Quick question about the wisdom of changing my own oil...

Julia,

Take a look at this video. This should pretty much show you what to do to change oil in a Gen 2 Prius.

Ron (dorunron)

 

Julia,

The only thing I would do differently in relation to the video is to use a Toyota oil filter instead of the STP filter, and I would use a little better funnel than the one in the video. Yes, the plastic bottle should work fine, but there is a risk of plastic shavings getting in the motor from cutting the bottle with the scissors. Any high quality funnel should work fine, the only reason for the funnel is to help cut down on oil spills and waste of the oil.

Read the owner's manual. Maintenance section - Oil Change specifications. Use a SL or SM certified oil (marked on label) and also look for the ISLAC mark (on the label). 5W30 is the specified weight as per Toyota. Use synthetic oil (Mobil 1) if you can afford it, if not use dino oil (regular oil). The spec's will not change between the synthetic and the dino. The oil in the video is synthetic - Castrol brand. Quite a few here on PC do recommend using synthetic oil in the Prius. The Gen 3 requires it, whereas the Gen 2 (your car) does not.

3.9 Quarts Max. Do not overfill, as that creates problems further down the road.

Good luck to you.

Ron (dorunron)

 

Julia,

If you know a local mechanic that you trust, ask him or her how much they would charge you if you brought him the goods (oil filter, washer, and oil). Mine charges $25 if I furnish everything. I buy Mobil 1 at Walmart, the filter and the washer from Toyota, and I let my mechanic friend do it for me. I spend less doing it that way versus the stealer, and I don't have to get my hands dirty. He rotates the tires as well as checks the usual stuff. Since I am disabled, it is hard for me to get under the car.

It makes things real easy when you have a car lift. Not all of us have a lift in our driveway's.

Just an alternative if you trust your local mechanic, and don't want to deal with oil recycling, filter disposal, and so forth.

Ron (dorunron)

But you can do it yourself if you are so inclined.

 

Hey there's something cute about a girl with oil on her nose.

John.

 

That is exactly why I won't use the local oil change places for our Prius. I used to use the stealer, but after having to tell them twice not to overfill, I drew the line. By handing the mechanic 3.5 quarts of Mobil 1, and a new filter with the washer, it becomes very difficult for him to mess up. My mechanic knows me, and I know him. He understands that I want things done certain ways, and follows instructions. He won't let me mess up if I advise him wrong, but will do what I say 99.9% of the time. In my younger days, I always did the maintenance stuff myself.

For the record, I knew quite a few gals (ladies, girls, etc.) who were machinist's by trade. I learned real quick that they could generally do a better job and produce a better part than most guys. Generally, women are more meticulous than men. I imagine someone here will debate me on that one.

A little oil/grease never hurt anyone. A lot though can tend to present problems in one way or another.

 

FYI Sears has their Microtork wrenches for sale once in a while for $40. I picked up a backup at Autozone for $40.

 

Harbor Freight has an inexpensive toque wrench for $10 that seems to be pretty well calibrated. Of course it's always a good idea to make sure it's accurate, and if it isn't create an accurate cheat sheet, as it is with and torque wrench.

 

I forgot to mention re: the funnel - just cut off half of a quart bottle of the M1 and use that as a funnel. Less waste that way. Since you're not pouring against the cut section, it's very unlikely you're going to get plastic in the oil.

 

The main problem is that so many dealers are in a big hurry to move a large volume of vehicles through their service bays. That's really where the dealer makes most of their bottom line, Not from selling cars.

I doubt if they even do a complete check of the undersde or chassis, when they rotate tires or change the oil.

You can do a better job than they do. With the car on ramps to do an oil change, just lightly grab the susopension, tie rods or sway bar struts with your hand and give them a shake. If they are loose other than being able to rotate, then, they need work. Look for loose bolts an nuts. Even a cheap 3/8 inch clicker drive from Harbor Freight ($10 from a coupon from the newspaper or a magazine ad) will do. Just check it before using it. A good way ro check it is to set it to set the wrench to 18 pounds with a 12mm socket and try it on the M8 J.I.S. chassis bolts under the car. On my father's 2003 Toyota Corolla with only 12K miles on it, about half of the bolts were loose. If the wrench doesn't click with a 90 degree arc, the wrench might be defective. Don't over tighten.

Look for tears or darker oil stains on the rubber CV joint and steering shaft boots. They are early signs of trouble.

Like most all experienced mechanics, if you need to tighten any bolt more than 90-120 degrees after feeling resistance at the end of a 7 inch long wrench, you know that something is wrong. I'd NEVER tighten the oil dran plug to 28 ft lbs, and the shop mechanic at Toyota service will NOT likely do that either. Forget about them using a torque wrench. I'd just tighten it another eighth turn on a 14mm wrench or so. That's tight enough. There is a reason why Toyota chose a 14mm hex for the plug.

Overtightening the oil fiter housing is just as bad as not tightening it enough. Most inexperienced service personnel will overtighten it. A 7 inch long 3/8 inch drive ratchet is sufficient.

I did my first oil change at around 3k miles. I used a paint market and placed a line on the black housing, before I removed it. After I replaced it with a new "o" ring, I tightened it back to the ame position. Torque angle is always more accurate than "resistance" torque.

I serviced aircraft, spacecraft, and automobiles for nearly 50 years. These procedures have worked best for me over all of those years.

 

Hi Julia,

After reading your post above, I noticed one thing that you might reconsider.

When tightening the oil filter, don't snug it up and then go tighten 3/4 of a turn. Simply turn the filter until the gasket just touches. You should feel resistance when the gasket touches, then go 3/4 of a turn. Don't overtighten it, or you might end up damaging the seal itself on the filter. When that happens, the filter will leak. That is why it is important to not overtighten as another poster has pointed out.

I also agree that you really don't need a torque wrench for the oil drain plug. Just tighten it up with a standard 14MM wrench and you will be done. Wipe the surface clean where the washer sits before you put the plug back in like the guy in the video did.

One other tip that no one has mentioned so far in this string. Put some oil on the gasket of the new filter before you screw it on, and also make sure that you clean the surface on the engine where the gasket sits. The video shows the guy wiping it off with a rag. You don't need a lot of oil on the gasket, just enough to wet it. The video also shows the guy placing oil on the gasket with his finger before he screwed it on.

It all comes with experience, and I have no doubt you will be Ok as long as you take your time and pay attention as you go along.

Ron (dorunron)

 

I understand. I just put it in a plastic container and leave it at the door of any Quickie Lube after hours. They don't mind as they get paid for there recycleable oil.

 

Up here Canadian Tire will take used oil, and even allows you to pour into their vat, so you can re-use your container. There might be something similar stateside.

 

There are a lot of places to take my used motor oil to get rid of it. I guess I also would rather not handle stuff that's known to be carcinogenic (especially in the case that I have to clean up the mess in case I spill some)

ref:
http://www.nature.nps.gov/hazardssafety/toxic/oilused.pdf

 

Anyone should always wear those big kitchen gloves, or for better feel a set of latex gloves under a set of mechanics gloves, but at the same time we need to be realistic about exposure versus risk. IIRC someone needs something like two solid days worth of exposure for years before skin cancer becomes an issue. With acute dermal exposure the worst someone will see is some irritation/redness. Clay cat litter is great for spills, but they won't be an issue with a bit of care and a drip pan.