gray rider
SILVER Star
That's a clean UC!
My New LC200... and a Few Questions (2 Viewers)
- Thread starter Mingus Dew
- Start date
This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.
- Thread starter
- #22
It’s pretty good for sure! The benefits of low miles in the land of sun and zero road salt.
Will look even better after a few pesky corrosion spots are cleaned up and the fluid film goes on.
I think that @xeuxaz is on the money here and it was an unsteady hand during the oil change. Will see if another puddle appears and will make sure to touch and smell if it does.
Could be oil or brake fluid. You should crawl under there and at least learn how to take the skid plates off. Just need a 10 and 12mm socket. If you can put together Ikea furniture you can deal with the skid plates.
And yes toyota SLLC is pink. Previous toyota coolant was red if I'm not mistaken. Different automakers use different colored coolant.
And yes toyota SLLC is pink. Previous toyota coolant was red if I'm not mistaken. Different automakers use different colored coolant.
xeuxaz
SILVER Star
Definitely be on the look out for any other clues in case something isn’t tight. I would give them a hard time for not taking more care.
FrazzledHunter
SILVER Star
Congrats and OMG what a beautiful Cruiser!
You mention lubing the propeller shafts and maybe you meant that to include the U-joints. In case you didn't I would add one small thing to your maintenance list : lube the U-joints. It's fairly easy to do yourself but would involve pulling the mud plates. If you want to hire it out it's not too expensive - my garage does it for $20 IF I have the skids pulled for them.
I purchased my 2018 LC in 11/2019 as new with about 6500 miles on it - the only owner was the dealership itself. On 2/20/20 at 7335 miles I decided, after reading how on this forum, to lube my U-joints and drive shafts. Why? Paranoia. I've had them fail on and off road going back to my 1985 K5 Chevy Blazer.
Anyway, what I found shocked me. Each u-joint took about 5-6 pumps from a standard sized grease gun before ANY grease came out of those joints. I dunno if it's still the case with later models but those joints on mine seemed DRY from the factory.
But I've had mechanics tell me that that in general joints from the factory "probably have more grease in them that you think". Well OK. Maybe it depends on the particular type of joint or your point of view.
The drips are likely engine oil. The cartridge type filter is a source of mess if the lube guy doesn’t know how or take the time to drain the housing before removing it. The dealer made a mess of mine a couple times. And the access cover is pretty small for the oil pan drain plug so oil can get on the engine undercover if you’re not careful.
- Thread starter
- #27
Congrats and OMG what a beautiful Cruiser!
You mention lubing the propeller shafts and maybe you meant that to include the U-joints. In case you didn't I would add one small thing to your maintenance list : lube the U-joints. It's fairly easy to do yourself but would involve pulling the mud plates. If you want to hire it out it's not too expensive - my garage does it for $20 IF I have the skids pulled for them.
I purchased my 2018 LC in 11/2019 as new with about 6500 miles on it - the only owner was the dealership itself. On 2/20/20 at 7335 miles I decided, after reading how on this forum, to lube my U-joints and drive shafts. Why? Paranoia. I've had them fail on and off road going back to my 1985 K5 Chevy Blazer.
Anyway, what I found shocked me. Each u-joint took about 5-6 pumps from a standard sized grease gun before ANY grease came out of those joints. I dunno if it's still the case with later models but those joints on mine seemed DRY from the factory.
But I've had mechanics tell me that that in general joints from the factory "probably have more grease in them that you think". Well OK. Maybe it depends on the particular type of joint or your point of view.
This is awesome advice I really appreciate it. Will add that to my list of regular maintenance for sure.
- Thread starter
- #28
There was a very small amount on the garage floor this morning. Definitely engine oil. The mechanic had to replace the filter cap as he mentioned the OEM plastic cap was “wet”. I’m guessing that’s what I’m dealing with here. Hoping it goes away but I’m going to keep a close eye and will investigate further if it seems like something is loose under the skids.
