oil change, drain bolt? Options

[Cormudgen]

I just bought my 6th gen (96 ST) not to long ago. Not knowing when the most recent oil change was I decided to go ahead and do it. I went and picked up an oil filter (Purolator $3.50---good choice?) and I have some Castrol GTX 10w 30. Get under my car and find the oil filter(beneath the exahuast manifold) and think I find the drain bolt. Basicaly just about 12 inches below the filter. REally i just want to veriffy this is the right bolt. Also is that oil and filter a good recomendation for my car ( 138,000 miles).

*edit*I tried to undo the bolt and just couldnt get it off. I"m going to try again in a little bit. Would much prefer to do this myself.

Cormudgen

[phat94celi]

The drain plug is on the oil pan. It is the only plug on the pan. I think your looking at the right thing, sometimes they are on tight though. Especially if the previous owner took the car to Jiffy Lube(those guys suck!) I usually use purolator filters and they work fine.


-Kaleb

[Stipt]

If its on the passenger side, bingo! Ya gots it, get a bigger wrench with more torque and rip that damn plug off! Thats what I had to do with mine.

[sonar]

What is the best oil for our Celica anyway?

[celicarocker]

i had that problem with mine. just get a breaker bar

[Pali_playa]

synthetic oil by quaker state i think

[playr158]

i use either fram or super tech..works good for me

[LatinKraze]

I use 10w 40, but i have 179,000 miles on the clock.

[Silver94CelicaOw...]

I use Castrol GTX 10w 30 too and i think it does a fine job. I have about 150k on my odometer, and it seems to run pretty well.

As far as filters, i have a Fram on right now which im sure does a fine job, but i would sooner go with a TRD filter or a K&N for the extra quality and filtration.

[BigEdge169]

I use Valvoline Maxlife 10W-30 and it seems to work fine.

[Drocay]

Mobile One Synthetic: Older Engine Formula (for cars over 70,000 miles)

[Drocay]

K&N filters are good and are like 20 less than trd they run around 11 bucks.

[Sirius]

How much is a standard Toyota filter over there?

Most UK guys go for a standard one or TRD.

[Digndoug]

ok, a filter is really all the same. Get a fram, there like 3-4 bucks... all you need, an oil, long life or drive hard are good, or mobile one, is what im using just cause it was cheaper.

[Chrobis]

umm wow... all you guys using synthetic oil in your 7a-fe's and 5s-fe's are just throwing money down the drain.... And Im just wondering if anyone has ever opened their owners manuals...? because it tells you what viscosisty oil to use, and that vis. oil should be used for the life of the engine, not ever changing it because you have alot of miles... Not using the right vis oil could mean worse gas milage, and actual under protection... It can also cause start up problems, because the oil is not running at the correct vis at start up, causing the engine to possibly struggle under cold temp.

I may be wrong (CHECK YOUR OWNERS MANUAL) but most toyota engines use 5w-30w oil

Synthetic oil should only be used for HIGH PERFORMANCE engines, (any toyota engine ending is GE or GTE) otherwise your wasting money.

And as oil filters go, most of them are the same, but for the same price as a fram you can go to your local toyota dealer and order OEM Toyota Oil Filters which filter better then most of the filters sold at your local auto store. I got my toyota filters for $3.50 each, while a fram would have cost me $4.50, and the toyota filters are better.

Also, remember every time you change your oil your supost to lube the oil filter gasket with a little oil, and to not overtighten your filter (only hand tighten it) and to replace your drain plug gasket, (also sold at your dealer for about 80 cents) Never overtighten the drain plug or oil filter because both of these are under pressure and end up tightening themselves more, so if they are originally tight, they will be horendously tight at the next oil change.

I also recomend sticking with high name brand oils only, such as castrol, valvoline, mobil-1, quaker, etc. and stay away from oils like Car and driver, chevron, shell etc oils.

[Jeremy1210]

I think you might be worng with the 5w-30 oil. My oil cap says 10w-30 and I know thats what Jiffy put in it when I used to go there for changes

[aaronc222]

Very wrong on a few points. Synthetic oil provides better protection, it doesn't matter if it's a lawn mower engine, diesel truck(what Mobil 1 was originally for), or a high performance racing engine.
And Toyota does suggest 10w30 in the 7AFE, I don't know about the 5SFE though.
I've been using 5w30 Castrol Syntec with K&N filters because I want my car to last, it's not for a performance gain. I'll have 200,000 on it this weekend(sitting at 199,912 right now with the camera ready), and have yet to have a single mechanical problem out of it. I've replaced 1 clutch, 2 timing belts, a starter, battery, and the alternator. Last time it was in to Toyota(valve adjustment/timing), the mechanics were shocked at how well it ran with all the mileage(been going there for a while and they know how I drive and that I ran RallyCross in it).
Sure I could have done the same with regular Castrol GTX and saved about $20 every oil change(40 oil changes since I bought the car = $800), but I'd rather have the peace of mind knowing that I did everything I could to keep the engine running smoothly.

ed: forgot to mention, last tank I got 34 MPG. Not bad for a 10 year old engine with 200k

This post has been edited by aaronc222: Apr 17, 2004 - 1:48 PM

[Chrobis]

well for the 5s its 5w-30, and all I was saying is synthetic oil really isnt needed for "low performance" engines. And the viscosity should never be changed because of the life of an engine. And the toyota filters should out perform a K&N filter.

