General maintenance, couple questions and suggestions

Whats up all?

I have a some simple quick questions regarding some simple, basic maintenance on my truck.

Back ground -

Its a 2011 TRD Off Road, 58xxx miles, 6 speed, V6. I purchased the truck used last summer with 47xxx miles on it. The only maintenance I've done to the truck so far has been oil changes (2) and tire rotations. The truck seems like had been very well taken care of by the previous owner but I bought the truck from a dealer, so....

Anyways...

My maintenance light came on again, signalling time for another oil change. This got me thinking about other maintenance things. After doing some research, I came across this site - https://sites.google.com/site/tacomamaintenance/ - with some good information. I have the general stuff sorted out but I still have a few questions.

First off, here is the list of all the things I want to give attention.

1. Oil/filter
2. Air filter
3. Rear diff
4. Front diff
5. Spark plugs
6. Cabin filter
7. Tire rotation
8. Transfer case oil?
9. Trans gear oil?


Seem like a solid list eh?

Heres a few questions I do have.


1. Where is the cheapest place to source OEM oil filters? Ive been buying them from the local dealer because of the convenience of it, but I would like to purchase a bulk order of them to cut down on costs.

2. Do any of you run oil additives? Ive been driving older Volkswagens all my life and using Lucas oil stabilizer is pretty common place with them to keep the heads/lifters lubricated properly. I run Mobil 1 full synthetic in the truck if it makes a difference.

3. What brand / weight of gear oil is recommended for the front and rear differential? Again, coming from the VW world, certain brands of gear oil performed better than OEM (GM Synchromesh vs VW brand).

4. Which brand of spark plugs is recommended? Copper or Platinum? Again with the VW thing, factory recommends Bosch plugs but the cars run better on NGK plugs...

5. How often is a transfer case oil change recommended?

6. Ditto on the manual trans gear oil?


Basically Im looking for any info or tricks or tips similar to the VW stuff I have learned over the last decade of owning them.

Thanks

:beer:

 

2. Do any of you run oil additives? Ive been driving older Volkswagens all my life and using Lucas oil stabilizer is pretty common place with them to keep the heads/lifters lubricated properly. I run Mobil 1 full synthetic in the truck if it makes a difference.

No oil additives, just use a good quality oil. I run a full synthetic as well (Amsoil). Some people use Seafoam after more mileage but I'm a believer in using good quality oil, changing at the right interval, etc.

3. What brand / weight of gear oil is recommended for the front and rear differential? Again, coming from the VW world, certain brands of gear oil performed better than OEM (GM Synchromesh vs VW brand).

I can't say enough about Amsoil Severe Gear but folks do just fine with other brands.

4. Which brand of spark plugs is recommended? Copper or Platinum? Again with the VW thing, factory recommends Bosch plugs but the cars run better on NGK plugs...

Use the same NGK/Denso plugs that came with the truck. Change every 30K and you're golden.

5. How often is a transfer case oil change recommended?

Every 30K miles is a good rule of thumb for all the gear oils if you are changing them yourself.

6. Ditto on the manual trans gear oil?

Does the manual recommends every 100K? I do a drain and fill every 30K personally. There are varying opinions on flush and fill vs. drain and fill and intervals so I'd read a few of the threads and decide what is comfortable to you.

 

Get the oil filters and crush washers from the dealer. They are cheap. I usually buy a few at a time.

 

Check out Amazon for OEM oil filters; I bought a case of 10 on there for just under $50 with free shipping delivered to my door. They have the crush washers on there too, should show up in the people who bought that also bought this section. How much are you guys paying from the dealer for OEM filters?

 

Thanks for all the suggestions :beer:

 

$43 + tax for a case of 10 at dealership.