Hmmm, might just be a communication issue but the filter cap is metal. The housing is plastic so I would be wondering which he “replaced”. You definitely need to drop the skid and look.
- Thread starter
- #31
I’m thinking you are right. Some searching came up with this:
Aluminum Oil Filter Cap - durability
As some DIYers here may have found out, the plastic cap on the oil filter housing leaves something to be desired. While trying to remove the cap, the wrench can slip or frequently becomes stuck , and after enough oil R&R sessions, it can eventually round the cap off. I also expect that after a...
forum.ih8mud.com
I think this is exactly what they did - plastic housing swapped with metal housing (part was like $20 and I can confirm it was aluminum).
I was in the area so I went back to the mechanic and let them know my concerns. They went through again and drips are gone now. Skid needs to come off soon anyways for rustproofing work so I’ll take a look at that time. Appreciate all your help man.
- Thread starter
- #32
Thank you for the suggestion. The mechanic replaced this plastic housing with an aluminum equivalent during the oil change.
Regardless, drips have stopped now. I do think they were just sloppy when doing the work and some oil spilled and subsequently dripped on my garage floor.
Regardless, I’m going to keep this top of mind and remain vigilant.
is there an easy way for you to point these out? Im getting ready to try some maintenance when I get back into my garage.... Also safest way to get a little lift on the vehicle to fit under it??
FrazzledHunter
SILVER Star
There are 2 u joints on each drive shaft; they look like a "+" sign. In the center is a grease zerk. I did them all by sliding under the truck. The fronts are a bit of a PITA as they need to be aligned just right to get to the zerk. Aligning them involves moving the truck forward and backward, sometimes as little as an inch. You will likely bump your head a d burn yourself on hot catalytic converters.
Doing this is considered a rite of passage LOL!
I did it about 6 times (every other oil change for about 3 years) and declared myself as having "arrived", so to speak. Once I decided I was one of the "big kids" I take off the skid plates and take it to my local garage. On a lift, the job is trivial as you can turn the wheels by hand to position the joints for easy access.
Do it once or twice then take it to a garage.
BUT if you cheat and take it to a garage and SAY you did it yourself without actually running the gauntlet at least once or twice we will know.
bloc
SILVER Star
Congrats! That is a beautiful 200
@Mingus Dew an important part of swapping in the aluminum oil filter cap is to transfer over the longer support tube.. I’d want to verify they did that part of the job, personally.
Also it is entirely normal to have to pump a fair amount of grease into the zerk before any comes out of the caps. This is because the zerk enters at the center of the joint, but the cap that catches the grease stops much further out. That means that after greasing, the first time you drive anywhere, the grease stuck in the cross “above” the cap gets slung down into the cap due to centrifugal force. That’ll make a void that must be filled the next time you grease the joint.
All of this isn’t to say our drivelines get greased as much as they should.. the front joints on mine showed zero evidence of being greased during PM, ever, before I bought it. But a few pumps before you get a return is normal.
Also, you really don’t need to drive back and forth if you have a pair of ramps (useful for lots of other stuff) and a floor jack. See this:
forum.ih8mud.com
@Mingus Dew an important part of swapping in the aluminum oil filter cap is to transfer over the longer support tube.. I’d want to verify they did that part of the job, personally.
Also it is entirely normal to have to pump a fair amount of grease into the zerk before any comes out of the caps. This is because the zerk enters at the center of the joint, but the cap that catches the grease stops much further out. That means that after greasing, the first time you drive anywhere, the grease stuck in the cross “above” the cap gets slung down into the cap due to centrifugal force. That’ll make a void that must be filled the next time you grease the joint.
All of this isn’t to say our drivelines get greased as much as they should.. the front joints on mine showed zero evidence of being greased during PM, ever, before I bought it. But a few pumps before you get a return is normal.
