60k mile maintenance...observations

First some background. I bought this truck (2011 PreRunner DCLB V6) in September 2012. It had 54,700 on the clock. The dealer where I bought it changed the oil and maybe the air filter.

So my Maint Required light finally stayed on and I decided to tackle the service myself. I referenced this site https://sites.google.com/site/tacomamaintenance/ Big thanks to chris4x4!!

First, the oil change...this may be the easiest oil change I have ever done, and I've done all my own oil changes on every vehicle. Simple as can be. Everything is easily accessible. One observation...on that site, it says you need 5ft of 5/16" tubing. It needs to be 5/16" ID. I bought the wrong size and made a bit of a mess, but otherwise all went smooth.

Cabin Air filter was a snap to change. I think the old one was the original...it was nasty as hell!

Spark plugs/Air filter...Again big thanks to Chris4x4 for the above site. It was a bit of a pain in the ass, but pretty straightforward to do it. The front plug on the drivers side is a BITCH to get the wires off of the coil pack, but otherwise not too bad. You definitely need the two 6" (or longer) extensions for the plugs on the drivers side. I had the Denso plugs on the passenger side and the NGK's on the driver's side, which tells me that they were the original plugs with 60k miles on them. Changed the air filter when I had the intake tube off. Used the Denso Iridium plugs and a Fram Air filter. Hoping the MPG will improve with new plugs!

On a side note, when I was getting my plugs at Advance Auto, I asked the guy if they had NGK plugs for my truck. He said that NGK didn't make plugs for my truck. I told him...yeah they do. Toyota puts in Denso plugs on passenger side and NGK on the driver's side. He said there's no way Toyota would do that. I told him that I could show him this site and they numerous posts referencing that exact scenario.

I've learned a lot on this site, and I'm really glad I was able to do the maintenance. Thanks TW!

 

Don't you love it when somebody tells you something you know isn't true? As far as I can tell every single tacoma 4.0 has the 3 and 3 plug setup, I know mine did.

 

Yeah...I was tempted to take the old plugs down there and shove them in his face....or someplace else!

 

Dont forget the rear differential. I just had mine done today.

 

A cheaper alternative to using the tubing for the oil filter is just put a McDonalds cup below the drain. It's held into place by all the hoses pretty easily. Also don't forget to grease your zerks

 

Yeah, I gotta grease it still, and do the rear end oil. The fact that I had the original plugs still in at 60k miles, makes me want to do everything that I can. I want to make sure that I know it's all been done right.

And I just went and drove it about 30 miles. I swear that it runs quieter, smoother and had more giddy-up!

 

Just got done with the rear end. Mine takes 3.12 qts. Had my wife stop on the way home and pick me up another quart so I could get it right.
Could the spare tire be any MORE in the way?