I know nothing

[gjd]

Morning folks,my 2.4 93 import surf has been sitting on my drive for over a yearafter badly overheating,I was told by everyone I asked that the head was gone,2 weeks ago after following the tips on this site i changed the coolant and thermostat,the beast is running and the heating stays midway at the min.anyway i got brave and bought a oil filter but can find no idiots guide to change the oil,i crawled under the drivers side and found a oblong box the bung was 14 mm i undid it and oil came out,im getting good i thought the oil wasn't black more tinged with red is this the wrong oil? and would there be another sump before the oil sump,i really haven't a clue i turned the key but didn't engage the engine the oil shows empty where as before it was 1/2 way.
also is there a another filter that looks like the oil filter?sorry for being so thick but as a mechanic I make a great pizza.thanks in advance.

[shokenore]

Morning

I would suggest that if the oil that came out was red/reddish that it was was probably transmission oil.

Have a look on this website for some tips http://www.toyotasurf.asn.au/techsite/

[imgifted86]

if you look into the engine bay from the front drivers side wheel arch, you might have to remove the cover only a couple of bolts i believe, you will see the oil filter staring at you in the face. it should only be hand tight.
it sounds like you got the correct sump plug. the oil coming out will look jet black, im not sure why it looks slightly red like you say. im sure other people on here might know.
when you put on the new oil filter put a dab of new oil on the rubber sealing ring, and screw on hand tight and make sure you dont cross thread it. and make sure you put the sum plug back in before you top up with new oil lol.
top up slowly and keep checking the dipstick. its easier to put a bit more in than to take some out if you over fill it. dont go past the top marker on the dipstick. hope this helps.

[Kiwisurfing]

Gudday there,
I would keep a close eye on the temperature for now and make sure so get rid of any air in the cooling system as to avoid air lock, you may have been very lucky and not killed it but keep a very close eye on the temp and check the coolant level every time you drive it till you know for sure (and then still check it once a month at least)

As for the oil, yes the engine oil sump has a 14mm bolt so youre on the right track there and the gearbox and diffs are nowhere near this so you shouldnt have been able to drain these, as well as being different size bolts (on mine at least anyway) but not to sure about the red colour sorry, change it, drive a few hundred ks then check colour oil on dipstick.

And what do you mean by you turned the key and the oil showed empty as before it showed half? measurement of oil is done from the dipstick and if youre refering to it being "empty" as to what the dash gauge says thats and oil pressure gauge sorry not an oil level gauge

Best of luck, oil change is easy as pie once you know youre truck

[Kiwisurfing]

woa, 3 posts at the same time, creapy

and from "imgifted86"

"and make sure you put the sum plug back in before you top up with new oil lol."

Guilty lol, wondererd where all the extra oil came from just after cleaning up the old oil
Trust me you only do that mistake once

[gjd]

thanks

many thanks for the quick replies,if it wasn't for this site she would have sat on my drive doing nothing just because i don't have a clue and the local garage just said it was the head without looking at her,it might still be ,but at least i will now be able to know for sure once i get these little jobs done.
i am very grateful to you all

[gjd]

well the first oil was the atf so thanks to my ignorance i have now managed to change that plus the oil and filter,however now the bugger won't start ..which is strange as it has a new battery and worked fine before the fluid change.all the lights and windows work,,but when i turn the key it just clicks.
anybody have any ideas why this is happening?

[Kiwisurfing]

Diesels gonna be a bugger even if the battery slightly flat, of you has too smaller capacity battery, give it a jump and clean the battery terminals and let us know how you get on.

As for my earlier post saying that the drain for the transmission and the engine are well apart so you shouldnt be able to confuse them,, sorry I didnt realise youre working with an auto, mines manual sorry

[yorta2]

Yes, the posts above show just how serious mistakes can be made. I became terrified after reading a couple of posts that you may have filled your auto transmission with engine oil. Thank goodness that you waited for some time before acting. It was quite obvious that you had drained the auto box, even without knowing you had an auto - why didn't a few others pick this up? Shokenore did, but others ignored this. Glad it turned out okay! Some good advice would be to add your car details into your profile so similar mistakes MAY not occur.

[Kiwisurfing]

yes I admit, I feel rather bad about that now, was thinking it may be auto trans fluid but didnt think it was that easy to mix the two up so didnt say, been working with a manual so long now.
still wish you all the best with your truck now they are great fun, keep us informed about its temperature to please

[gjd]

up date

I know you wil think i'm a prawn but at least she is running now,before i started the recent work I put one new battery in instead of 2,and as she started ok I left it at that,i quess after the work the battery had died enough not to start her,so i have put a second battery in today and she fired up lurverly.
I have taken her for a short run around the country lanes approx 8 miles ( have to be careful mot is out) my question now is if it was the head would it drive this far without any signs of problems,or do i need to take it for a longer spin to be sure.temp.stayed at normal coolant level ok.
Should I put it through its mot tomorrow and try a long run out?
At the moment I am like a big kid just pleased to be behind the wheel again in a vehicle so sweet to drive.
BTW kiwi if I had told you it was an auto you would have sussed the problem im sure it was my fault so no worries,i have now put the beasts details on my profile as suggested.
my best G.

[Sancho]

In all honesty, the head has probably gone. But, my advice would be to get an MOT and just drive around in it. Get breakdown cover and, if it is the head, you'll be fine when it opens up again. The question is, do you have the money to fix it if the head does go? If not, you might just want to break it out for parts.

[Bogus]

Agree with Sancho. You could drive it around for days, weeks, possibly months, with the head "gone" and your only sign would be small regular water losses, until it final goes catastrophic. Get it MOTd, use it, see what happens. Highly likely it is the head though.

[Kiwisurfing]

Not to sure as I havet had my head go but dosent a cooling system pressure test find out if its pressurising to fast, ie crack in head letting gasses into coolant lines? someone else whos had this done might know more

edit: ps the temperature gauge means shit all, towing a heavy trailer and you can feel the temp rise and yet my gauge never moves, others report similar experiences too

[Ploddit]

I have a manual but most cars to check the ATF level they must be hot and run through the gears - can an auto surfer confirm or not?