Also, you really don’t need to drive back and forth if you have a pair of ramps (useful for lots of other stuff) and a floor jack. See this:
How I grease my front driveshaft
I've seen a few threads asking for advice on getting the front driveline lubed, and even a couple asking whether there are even zerks up there. Had to do my drivelines recently and figured I'd take some pictures of what I do. First off.. the equipment. No fancy grease gun or nozzle here. Just a...
forum.ih8mud.com
Last edited:
- Thread starter
- #36
Congrats! That is a beautiful 200
@Mingus Dew an important part of swapping in the aluminum oil filter cap is to transfer over the longer support tube.. I’d want to verify they did that part of the job, personally.
Also it is entirely normal to have to pump a fair amount of grease into the zerk before any comes out of the caps. This is because the zerk enters at the center of the joint, but the cap that catches the grease stops much further out. That means that after greasing, the first time you drive anywhere, the grease stuck in the cross “above” the cap gets slung down into the cap due to centrifugal force. That’ll make a void that must be filled the next time you grease the joint.
All of this isn’t to say our drivelines get greased as much as they should.. the front joints on mine showed zero evidence of being greased during PM, ever, before I bought it. But a few pumps before you get a return is normal.
Also, you really don’t need to drive back and forth if you have a pair of ramps (useful for lots of other stuff) and a floor jack. See this:
How I grease my front driveshaft
I've seen a few threads asking for advice on getting the front driveline lubed, and even a couple asking whether there are even zerks up there. Had to do my drivelines recently and figured I'd take some pictures of what I do. First off.. the equipment. No fancy grease gun or nozzle here. Just a...
Thank you!
Spoke to the mechanic - they didn't use the Toyota aluminum housing that would require the support tube swap. They used an aftermarket cap from a company called Dorman.
I might buy the Toyota cap and have them manually swap the support tube next time I'm there, but honestly the stock plastic cap was so crappy this is still an upgrade. Not sure how much I should care.
FrazzledHunter
SILVER Star
I hated that plastic thing. And the price to replace it wasn't cheap either. I guess I could get by with the plastic cap if it cost like $1 which is all it's worth.
I went with the cap made for the venza and swapped center tubes. It's worked great.
Toyota Genuine Parts - Cap Assy, Oil Filter (15620-31060)
15620-31060 Genuine Toyota Cap Assembly, Oil Filter
ToyotaPartsDeal.com offers the great deal for genuine Toyota parts 15620-31060 (1562031060) Cap Assembly, Oil Filter for $34.56. All parts are backed by the Toyota's warranty.
www.toyotapartsdeal.com
Prices may be better at Amazon.
- Thread starter
- #38
I hated that plastic thing. And the price to replace it wasn't cheap either. I guess I could get by with the plastic cap if it cost like $1 which is all it's worth.
I went with the cap made for the venza and swapped center tubes. It's worked great.
Toyota Genuine Parts - Cap Assy, Oil Filter (15620-31060)
15620-31060 Genuine Toyota Cap Assembly, Oil Filter
ToyotaPartsDeal.com offers the great deal for genuine Toyota parts 15620-31060 (1562031060) Cap Assembly, Oil Filter for $34.56. All parts are backed by the Toyota's warranty.
Prices may be better at Amazon.
Yep the replacement plastic housing (15620-0S010) is like $75.
I'll roll with the aftermarket part for now and then decide what I want to do at my next oil change.
FrazzledHunter
SILVER Star
Oh you already put the Dorman on? I didn't know Dorman made one but it should be ok right? I don't personally know its quality.
I went the route I did because the cap was "genuine toyota" FWIW albeit for another car.
- Thread starter
- #40
Mechanic put it on yeah. The OEM plastic housing was cracked during an oil change prior to my ownership I suppose.
Mechanic said they’ve had good luck with this Dorman part and the online reviews are decent. Knowing myself I’ll probably get neurotic and opt for an OEM solution at the next change, but I figure even the worst Chinese aftermarket part can last 5,000 miles.