[x_itchy_b_x]

Mobile One Synthetic is what i use. 10w-30
why use 5w? thats for economical/pollution and starting ur car in alaska.
seriuosly those number have more meaning than what u think, its all heat range and when the polymers in the oil expand and contract.

[Justin]

I just put 10w-40 in my car. a mechanic that i know said it might make the slight oil leak i have slow down. Correct if I'm wrong but aren't the viscisitys just for what temperature it is outside. I live in Alabama so I dont ever need anything thinner than 5w-30 right? or does that protect better and would it protect better during "sporty driving"?

[aaronc222]

[SlowCelica94]

Bosch makes some great oil filters and at only $7 a pop, not too bad. Bosch a highly respectable name.

As far as syn oil goes, a lotta your syn oil has more cleaners in it and deturgents(sp), but it's also a lot thinner. So it like leak around some bad seals. I'm a supporter of syn oil tho, as it cleans up the engine better.

[wind]

the numbers are viscosity (sp) when it is cold it is thicker and when it is warm it is thinner.... so 5w -30.... 5 weight when it is hot and 30 weight when it is cold....correct me if im wrong

so it is very important that you put the correct oil in or your engine will have to work very hard to push that oil.... resulting in reduced gas milage and reliability

[x_itchy_b_x]

[wind]

[elvasoshexai]

uh... is this the right gasket for the oil drain plug for the 5sfe:
90430-12031

also, is the gasket for the oil filter a separate part i gotta get?

[LewFX]

theres a gasket on the filter...put some oil on it before putting it on...you can get any washer for the drain plug at a parts store.

[BLADDER_MASTER]

10W-30 Mobil 1 Synthetic Oil with Toyota OEM Filter on my 3S-GE.

[6strngs]

my oil cap on my 5sfe it says 10w-30

according to the teacher of my auto class, if a car came with a factory recommendation of 10w-30, then you should use only that until the warranty runs out, after that, he said 10w-30 would probably give better gas milage while 10w-40 would probably make the engine last a bit longer.

I use mobil 1 synthetic 10w-30 and toyota filters at 150K

[6gsillyca]

can anyone tell me what the "recommended" (owners manual) weight of oil for a 3s-gte is? I know your climate and such play a factor, but I just want to know what is recommended.


On another note, I've read that fram filters are bad. They didnt flow or filter very good. k&n on the other hand, has a high flow rate, but because of the increased flow, compramises filtering ability.

[elvasoshexai]

ok.. i feel kinda retarded... after 6 hours i couldn't change my oil =/

i realized i hvn't jacked my car up since i lowered it... and my jack doesn't fit anymore =/ had to use the spare...

but i ran into a problem.. after i drained my oil... i went to remove the filter with a oil filter wrench... i used to have a 5sfe camry and i thought i could just reuse the oil filter wrench for that car since it's the same engine... but it turns out it doesn't fit...

i went to 3 stores and none had a oil filter wrench that fit the celica... even the adjustable ones were either too big or too small...

so... i wanna ask... can someone tell me where to find one that works for our filters???

[jc47]

Get the smaller adjustable/strap wrench and put an object like a box wrench or a dowell in between the strap and the filter to take up the slack. Something rubber coated will work good if available. It still can be difficult to get it to fit, but it will work for getting the old filter loose. When installing the new filter you shouldn't need any tools. Screw it on until the gasket contacts the sealing surface and then tighten it an additional (approx) 3/4 turn. You should be able to make the 3/4 turn by hand.

[CelicaST202]

i dont even use the wrench, i can take it off with my hands

[6strngs]

use a fat pair of pliers... just be careful not to squeeze too hard and break the filter.

[Batman722]

use a fat pair of pliers... just be careful not to squeeze too hard and break the filter.

if you do break the filter, just make sure you get it off. Either have someone help you get it off, sometimes you just need someone else to give it a try. Worse comes to worse, go somewhere to get the oil changed.

[jdg371]

hard to take off filter? Get a long fat screwdriver and drive it though lol.

I use Toyota oil fiters and Castrol GTX 10-30 in my ST.

I have an adjustable oil filter remover and it works for a 4AFE to 5VZFE

[99GTauto]

I changed the oil 2500 miles after we purchased the Celica since I couldn't get a straight answer from the dealer on when the last change was.
The oil cap on my 5S-FE said 5W-30 and since the cold season was starting I stuck to it with Mobil Clean 5000 5W-30 and a Mobil 1 Oil Filter.
I too found the drain plug way tight and joked to my buddy (who's garage I was using for the change) that Jesus must've been the last person to change the oil since turing with all my strength and yelling "Jesus Christ!" was the only way I got it off.
I don't know if you've got an AutoZone near you but the washer for the drain plug was only $0.49 - their part #129573 / model 366173.
I also tightened the oil filter by hand and dabbed a bit of the new oil on its gasket.
My intrest piques when talking about oil weights though because I've been intending to move up to 10W-30 in the summer and back to 5W-30 in the winter (I plan 5000 mi / 6 month oil change intervals). Would this be a bad move?

EDIT: Fixed some spelling errors.

This post has been edited by 99GTauto: Nov 13, 2006 - 11:19 AM

[azian_advanced]

i think you can stick with 10w-30 year round... cuz your in cali. so you don't really get really cold winters.
but an oil change every 6 months/5000 miles should be sufficient.

[99GTauto]

Switching to 10W-30 for good on my next change was something else I was considering especially since the missus and I intend to move back down to the San Diego area (her home town) sooner or later.