"Nick Has an Exocet" (nickallain)
09/05/2016 at 00:30 • Filed to: None
1
21|
"Nick Has an Exocet" (nickallain)
09/05/2016 at 00:30 • Filed to: None | 1
| 21 |
Like to Amazon, next time I need to change an oil filter on one of your crappy Corollas. Seriously, what an annoying design.
My brother drove up to SF from LA this weekend. He needed an oil change so my father drove with him to an oil change place. They went $50+ to do a simple non-synthetic change. They left, bought oil and a filter at an autoparts store and came back to my house where I have (what I thought) was all the tools needed: a set of sockets and a universal filter wrench.
But no, Toyota has this strange 2 piece filter thing (a cap and a filter) where the cap was designed by someone with no brain. After trying my universal wrench (and failing), I ended up saying “fuck it” and gently tapped at it what little plastic protrusions there were with a blunted chisel and a hammer until it could be turned by hand. Needless to say, it went back on hand-tightened not “force of a black hole” tight like the last oil changer had put it.
Why does Toyota, or anyone for that matter, make such a horrific filter? Why can’t we just agree to always to put a 20mm socket on the end and be done with it? Toyota might say “ah, but our filter only costs $6 and the BMW fancy metal one costs $30!” but you know what? No one cares. Most people drive their car into an [inserty lube] and just pay the whatever oil+filter is for an oil change. No one gives a flying nickel.
Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
> Nick Has an Exocet
09/05/2016 at 00:35 |
|
That’s goofy. Why are automakers trying to reinvent the wheel? Other than to get people dependent on dealership service — wait that’s it.
DipodomysDeserti
> Nick Has an Exocet
09/05/2016 at 00:45 |
|
The funny thing is new BMWs use the same plastic cap with a cheap cotton filter. So a Corolla and a BMW both require a proprietary tool in order to change the oil.
Sam
> Nick Has an Exocet
09/05/2016 at 00:48 |
|
My E34 has a really great, top-mounted (i.e. next to the air filter) cartridge filter. The only problem is that the nut on top is like a 40mm or something, so I have to get an adjustable wrench to get it off.
|
Nick Has an Exocet
> DipodomysDeserti
09/05/2016 at 00:48 |
|
That’s funny. That cheap cotton filter blows my mind - maybe that’s what is inside my car’s K&N, but kind of doubt it.
jasmits
> Nick Has an Exocet
09/05/2016 at 00:49 |
|
Also placement.. Jesus, on my BMW it’s right there and simple..if you have the right tool(14 flutes if you have the 6 BUT 15 flutes if you have the 4, duh), my 4Runners is sticking up the wrong way on the V and requires a contortionist to reach it proceeding to spill oil everywhere when it’s halfway unscrewed, and my Alfa’s is in a spot that might’ve made sense if the V6 was longitudinal but now that it’s in a transverse application it’s jammed between the rear bank of cylinders and the firewall and can’t be seen and reached at the same time. Like what the actual fuck
|
jasmits
> DipodomysDeserti
09/05/2016 at 00:51 |
|
So do old some old ones, just the cap is metal. Not a proprietary tool per-se but a weird one
The Crazy Kanuck; RIP Oppositelock
> Nick Has an Exocet
09/05/2016 at 00:54 |
|
How about gas caps too, have them all be on one side of the vehicle.
|
DipodomysDeserti
> Nick Has an Exocet
09/05/2016 at 01:23 |
|
The filter element is pretty similar. The cotton ones saves some waste by not having to trash the casing each time.
CCC (formerly CyclistCarCoexist)
> Nick Has an Exocet
09/05/2016 at 01:52 |
|
We all need LFA oil filters. It’s dead in front on you when you pop the hood.
Sovereign, Purveyor of Coupes
> Nick Has an Exocet
09/05/2016 at 02:19 |
|
A standard size oil filter socket thing (technical term) from autozone will fit. I usually service my mom’s toyota venza, and the first time I saw it, it threw me off as well, and I almost ordered that same amazon socket.
atfsgeoff
> Nick Has an Exocet
09/05/2016 at 04:13 |
|
My old F-250 (351W) and 2006 Zephyr (3.0l duratec) both use the same oil filter. Ford = doing it right.
