New Tacoma, Plastic oil filter housing, keep or go metal ?

General consensus......
keep the plastic oil filter housing or swap out for a metal oil filter housing ?

 

Apparently the plastic one is of high quality plastic and is fine. Some say getting a metal one is a waste of money. Spend your money on a good quality filter wrench instead.

 

I still use the plastic housing, but I do have a back up metal housing replacement in the event I muscle funk it.

 

Don’t fix what’s not broken.

 

ok then, leave what ain't broke, alone !!

 

Also tons of info here as well.

https://youtu.be/G_vl2AYe7Yg

 

I want to say mine came on/off about 14 times... 15th time, it was really stuck good, cap/tool a little cock-eye'd I think and snap... OEM replacement from the dealer installed the next business day (< $40 I think?) Metal one now on standby for the next time.

Seems like a piece with a high probability of eventual failure, but not worth loosing sleep over.

 

198,000 miles on our 2014 RAV4. Came with a plastic (nylon) housing. After the first (and only!) dealer oil change it was on so tight I thought I'd break it trying to bust it loose.
Change the oil every 3,000 miles TOPS! That's a lot of oil changes and the OEM plastic is still going strong.

 

Likewise. (Doorman)

 

I thought about this as well. My GF’s 4R plastic cap was so tight, I thought for sure it would break.

 

Keep plastic on till they break it. The part is good if used as intended and directed, the over torque and poor tool use by the mechanics is what breaks it.
Caution: some dealers do not want to install the metal one if you don't purchase from them. So, if you buy (cheaper) from or others, you may have to install yourself (and risk warranty).

 

Mine was on so tight after a dealership oil change I couldn't get it off. Eventually did with the newer style MotivX wrench and a 24" breaker bar. Didn't break the cap. I do have a metal one on standby.
I do still have one issue with the plastic cap. I can't ever get the little metal drain cap off. The dealership put it on so tight it turns the entire cap when you try to remove it. So I end up making a mess and can't use my fancy ass motive X drain thingy. I've tried to remove it once it's off the truck too but with greesy hands and oily cap still can't get it.

 

A friend had this exact same issue. She cleaned the cap with isopropyl alcohol to remove the oil residue.
Blew it dry with shop air.
Then used a strap wrench to hold the cap allowing the removal of the drain plug.

I would have secured it in a vise with soft jaws and then removed the drain plug. Her way was certainly safer. With a poly cap, don’t want to damage or crack the cap

 

The factory composite oil filter housing is fine, as long as you use the right tool to remove, and install it. Don't try to over torque it either. Get the

$30 motivx mx2320 motivx tools oil filter wrench for toyota camry, tundra, tacoma, 4runner, RAV4 and more - 64mm 14 flute precision CNC machined aluminum oil filter removal tool

motivx mx2320 wrench.

 

I will have to try that next time.
I was thinking of using a vise but don't own one. Probably a good thing I'd shove things I Probably shouldn't into its jaws

 

Too many of those early wrench's were not designed properly, made to grab the housing's ears, instead of its flutes. This caused the housing to crack, and develop leaks.

 

Yep I got the early version like that from MotivX but got the new one with the full kit. The newer version works better. I however don't like the angle that the oil filler tube one the Tacoma puts the funnel at. When pouring from 5 quart jugs with the truck up on ramps I've accidentally poured some oil over out around it and made more of a mess than with a cheap funnel that sat in the hole more vertically.

 

I bet the dealer didn't oil up the "O" ring on the small drain cap

 

The only issue Ihave with the Motivx 2320 is that if fits too perfect and it is difficult to get the filter housing out of the wrench, at least for me.

 

So far almost 115k miles on our prius with the same type oil filter housing. Dealers have done the oil change intervals every 10k miles. The car runs awesome. This same tech has done the 10k oil maintenance on other prius's, says some already have over 250k miles, and still running strong. I guess if your using only a dino motor oil, 3k to 5k would be more than adequate.