Oil changed, finally

Finally changed the oil at 3k today. Found nothing over torque, i probably went tighter on the drain plug and oil filter than it was from the factory. No ramps or jacks used in the process on my trd off road.

Could not get the crush washer off. I didn't want to cut it in case that wouldn't work. Couldnt get anything under it easily to pry up, so I just reused it and will deal with it next oil change when it's warmer out.

Oil came out darker than I would have expected. I know color does not indicate it's bad, but looks like it's working the oil hard in 3k miles. Now that I dumped the factory fill, I'll send a sample out next change. If I can go 7500 miles I'd be happy. No way going 10k on this engine.

Oil used was mobil1 0w20 extended. I chose that not because I'm going to do 20k oil changes, but just to protect the turbos and engine internals better with a superior base oil. I'll never go back to regular mobil1 0w20 for 2 bucks less per 5 quarts.

Last, skidplates. They are a joke for protection but a joy to deal with compared to my 2007 tundra skid plate. Thing was huge, heavy as hell, and just sucked to deal with. These are so light it's crazy. I will be looking into a light weight aluminum plate in the future.

And no, I didn't want to use my free oil changes. I'm going to transfer them to my 2023 rav4 which I can't get under easily to change the oil.

 

Turbo motors are know for making oil very dark, like pitch black actually!
Nature of the beast....
Youre not doing yourself any favors by making your drain plug tighter than factory, doing more harm than good...
Truth is, a drain plug really doesnt have to be very tight at all...

I made really good money for a living repairing damaged oil pan drain plug threads using a "timesert" in aluminum oil pans...
Or replacing the oil pan...
Just saying, be smarter than the lube tech, that drain plug isn't going anywhere & you dont have to hammer-down on it...
Needless to say, ive seen ALOT of overtightened drain plugs in my day..

 

A standard razor blade will get the crush washer off quick, easy, and safe.

 

Nothing wrong with what you’re doing.
Good job on the maintenance. Nothing is getting easier or more user friendly to work on. So I’d do all I can to keep this truck running for as long as possible.

With the current trend. We will be luck to perform oil changes ourselves in the future. Especially if we don’t own the software that runs the truck.

Good luck being a DIYer. It looks like the future may be extremely expensive, dealership or at home.

 

Those are splash guards.