I will never do an oil change without using this method = it works. Thank you to the person that posted about it here, because my forearm sends you kudos.

P.S.- Just for full disclosure, I used a large freezer bag and it held up well being a little thicker.