*Bosch Distance Plus D3410 for anyone who cares
Wagon, semi manual, not brown, turbo because volvo
> Nick Has an Exocet
09/05/2016 at 05:21 |
|
I cringed and shuddered when you said you tapped on it with a chisel. That plastic gets brittle and if anything chips off it can be a pita to remove the housing next service even with the filter wrench cap. Toyota considers that housing to be a perishable wear item. A new housing cap is pretty cheap and as long as the gasket is replaced and the housing is undamaged and properly torqued, a canister style element has a lower rate of failure than a traditional spin on tin can.
At this point a great deal of manufacturers have phased out the traditional self contained filter for integrated style canister. And many of them make housings that can be opened with a band wrench or have a bolt face. Others have an extraction nipple to drain out the oil without pulling the drain plug.
I agree that there is vast room for improvement on the standardization of canister filter housings. There are considerations to be made when it comes to space constraints, positioning for access and replacement, and proper oil flow
RANTY STUFF AHEAD.
But people do not know or care about that. All they see is a line item cost increase on the service and repair of their appliance. Like any appliance, abuse and neglect will be heaped upon it for years and something will fail. Toyota was hoping to make that a less likely thing to fail. If, as an added bonus they get more cash to their service departments will they say no?
As to the cost of changing that oil for you. How much did your oil and filter cost? How long did it take you including drive time to disposal facility for waste products? What is your time worth? Was it one dude by themselves? Were they on a street corner with a bucket and a cardboard sign saying oil changes or were they in a building with lights and bathrooms and other creature comforts?
Last time I looked into it, people are reluctant to work for free and buildings cost money. So does buying that fancy tool so they don’t go at your car with a hammer and chisel. The cost doesn’t reflect just changing your oil. It reflects the average amount of labor and cost of product over a wide range of makes and models. There is margin for profit and further margin to offset overhead, unanticipated labor, and damage and warranty insurance and price can become inflated with the implication of a coupon because people expect one without looking for it and get indignant for not simply being given money because they asked for it.
|
Wagon, semi manual, not brown, turbo because volvo
> CCC (formerly CyclistCarCoexist)
09/05/2016 at 05:25 |
|
Fukk that go back to screen filters like vw had on the ghia.
|
Wagon, semi manual, not brown, turbo because volvo
> Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
09/05/2016 at 05:26 |
|
Im sure people said the same thing with the can filter when it came out.
Santiago of Escuderia Boricua
> Sam
09/05/2016 at 08:53 |
|
36mm on my e36 m52. Worth it to have the socket
bhtooefr
> Nick Has an Exocet
09/05/2016 at 09:01 |
|
There’s also the amount of waste that a can filter causes, though.
I never had a problem with my TDI’s cap/element filter setup, although that one was top-mounted, unlike the Toyota ones. (You could actually do an entire oil change on my TDI from the top.)
But, yeah, sticking a hex head of reasonable on the end would be nice. I’d suggest 17 mm, as that’s a more common size in tool sets, though.
for Michigan
> DipodomysDeserti
09/05/2016 at 10:23 |
|
This. I don’t mind buying a < $10 tool to do my own oil changes if it means I’m not throwing a metal canister in the trash every few months for the rest of my life. You only need one per vehicle at most and you can send it along to the next owner if you don’t need it anymore.
Funktheduck
> Nick Has an Exocet
09/05/2016 at 11:10 |
|
It doesn’tlook like this?
|
DipodomysDeserti
> for Michigan
09/05/2016 at 11:14 |
|
I don't either. It's that first change when you realize you have to go find the correct oil cap wrench that's annoying.
|
for Michigan
> DipodomysDeserti
09/05/2016 at 11:54 |
|
That’s why I always Google the oil change procedure on a new car. It prevents unpleasant surprises.
gmporschenut also a fan of hondas
> The Crazy Kanuck; RIP Oppositelock
09/05/2016 at 21:00 |
|
because it would limit gas stations design by requiring twice as many islands. they couldn’t be back to back.
though I think a better solution would be for gas stations to have dedicated entrance/exit so cars dont enter the pumps from different angles.