additude

Jack stands only take the filter higher away from you if your underneath and make to to high if your going in from the top. If you get the filter off going in from the bottom your lucky.

There is no way to get any leverage going from the bottom.

I used a filter wrench that had a swivel handle, but for the most part I didn't use a filter wrence because there isn't enough room to get the wrench in place and tight and be able to turn the filter at all.

I wanna kick the engineer that designed that filter location. My arms hurt for a week! Serious!

Handogen

When I was young and dumb, I used to jam a screwdriver right through the filter, then twist it off... I wonder if that's possible with the RX300's... hmmm

Daddy-O

Hando...

Aah, you bring back fond memories of my youth.

5 quarts of fresh oil and a new filter in a bag from Western
Auto...Flat on my back in the dirt, smacking that screwdriver
to get it all the way through the filter, hot, dirty oil flowing
down my arms, cursing a blue streak, sweat and dust in my
eyes, bloody knuckles...Uhhh, on second thought, nevermind.

salimshah

If you are a DIY, then do it right.

Spend the $0.86 to get the crushable washer (from the dealer or $.05 fiber washer from car parts store) and invest in a torque wrench.

Salim

white01

Or spend $24,99 (tax included) for the "Express Lube" at your local Toyota Dealer if you in a rush a can't wait for your Lexus dealer to get you in.

I don't think Lexus/Toyota could claim that your not in compliance with service requirements, since changing the oil on the V6 Highlander is bascially the same procedure - right down to rinsing off the underbelly shield when they have finished the oil change.

2 -cents of course

RX300TC

I did the oil change today... no scrapes, burns, bumps, mess, etc. I thought it would be a nightmare from reading what some folks have posted... it was no harder than any other car I've changed the oil on.

First, none of the ideas posted below are mine... they are the collective wisdom of the smart folks at CL (in particular FCobra94). I simply read all the posts and then made my own judgements when doing it. I'll summarize in hopes it'll help a newbie:

1. Warm the engine up to operating temperature. Drive it a short distance or let it idle (your preference, trade-off in time).

2. Let it cool down a bit... you don't want certain parts under there too hot. The drain plug should be warm to the touch, but not enough to burn you :eek:

3. Lay down and old blanket in front of the RX300 (comfort), it doesn't have to go underneath the vehicle. Lay down with your body parallel to the front bumper, remove the front plastic shroud.. though there are several screws, they go quickly.

4. spread some newspaper from the area of the drainplug to the front of the bumper. Put your oil drain pan on top of the newspaper. (I got one at AutoBarn that is a combo drain-pan/carrier)

5. Remove drain plug (it's metric). I have a screen built into my drain-pan, I simply let the plug fall down... no messy hands.

6. Now go topside and remove the oil cap from the engine block... this will allow the oil to flow freely. Take a break for about 15 minutes... have a beer.

7. Once the oil plug hole has stopped significantly draining oil, wipe the hole area clean and reinsert the plug (replace the washer with a new one if on hand). Retighten the bolt BUT DO NOT STRIP THE THREADS. If in doubt, invest in a 3/8 or 1/2 drive torque wrench, they are only about ~$20 at Home Depot. The specs for the torque are either in the OM or your service manager should be able to tell you (mine answers ANY questions I have).

8. Move the drain pan forward... you want to place it approx under where the filter meets the engine... just eyeball it. Now this is KEY... you have to, have to get a filter cap wrench... nothing else will allow you to have the leverage you need. Nothing. When I looked under there it was soooo obvious. Since I work on different cars, I got a mult-fit cap-wrench from Wal-mart for $4 (it's orange colored), rather than buying all the different cap sizes at $5 a pop at Pepboys.

9. If you have a looong handle 3/8 drive ratchet, it will be very easy to get the filter off. I had a standard ratchet and it was still easy. The filter is still HOT.. you don't want to touch it. Put the cap wrench on the ratchet... carefully reach up (while lying on your back, but not underneath the car) so you don't get burned, and get the cap on the filter. Simply loosen, like I said, a long handle ratchet will give you a lot of leverage.

10. I simply loosened the filter SLOWLY.. until a little oil start to drip down into the drain pan (adjust pan position quickly)... and loosened some more to get a stream. It will drip pretty much straight down and contact minimal engine block area. My hands are still clean at this point.

