What have you done to your 200 Series this week? (13 Viewers)

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5W30 oil change on LX after 5k miles and 6 months.

Have I mentioned how awful oil changes are on the 200? Screw the team who elected to use cartridge filters for the “environment”. I have made more of environmental impact from all the oil I’ve spilled than threaded filters ever would.
 
5W30 oil change on LX after 5k miles and 6 months.

Have I mentioned how awful oil changes are on the 200? Screw the team who elected to use cartridge filters for the “environment”. I have made more of environmental impact from all the oil I’ve spilled than threaded filters ever would.


Get 2 ez-valves and the kit for the filter that guy sells on here and with an 3/8 fuel line it's breeze. I don't even need to remove the skid plates.
 
Get 2 ez-valves and the kit for the filter that guy sells on here and with an 3/8 fuel line it's breeze. I don't even need to remove the skid plates.
Link?
 
5W30 oil change on LX after 5k miles and 6 months.

Have I mentioned how awful oil changes are on the 200? Screw the team who elected to use cartridge filters for the “environment”. I have made more of environmental impact from all the oil I’ve spilled than threaded filters ever would.
Cartridge filters are not the problem. It’s that Toyota decided to mount it upside down and on the bottom. The stupid orientation requires that the cap be drained which requires a spring valve with a o-ring plus and a plastic tool to drain the filter. They clearly just swapped from a canister to a cartridge and over engineered a bad idea. The Volvo 5.7 in my boat has the cartridge filter mounted remote on top and the cap is up. Easy peazy to replace with no mess.
 
BJowett makes the deluxe aluminum oil filter housings. Add a Fumoto valve to this and to your oil sump drain, and you'll make oil changes easy, even with full Budbuilt skids remaining installed.


Keep in mind, he has them made in batches, and they always seem to sell out fast.

The upside down filter isn't terribly bizarre. The Porsche 911 (996 and 997 non GT3) use the same setup.
 
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BJowett makes the deluxe aluminum oil filter housings. Add a Funoto valve to this and to your oil sump drain, and you'll make oil changes easy, even with full Budbuilt skids remaining installed.


Keep in mind, he has them made in batches, and they always seem to sell out fast.

The upside down filter isn't terribly bizarre. The Porsche 911 (996 and 997 non GT3) use the same setup.
@04UZJ100 , ^^^ this and your skids have to have access plates for the filter and pan drain. As an alternative to the Blowett filter housing, you can get a better filter drain tool that pretty easy to use and no mess (after you use it once and figure it out).

Amazon product ASIN B088LX23ZC
Also the Tacoma aluminum filter housing fits the LC if you swap perforated tubes. It a lot better than the plastic one and doesn't bind up and get stuck in the filter wrench as bad as the plastic one.
 
How do you do a filter change without removing the skid plate?

I cut a hole so I could remove the filter and Installed an inspection plate over the hole.
 
Added a dash cam. I went with a Garmin Mini2 since it is the smallest dash cam I could find - trying to minimize the ugliness of having a dash cam. I was worried it’s native resolution of 1080p would not be sufficient but you can easily read license plates upon zooming in.

I also chose the Mini2 because the 2016+ LX’s have a large area shaded around the lane departure, adaptive cruise control and rain sensors necessitating a dash cam be placed lower or off to the side on the windshield instead of hidden behind the rear view mirror. My OCD is mildly triggered by the fact that I can’t hide the dash cam completely out of site, oh well. 😤

I searched mud regarding powering dash cams and most users run a wire down one of the A pillars and into the closest fuse box for constant power while others run a wire to the overhead console or splice into the rear view mirror power for ignition on power.

Initially I had decided to splice in at the mirror, as I have no need for recording while parked, but after inspecting the wiring I decided not to cut in there due to the delicate wiring and possibly shorting expensive components. Instead I spent a few more bucks and used this dash cam power adapter:

Dongar Technologies Dashcam Power Adapter (10-pin Type B for Lexus/Toyota) Amazon product ASIN B07BH4G1NWIt was a tight fit but it all eventually tucked in nicely and is completely reversible.


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Installed a Yakima Slim Shady Awning I picked up for a good price (Free after REI dividend and yearly 20% off coupon) Seems like a nice addition for shade for a quick picnic or in camp. No idea how it’ll hold up long term but it installed easily/removed and didn’t require any extra brackets to attach to my factory rack with 8020 cross bars. Also seems reasonably easy to deploy. Looking forward to using it!
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Installed a Yakima Slim Shady Awning I picked up for a good price (Free after REI dividend and yearly 20% off coupon) Seems like a nice addition for shade for a quick picnic or in camp. No idea how it’ll hold up long term but it installed easily/removed and didn’t require any extra brackets to attach to my factory rack with 8020 cross bars. Also seems reasonably easy to deploy. Looking forward to using it! View attachment 2968810
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Looks great, I like how their brackets connect to the cross bars... I had the same idea but snoozed on it and it was sold out the next day.
 
Looks great, I like how their brackets connect to the cross bars... I had the same idea but snoozed on it and it was sold out the next day.
Yeah the close out plus 20% was pretty sweet. After seeing what some other racks/awnings require for mounting I think Yakima has it figured out. Plus they even included the locks, which is nice since otherwise it’d be so easy to steal.
 
Yeah the close out plus 20% was pretty sweet. After seeing what some other racks/awnings require for mounting I think Yakima has it figured out. Plus they even included the locks, which is nice since otherwise it’d be so easy to steal.
Good to know, keep us updated with the good and bad after it sees some use.
 
Had an extra set of light bars from the Subie and was tired of them taking up space in the garage. Made a quick trip to Home Depot and found some brackets and was able to get these suckers mounted quite nicely behind the grill. I am diggin the look! Not sure how the light output will be, had to angle them downward to mount. It’ll be dark here in a few hours and will get test in the dark. Fingers crossed 🤞🏻

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Installed a Bulldog holster with Velcro strips to the e brake handle.
Also finally got my TRD Tundra shifter knob installed.

Ready for a road trip!

IMG_20220402_114559945.jpg
 
Did an oil change, lubed driveshafts and changed power steering fluid.

Oil change almost didn't happen as one of the M8 hex bolts attached to the door on the Bud Built skid was damaged from previous wheeling trip. There was another damaged M8 hex bolt near the oil drain door securingt the next Bud Built skid plate and I could not get it off. As a result, no direct access to the front driveshaft. I was able to get to the front spider and yoke form the side but not the rear spider. The little grease needle attachment for a grease gun is awesome.

Amazon product ASIN B0002SR6XE
I went with Bud Built aluminum skids - full set. I need to bend two sections back or am considering replacing the front two with their stainless steel version. I think @CharlieS did the same?

Any ideas on how to remove the stripped and damaged M8 hex bolt on the skid?

IMG_0559.jpeg
 
Yes, I did move from Aluminum to steel Budbuilt skids. Much heavier, but better suited to more challenging terrain.

For removing that damaged inside hex, I'd take a suitably sized torx bit and pound it in with a hammer, and put a ratchet wrench on it to back it out. This works more often than not on internal hex fasteners. I have some cheap torx sockets that are sacrificial for things like this.
 

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