DIY Auto Mechanics Can Save You BIG Money

I work on ships, Drilling out broken stainless steel bolts and trying to extract them with easy outs are from the devil!!!

 

No need to remove tire just turn it for more room. It can be a pain to get off if it gets slightly over tightened.

Honestly you’re not saving much by changing your own oil. Cost me about $30 to do it myself. I’ve just always enjoyed doing it and it gives you a chance to crawl under your truck and see what’s going on down there.

 

another FYI is when you take off the old filter it contains almost 1/2 quart of old oil and to try to keep it upright as much as possible when pulling it out of the wheelwell, which takes some practice because basically you can only use 1 hand to unscrew then pull out thru the hole, if you dump it you'll have a big mess to clean up. the more you do it the better you'll get, like an Indy pit crew.

 

$30 is reasonable, its just that these dealers are starting to say $50 is a 'good deal' for non-synthetic oil, at that price I am needing to do the cost/benefit analysis, if i was equipped with a walk underneath open pit like I had access to and changed my own oil in the early 90s working at the quickLube on my old used car i would probably be doing it myself, its just laborious having to remove the skid plate which i thought was the only way to do the work and struggling to crawl underneath at my age and health issues is an added tax to consider

 

It’s funny how age factors in. I was going to replace my rear o2 sensor this morning and my lower back said “oh no your not!”

 

If you plan on trying the oil change yourself I would suggest before draining the oil to try unclipping the mud guard reaching in the hole to see if you would be able to unscrew and remove it safely, I have very very very long arms and from a squatting position could barely reach the filter unscrew it and then replace it in reverse. if you have medical conditions this could be very compromising to do. it might be best to remove the skid plate(royal big pain in the ass) or take it in to a garage to have it done.

 

there is a local DIY garage rental lift in my town that is $40 an hour, i just used it yesterday to rack up a $70 charge to get out of 0 degree F weather! and do some needed emergency frame work.
i could spend hours underneath that lift inspecting & checking everything out and rack up a rental bill in the multi-hundreds of $$$ very quick!

 

$40 per hour plus the cost of needed supplies in 0 degrees weather doesn't add up, I would find a garage running a Oil change deal for the same amount of money, especially if your medically compromised and have never done the oil change before, try it yourself when summer comes. I would scan the web find a good oil deal

 

I get free oil changes as long as I own it, I gave up on the other stuff when I looked under the hood of my 2002 Tundra but I do keep my 4 lawn mowers serviced and running ( 2 at my house, 2 at moms house)

 

only problem is these days those oil change places don't grease the driveline which is a good idea at the time of the oil change, guess you could roll under with your own grease gun tho, never understood why they dropped that service

 

yes, i only found that out recently that i now have to make a 'special request' to lube the driveline at the dealer service dept. so far they have not added an extra fee which when they do i will get most grumpy and give them an ear full of their genuine Toyota care service. So i crawled underneath the next day to inspect it and found they even missed one or two zerks

 

Tried to do that yesterday to my buddy’s kids 3rd gen 4Runner and I couldn’t get my grease gun to prime. ...brand new tube of red and tacky in there

 

Interesting topic. Not really about how to change oil and filter ..... I had no dad to teach me . Mothers car kept breaking starter motors because they were not installed properly. (no shims (gm product) to adjust contact with ring gear on driving vane..) So I had autoshop in high school and decided to change the starter myself.... From the ages of 16 to 57 been doing my own stuff except for air conditioning charging and some front end alignment stuff. Got a lot to show for it in terms of saving thousands $ . Taught my son a lot of stuff and he just graduated with a degree in high performance motorsports...... Yes some people think I'm nuts for spending so much time fixing my own cars and trucks... but they don't see my bank account..... Plus there is some satisfaction - a lot of satisfaction and it meets my need (everyone has this need) for self actualization.

 

The economics of wrenching on my own vehicles is definitely a motivator to learn. To me it's also just fun.

Cost wise if I tally up the total dollars spent on my truck...everything from the truck itself, oil changes, tires, wheels, flatbed camper, 2nd gas tank, dual batteries I've still spent less than buying a stock 3rd gen. If you add in my daily driver now your talking a modded 3rd gen which, compared to my truck as it sits, I don't see as a good value.
This all because I do about 95% of mine own work.

Edit: Add in timing belt, replaced the whole AC system, carrier bearing, tundra brakes, replace all the suspension including bushings. I've saved tens of thousands of dollars probably.

 

you can get one of these mini grease guns at harbor freight with a discount coupon, they also sell refill cartridges and a flexable hose attachment, doesn't cost much with a coupon, doesn't take up a lot of space

 

Lmfaooooo where have you been

 

https://youtu.be/Xtge-P5VsgE

 

https://youtu.be/J82eoS-TCE8

 

It will be at the dealership, I’d hope they would but I’ll be sure to ask and check. I’ll watch them from the window a time or two

 

another guy said they will do it on request with an extra charge>the Stealership