Help, changed oil filter housing(aluminum) and now leaking

Wonderful. Someone finally has a 400 level education in sarcasm. I thought I was the only one who took that class...

 

Raj:

It’s also easy to get turned around here with bad info.

A lot of people have had issues getting the housing off for various reasons. I’ve had a couple of local owners I’ve pmd and have assisted. In every case I was able to break their housings free. It’s a combination of having the proper tool and technique.

As far as the bad info goes, at some point some forum Mensa member decided to bleat out that the aluminum housing is superior to the composite one....it’s not....no matter how many lemmings have said otherwise. What one may perceive as obvious is not always obvious.....right?

Toyota phased out the aluminum housing in almost all applications for a couple of reasons....one was the dealer techs reporting galling issues with the threads. As forum user Jowett stated in this thread, there were also issues with leaks.

The composite housing is just fine.....and I’m glad to hear you’re going back to one.

 

Hope these help!

 

For what ever reason people think they need to tighten filters on vehicle extremely tight. On some it can case more harm than good. Ive seen oil filter seals fail to seat properly due to being on so tight. Most spin ons are 1/4 to 1/2 turn after the seal meets the housing. For these just use the provided torque spec to make life easier on your next oil change.

 

No clue why people think thin aluminum is better than thick plastic in this application. It's not and if truth be known, the cost to produce both on the scale of mass production is probably a wash.

 

FWIW, the aluminum is a lifelong, or longer lived part. It can and does take more abuse in this less than perfect oil change world. Some vehicles do fine with them, others, those spec'd with plastic as OE, tend to have the oil filter housing (bracket in Toyota speak) machined larger in order to dissuade usage of the aluminum part. Toyota will sell more plastic units and make a larger profit on them... that's why they are there, IMO.

 

If everyone or some people are concerned with the "plastic" one failing down the road for whatever reason, go buy another one and have a spare just in case it does fail. Highly unlikely but better to be prepared in case something does happen. Not like it's a $1,000 part.

 

They came up with a plastic truck bed that holds up just fine, but I'm thinking about grafting a F150 bed on my 3rd gen since it's aluminum

 

I got the first two oil changes done at the dealer covered under the free maintenance. When I went to the do the third one, I realized the grooves on the end of the housing were worn down, and it was severely over tightened. When I tried to loosen it, one of the tabs that fit into the wrench snapped off. I ended up getting it off by destroying it even more and replaced it with the aluminum one.

No leaks after a few more oil changes. I could have gotten a replacement plastic one, but the whole experience just left a bad taste in my mouth.

 

So i got the aluminum housing few days ago. Made by toyota, came in a lexus box.

Im not so excited about it after reading this thread. It would really piss me off if it leaks.

Do you guys think i should stick with original one and keep the aluminum one just in case?

 

Flip a coin. They will both work great. Or alternate them see which one you like best

 

I had a nylon cartridge filter on a volvo wagon that we bought used with 40k on the odo. I did 10 oil changes on it with no issues.

I did a 5,000mi change on the Taco because I was bored and had no problems.

I have one more oil change at the dealer and then it will be all me. When I am coming up on the 40k service, I might try loosening it ahead of time to gauge if I will have a problem or not.

Also, the filter cover on my old Ural was aluminum on aluminum with a similar seal set up. When the CHTs got really hot (over 400F), I would get a drop or two leaking out. I solved that with a dab of thread sealant:

$7 Permatex 59214 High Temperature Thread Sealant, 6 ml Tube, Pack of 1

https://www.amazon.com/Permatex-59214-Temperature-Thread-Sealant/dp/B0002UEOP0

No issues with that. But! The o-ring is the main sealing feature here. You really don't need any torque over what is printed on the housing for it to be sealed.

 

Both my Lexus came factory with the Aluminum housing. 06 is350 and 15 gs350 f-sport awd. Never a problem, at all with leaks.

 

Thanks for the advice, Tony.

I did my oil change once already and it went fine with the original housing. The only thing, when i was removing the housing it got jammed in oil filter wrench, was kind of a pain to get it out of there.

So i thought it would be a good idea with the aluminum one, but im not sure anymore.

Here is a photo of the little guy in question.

 

You're welcome!

Yes. The nylon housings will do that. Once it comes loose, turn it back the other way just enough to free up the cup.

I would recommend a cup that grabs the flutes though. Like this:

Oil Filter Wrench for Toyota, Lexus, and Scion 2.5 To 5.7 Liter Engines with 64mm Cartridge Style Oil Filter System - Perfect for Camry, RAV4, Tacoma, Highlander, Sienna, Tundra, and More

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B073XF45NF


As was said above, neither version should leak at all. The nylon one should last the life of the Taco if torqued properly.

 

I've installed the oil ring on the wrong "groove" and had a leak just like yours (this was on the plastic one.) FWIW, I have an aluminum with no issues.

 

Like mentioned, you'll be fine with it. All Lexus come with them, don't know why Tacoma doesn't.

 

I just changed mine last weekend. Same thing, got jammed in the wrench. Probably cause we bought cheap filter wrenches. Fwiw I'll stick w the OEM plastic housing. Plastic has come a long way.

 

I paid like 35$ for mine, guess need to buy a better one.

 

Mine was like 6 Bux or something haha. Did yours get hung up at the hex on the bottom?