11. Take another quick break, come back. take the ratchet off the end of the cap wrench, and reach up and simply grab the cap and complete removal of the filter. make sure you tilt it straight up once you remove it and you won't spill a drop.

12. Replace filter... fill oil... etc.. etc... check for leaks.

I spent more time under the car sight seeing and correcting some work (that the Lexus body shop did, but that's another story) than actually changing the oil. It was sooo easy (with the right tools)... not a single cut, scrape, burn, etc. And I'm about 5'11" with a slight/medium build, was able to get under the car and reach the filter without jacks.

Ahhh... there's nothing like fresh Mobil 1 and a clean M1 filter in the baby... she's purring like a kitten!

Daddy-O

TC,

Very cool...I've copied and pasted your post into a .txt file
and dropped it in my RX300 folder on my PC.

Other than removing/replacing the plastic shroud,
the washer, and a little care removing the
filter, it sounds like most DYI oil changes.

Mark it down in your owner's manual.

RX300TC

Thanks for the kind words Paddy. Yup, you're right, the only place of potential problems is the filter and getting burned. From the bottom is the only way to go in my opinion/experience.

No more $70 - $90 5k interval services from the dealer anymore! The only thing left to do is rotate the tires... and that is easily solved by replacing them with new rubber from BJ's, Sam's Club, etc... lifetime tire rotation is usually included in the discount price!

I only take the Rex into the dealer for 15k services... and I usually shop around for the best price/service combination. Then again I have a slight advantage in having 5+ dealers in a 50 mile radius of my house

LexRX

Thanks for the write-up RX300TC, excellent job! I still take mine to the dealer (with my own oil/filter) but will eventually use this info. BTW - I buy Mobile 1 oil and the discount I get from the dealer for bringing my own is about the same as buying the oil. They sure charge a lot for their dino oil.

joako

I dont think that would work for me... My Lexus dealer is right smack next to the Toyota dealer (same owner)

RoRo

I must be the minority here. The first oil change was a pain in the *** going in from the top. But now that i've done it, every time I change the oil, I go from the top. It's just a matter of twisting your arm the right way to get a good grip on the filter.

additude

Cool, I have to change the oil in the RX this weekend. I wasn't looking forward to it, but I wanna give this a try. Thanks for the info, it sounds like it will be much easier than the last blood drawing experiences I have had with removing that filter.

augs

Hi RX owners,

Since I've been changing oil on all my cars, I'll probably try and do it on the RX. I thought I might add some info I gained while watching the Lexus mobile sevice come to my house and change the oil on my RX. This is how they do it. First he turns the engine on and warms up the oil( 5min). Then he turns off the engine off and takes the filler cap off. He then uses an electric oil pump that sucks the oil out of the pan through the dipstick. He then puts a long sock and glove on and reaches down around the exahust manifold and losens the filter with a filter wrench. He loosens it just enough for it to drain; he does not take it completely off. After it stops draining, he removes and replaces the filter. By this time the oil has been completely pumped out. The last step is to fill her up with new oil. Start the car and check the level. I think I'm going to get one of those oil changing pumps. They sell them at marine supply places 20 - 100 bucks. I think that's the way to go. What you guys think?

Bill

RX300TC

Absolutley not!

I too was all ready to buy an oil pump when I heard some MB owners swear by them... until one of my buddies pointed out all the crud that collects in your oil pan. With the oil hot and the drain plug removed, some of the crud has a chance to drain with each sucessive oil change.

While the pumps are convenient, I like the piece of mind of letting the oil drain from the pan.

P.S. Besides changing the oil/filter with Mobil 1 every 5k miles, I also throw a bottle of Chevron Techron fuel system cleaner in at the same time. Dealers try to charge big $$$ by offering fuel injector cleaning using Techron (yes, I realize that the dealers use a machine to pump it under pressure... but you only need that under severe cases, ie, you neglected to use good gas under prolonged periods).

FWIW,
TC

white01

Not much difference here, mine is directly across the street (6 lanes). Different owner same distributor.

Needed a change my dealer was booked, no other alterantive available (Jiffy,Quick, Minute, and Fast Lubes weren't considered).

I have a cool service writer so it's all good. Plus I gave them the business for painting and installing my RMM Grill, and installing the Rear spolier, so they better not complain about losing a simple intermediate oil service.