Sh*t

Hey everyone, first post and new Tacoma owner.

I purchased a 2019 TRDOR last October and have been doing my own oil changes every 5k miles with my father. This is the first vehicle I've done my own oil changes with. In the past my dad would take care of the oil when I left his house, so I never paid attention to how much was really being drained....

Fast forward to today. I moved and now have my own garage and decided to change the oil. When I was wrapping up I decided to dump the old oil into the 5qt container that held the new oil, and it only filled it about half way. I got to be honest this freaked me out. I'm not leaking any oil as far as I can see so I'm assuming it's burning it.

About 6 months ago I had the spark plugs replaced once I hit 60k miles, had an OTT tune done and transmission fluid drain and fill, oil changes, different tires etc. The truck seems to be running fine all things considered.

I've seen posts on this forum in the past about how difficult it is to check the oil with the dip stick, and to be honest I can never tell what the levels are.

I guess this means an expensive trip to the mechanic? Any advice for a freaked out newbie would be appreciated.

Edit: If anyone has good mechanic recommendations for someone in north Phoenix I'd appreciate it greatly.

 

Relax it just takes a few times to get comfortable with doing your own oil changes. I would recommend checking your oil every time you get gas, sometimes it can be tricky to see the level but practice will help that. You’ll never get all the oil out of your motor when draining it, but from the sounds of it you were low this doesn’t mean you need to run off to a mechanic, it’s normal that under different driving conditions oil can be used up, that’s why it’s a good idea to check it regularly. Top the oil off and keep an eye on its level, you’ll be fine

 

I greatly appreciate it, dude. I'll have to do some research and figure out how to actually check the oil. When I try, the dipstick gets oil smeared up and I don't see an obvious line.

 

How much did you put in? Assuming 6-6.5 qts just keep an eye on it.

 

6 quarts. One 5qt container and one 1qt.

 

Don't worry about being newbie and do you have history of the vehicle? what was the maintenance schedule like?

 

some guys try using a scotchbrite pad to lightly scuff the bottom of the dipstick to make it easier to read.

what you're looking for is a line of oil across the dipstick to indicate the level-- there's going to be capillary action on the edges that will wick up/down, that's the part to ignore. of course, the more you check it, the more capillary action there'll be on the edge, which will make the reading that much smaller.

the main thing is to learn to read the dipstick more than measure the amount of oil coming out--it will give a more accurate reading of the oil level.

trying to measure the oil removed after a change can be a fools errand due the fact that it's supposed to be changed hot, and takes a while for all the oil to drain down from everywhere. i don't have 12 hours to do an oil change, so some of the old oil stays in. it's fine, and the additive package of the new oil more than makes up for it.

 

I pull the dipstick and wipe it, don't put it back in the tube, let it sit for about ten min before reinserting it to check the level. Works every time for me.

 

^This.

When I'm gassing up I take the dipstick out and wipe it before I begin fueling, then insert the dip stick to check after I've put the gas cap back on. Clear reading every time.

 

Make sure you dropped the engine oil and not the trans oil. Sometimes people get them mixed up since they are both black drain pans, and the trans only drops 3-4qts. If you were really burning that much oil, it would be evident out of the tail pipe (bluish white smoke).

 

The oil filter media also absorbs some oil also. No reason to go to a mechanic yet. Check your oil every morning before you start the engine to determine if you are losing oil.

 

If it took 6 qts. to fill it up, and only 2.5 quarts came out, something isn't right.

But there is no need to worry about yet. I'd monitor the oil level over the next 5k miles.
If you loose more than 1 quart, I'd start worrying then.

 

Well F me. This is exactly what I did. I guess I need to add a few quarts of transmission fluid back in, right?

 

Add some to the transmission, and drain some from the engine.
You have to be way over full in the engine at this point.

 

I'm sure I can't pick up the tranny fluid at Walmart can I?

 

Don't drive the truck anywhere at this point until you get the fluids sorted.

 

I'm running up to the Toyota dealership to get some transmission fluid

 

Watch this video for what you need to do for the trans, you'll need a fluid pump too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNqYpEpmUng

 

Use Toyota fluid for the trans and like others have said don’t drive it. You willl have to go through the fluid check procedure there are threads here to help. Good luck

 

Valvoline MaxLife is compatible with WS. (red jug)
Ideally it's not recommended to "mix" fluids. But you can, just not "recommended".

I'll warn you. It's a pain in the ass to check the fluid level correctly.
Good thing you "measured" what came out.

I'll go ahead an give some "bad advice".
Put in the same amount you took out. And get this catastrophe behind you and call it a day.

If you want to check it correctly, I'll be happy to send over the service data.
But you're in for an other 1 or so more. And you'll be cracking the overflow plug a few times.