You dont, if your car isnt lowered that is. Ive changed mine witout lifting it with a jack.

 

wow, didn't need to learn how to do a oil change but i would like to know more about the mobil1 oil filter... i have heard it is comparable to the trd oil filter. There is no doubt that the toyota oil filter is good in my mind, but i have been using the m1 filters, guess i have to switch over. One thing i like about toyota's oil filters are they come greased up and covered with a nice plastic cover.

 

Well, it's really up to what you believe in. Some people swear by M1 filters and they probaby won't run into much of a problem unless they are really unlucky and really mean to their car.

However as an engineer, I tend to believe things that can be proven. And in terms of filters, I have proved it to myself that the toyota filters is the only way to do it. Not only are the M1 filters made by Chempion labs, which shares it's construction with cheaper filters like Bosch, STP, and Supertech from Walmart (not bad filters, but just not worth 10 dollars), but it's pathetically undersized for the tC application which doesn't seem like such a good idea knowing that it's designed for a smaller engine. (If you walk into a toyota dealership, they will hand you different filters for tC and xA engines. But M1 offers the same filters for both engines.)

In the end of the day, it's really your call. I do my best to share my findings with others, but hey, it's really up to the individual on what he decides to use.

 

just got a pack of 10 filters and 5 washers from TRDSparks.com for under $50 shipped! Its a great price and should last me a good while. I made the change from M1 filter to the Toyota filters since i believe who would know the tC best than anyone else? Doing alot of reading and whatnot i went with the change. I plan on changing my oil within the week and still sticking with Mobile1 Oil but just use the Toyota filters.



as for the washer/gasket. its not your average washer. Im not too sure if you can get this from the store or what? Ive never seen this type of washer/gasket. It looks like it has a thin piece of rubber on both sides with one side a bit thicker than the other? Anyone know if their washer/gasket are the same as what im talking about and if so is their a certain way it needs to be on what side? TOP is thick and bottom is THIN. Took a marco pic of it...

 

Are those TRD filters or toyota OEM filters? it's a pretty good deal either ways, but TRD for that price would be a killer deal.

Those washers are what the toyota dealerships would give you. I don't know why one side is thicker than the other, but I do know that these washers are better at getting crushed (so you won't strip your thread on the pan) than others. Good stuff.

 

those are the toyota filters. i just made the switch as well and also ordered the bunch of filters. TRDsparks sells em for a great price. From the conversations that have gone on around here, the TRDs aren't worth their $12 price tag.

The crush washers can be bought at any dealer. One dealer just handed em to me, the other charged me $.50 per.

 

Darn. I was hoping that it was the TRD filters so I can possibly buy one off you guys for cheaper to cut it open. Oh well.

 

well i did some calculations and i would save about $65 from filters alone with the toyota filters i just got. I got them at $3.55/each from TRDSparks.com when dealer charges about $7/each. the Mobile1 filter i got to fit the tC was around $10. Pretty good savings if you ask me! Im happy with it and i recommend TRDSparks for it also! 2 thumbs way up for them!!!

 

Is it exactly four motor oil containers or something like 3 3/4 or what not?

 

it's more of like 3.5 quarts (1 quart per container).

 

My dad told me something about measuring it with the holes on your oil stick thing. If this is true, up to where?

 

depends on your dipstick. Some has holes, some has marks. But yes, add 3.5 quarts of oil first, run the engine for a few minutes (good time to take it off the ramp), shut off the engine, measure it with the dip stick, and see how much you are short. The dipstick has a max and min mark, and if you are at min, it means you are a quart away from max.

you don't want to exceed the max mark too much by the way. Usually 3.5 quarts is just a little short (very little) of the max, which I consider perfect.

 

so 4quarts is too much?

 

I always use 4 quarts. I'm not going to bother measuring the last quart and saving half of an open bottle. As long as you are changing the filter, 4 what you want. Just look in the manual. If you are not changing the filter, then like 3.5-3.7. I always change my filter though...

 

depends on how picky you are. I consider 0.25 quarts too much, and I always measure with the dipstick. Manual isn't exactly accurate and with 4 quarts plus changing the filter, you will still be over filling.

For most people though, overfilling it fine. Heck, the DEALER gave my highlander 6 quarts of oil "because it's a 6 cylinder" and it still ran fine for a week or so before I drain it myself. Almost 2 quarts overfilled.

 

just finished. very easy and pics help for the dumb ones . no need to pay someone $25+ to do it when you can do it at home in less than 10 mins. had to use a jack and stands since im on Hotchkis springs and it was a little tight under there. feels good to be on Toyota filters from M1. Also replaced the washer and it needed it. As i stated before, these washers from Toyota have some sort of ruber on both sides and both sides of the used one were worn out. Here's the pics of the filters...

 

Yeah. I just got mine changed too for my 15k miles... I tried to used my ramp but my cars too low for it so I also used two jacks. It was a tough one, especially taking the filter out. I was tempted to gg to jiffy.

 

pics not working N-E-more

> . <

 

I use Mobil 1 filters and oil. Sometimes I just bring my oil and filter to a mechanic and he charges me for labor only.

 

I bought my Mobil1 filter for $6. My sister works at ExxonMobil. They sell oil and filters once a year to employees at discount prices. If I run out of M1 filters I will try toyota filters @ trdsparks. Thanks for all the info and pics. I will go buy a pack of washers from the dealer and change the oil myself tonight. I hope I can fit under the car w/o a jack.