auto oil change

[BUSHWHACKER]

Thats how i do it, well near as, i have 2 huge measuring jugs one for old crap & one for the fresh stuff.

Phwoooarr, huge jugs!

[wishbone]

Phwoooarr, huge jugs!

And a big bucket Vince... Starting to sound like a Kerry Katona appreciation thread...

[wishbone]

I used Comma Multivehicle ATF in mine. Its Dexron II, III and Mercon V compatible. You can't even feel the gear changes now, and I'm 100% serious when I say that, it made a huge difference.

I knew my AT oil was at the correct level to start with so I drained it into a bucket with level marks on the side so that I knew how much came out. I got 4 litres of fluid out of the sump and it was dark brown, completely the wrong colour. It should be pink.

I bought an orange funnel with a flexi hose attached to it from Halfords, fits into the ATF dipstick tube perfectly. I put 4 litres of new fluid into this and hey presto, job done.

Coming from owning Lexus LS400s, I change the ATF in the sump at every service so mine gets done every 5000 miles at the most (You do the gearbox filter on an LS400 too but no need on the Surf). If you use this method, you can be sure that your ATF is being kept nice and clean. There is no need to remove the sump and clean the strainer if you are changing the fluid in the gearbox sump this often. You won't get all of the fluid out of the box in this way, there will be 5 to 6 litres left in the torque convertor but it'll always be clean as its being refreshed frequently.

A 5 litre can will do 1 fluid change. I only used the MV ATF as I had it in my garage. If you fancy it, you can get it here for £26 delivered:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/COMMA-MULTI-VE...item414936f6e1

If not, this stuff meets Dexron II and is perfectly acceptable for the Surf at £17 for 5 litres delivered:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Comma-AQM-Auto...155e85fb0ec04f

I missed this post as I was typing mine whilst browsing other stuff.. It appears I posted the same method as you.

I will say that it could be a good idea to clean the filter on the first change as you do not know the history of the vehicle. Once you've done it you'll never have to do it again.

Rob.

[Surfer Ross]

I missed this post as I was typing mine whilst browsing other stuff.. It appears I posted the same method as you.

I will say that it could be a good idea to clean the filter on the first change as you do not know the history of the vehicle. Once you've done it you'll never have to do it again.

Rob.

Great minds think alike, eh Rob?

I considered it but its a huge strainer on the Aisin-Warner A340 gearbox, it really takes a hell of a lot of abuse to block that thing up. Its a very messy job and it looks like a bit of manouvering is required to get the sump pan over the exhaust. I do think there's a lot of merit in your point though, I might do it next service.

Is there a sump pan gasket available or do they use anaerobic liquid sealant or something? You'd probably need new sump bolts too, 16 years of corrosion on the ones that are on there.

[Predictable Bob]

The answers are all in the SEARCH young Luke !

[Surf01]

The vehicle is due to go in for a service on Tuesday but I was only going to have an oil change. Found the last invoice for a service. Charge is £5 per hour. They listed it as follows;

Oil filter £15-44
Air filter £20-69
Fuel filter £18-49
Semi synthetic oil £04.78 per litre
Consumables £2.85
Capless bulb £0.51 (no idea what this was)

All the above are supposed to be genuine Toyota parts but having checked Milner & Roughtrax websites it seems that I was grossly overcharged as the above does not include VAT! Unfortunately due to certain limitations I am unable to do the physical work myself so have to use a garage.

According to the sticker on the vehicle it should be using 5W-30 oil which is fully synthetic and not semi-synthetic. Milner do the 7 litres 5W-40 plus oil filter for £45-50. Roughtrax do a complete kit for £65 including 10w-40 oil.

How often should the transmission fluid be changed? Is there a filter that also needs to be changed when you chaneg the ATF stuff? I try and change my engine oil every 6000 miles. Is this correct?

Neither of the above seem to do transmission fluid.

[Surfer Ross]

Assuming yours is a 3rd Gen (KZN185), you're fine with the £28.90 service kit including 10w-40 semi-synthetic oil. Engine oil every 6000 miles is probably fine but I wouldn't go any longer than this. It says 5000km in the service book but this had basic mineral oil in mind, with decent semi synthetic oil you should be ok to extend this.

There is no filter that needs to be changed when you change the ATF. There is a strainer inside the sump on the bottom of the valve body but you can get away with not cleaning this out as long as you are doing regular ATF changes (no less than every 12000 miles).

There may be other forum members in your area who'd be willing to do the work for you at mates rates.

[Surf01]

Assuming yours is a 3rd Gen (KZN185), you're fine with the £28.90 service kit including 10w-40 semi-synthetic oil. Engine oil every 6000 miles is probably fine.

There is no filter that needs to be changed when you change the ATF. There is a strainer inside the sump on the bottom of the valve body but you can get away with not cleaning this out as long as you are doing regular ATF changes (no less than every 12000 miles).

There may be other forum members in your area who'd be willing to do the work for you at mates rates.

The only one around here that I know is Apache and not sure whether he woudl have any interets in doing it. I was considering buying the £28-50 kit from Milners and 5 litres Comma as recommended by Surferf Ross and asking a local garage to do the work charging basically a labour only rate. if changing the oil, do you have to replace the washer on the sump nut? Having been made redundant in Nov 2008 and only had 4 months work since, money is a bit scarce so can only do the minimum service at the moment.

[Surfer Ross]

If cash is tight, go to a Morrisons supermarket. They do a semi-synthetic 15W-40 diesel oil at £8 for 5 litres. It meets all the latest specifications so its fine to use. Buy the £10.50 filter kit from Milners, comes to £20.86 with VAT and delivery. I would change the sump plug washer too, its only 50p from Milners and guarantees a good seal.

That'll give you a full service for £30 assuming you get somebody to do the work for you. The 15W-40 oil is supposed to be fine down to about -18 deg C but it'll be thick on cold mornings.

[Surf01]

Now got to go through all the servicing bit as above on my new Surf. I assume Dexron 3 is the answer as occasionally the gearbox seems to stick in a gear especially when go up a steep hill.