So I am in a predicament, was changing my engine oil today and things was going fairly smooth.

I drained the oil from the filter and proceeded to take the housing off. But my china made oil wrench snapped and broke. So I wasn't able to change the filter and proceeded to add oil as I only have one vehicle.

So I need to purchase a new oil wrench, is it possible to change the filter? Assuming there isn't much oil that would reside in the filter housing.

 

Yes, for sure. Change it when you can and don't worry about it

 

I have not tried to just take out the oil filter without draining in 3rd gen RX. But I have removed just the canister type oil filters in other Lexus [including first gen RX], and you don't loose much oil from the attachment point. This is because the oil filter sits above the sump and the same holds true for the 3rd gen. You will need to add fresh oil to compensate for the oil lost in the old filter.

Please post what you find out. I have more miles to go before I change oil for my RX.

Salim

 

So I just changed out my oil filter today, I lost maybe half a liter of oil, so not bad.

 

Was that mostly due to oil needed to fill up the filter or it was from spill once the filter is taken off. In the canister type, the spill was at the most 5 oz.

Salim

 

There will be oil spilling out when removing the filter, plus the oil in the filter housing.

Do you guys bother with oil filter drain cap or just the whole filter housing. I think going forward I'm just going to remove the housing.

 

I remove the drain cap. I find it less messy to get the oil out first.

Fram oil filters have one advantage over Toyota and that is the drain cap attachment design. The Fram one screws into the drain cap so it is much easier to use. I attached a clear plastic hose to the end to direct the oil flow. It is much less messy than the Toyota one that you push in and have to hold in place while it drains. It is worth buying a Fram filter once just for the drain attachment which you can re-use. Get the top of the line Fram Ultra Guard which has a synthetic element.

 

I remove the oil drain cap and use the plastic insert supplied with the new Toyota oil filter. Then I unscrew the metal housing, drain the oil, and remove the old filter. I have a relatively wide oil drain catch pan so there is no mess.