Engine Under Cover Removal - Oil Change - Gs430 '04

[Michal London]

Hi,

I was thinking about changing engine oil mysefl.

Is it possible without ramp to remove engine under cover to drain oil and remove oil filter?

I bought Liqui Moly Motor Clean because engine oil at the moment is more brown than yelow... - I hope it's a good idea...

[1990LS400]

I just calculated that I have changed the engine oil and filters on two LS400's, including removing/reinstalling the engine under covers, about 54 times since 1990 without using ramps or jack stands. Whether you can reach under your GS enough to do this work may be dependent ... how can I say this politely ... on how rotund you are.

I usually lift up one side of my car a few inches with a hydraulic floor jack to make it a little easier and, for safety, I reach under the car to remove/reinstall the undercover, filter and drain plug and never put my body under the car. I probably spend an hour on the job but I take my time. Some of the time is spent transferring the oil to containers that I drop off at an oil recycling facility.

All Toyota/Lexus drain plugs require a 10 mm wrench -- best to use a socket wrench -- and, if your GS is like my LS, you will need the 10 mm socket wrench and maybe a short extension to remove the engine undercover. Some of the engine undercover fasteners at the front of your car may require more gentle hand tightening so you don't strip the threads on the plastic inserts. Be sure to use a new metal oil filter drain plug gasket each time you change your oil ... so that you avoid the drip ... drip ... drip. IMO, there is nothing better than OEM Toyota/Lexus oil filters. Here in the U.S. OEM Toyota/Lexus oil filters are commonly available for about $4 each.

Edit: Whoops! I woke up this morning realizing that I gave the wrong socket size for the drain plug. I think it's 13 mm. The two sockets I've needed to change the oil our Lexus and Toyota cars have been plugged into my socket holder next to each other for over 20 years so it's become automagic to grab the correct one. And you will need a filter wrench to remove the oil filter -- either sized exactly to fit the filter or the adjustable type. The new oil filter should be firmly hand tightened -- never use a wrench.

[Michal London]

Thanks for your answer.

I just calculated that I have changed the engine oil and filters on two LS400's, including removing/reinstalling the engine under covers, about 54 times since 1990 without using ramps or jack stands. Whether you can reach under your GS enough to do this work may be dependent ... how can I say this politely ... on how rotund you are.

This won't be a problem :) BMI 23.5

I usually lift up one side of my car a few inches with a hydraulic floor jack to make it a little easier and, for safety, I reach under the car to remove/reinstall the undercover, filter and drain plug and never put my body under the car. I probably spend an hour on the job but I take my time. Some of the time is spent transferring the oil to containers that I drop off at an oil recycling facility.

Great news, I don't think Toyota changed the undercover that much between LS and GS.

AFAIK I can drop off used oil in government recycling facility... we will see, this will be my first time :)

All Toyota/Lexus drain plugs require a 10 mm wrench -- best to use a socket wrench -- and, if your GS is like my LS, you will need the 10 mm socket wrench and maybe a short extension to remove the engine undercover. Some of the engine undercover fasteners at the front of your car may require more gentle hand tightening so you don't strip the threads on the plastic inserts. Be sure to use a new metal oil filter drain plug gasket each time you change your oil ... so that you avoid the drip ... drip ... drip. IMO, there is nothing better than OEM Toyota/Lexus oil filters. Here in the U.S. OEM Toyota/Lexus oil filters are commonly available for about $4 each.

Hmmm so maybe I've made a mistake... I bought K&N oil filter and I paid £13 which would be about $18-19.

Edit: Whoops! I woke up this morning realizing that I gave the wrong socket size for the drain plug. I think it's 13 mm. The two sockets I've needed to change the oil our Lexus and Toyota cars have been plugged into my socket holder next to each other for over 20 years so it's become automagic to grab the correct one. And you will need a filter wrench to remove the oil filter -- either sized exactly to fit the filter or the adjustable type. The new oil filter should be firmly hand tightened -- never use a wrench.

No worries, I'll try to change the oil tomorrow, will let you know how it went :)

[Michal London]

I managed to change the engine oil without ramp :)

I flushed it with Liqui Moly Motor Clean first, the amount of "dark matter" was scary. I'm sure nobody did it before.

I used Liqui Moly Molygen 5w50 synthetic oil and K&N filter.

You were right, to remove undercover -> 16 x M10 - quite annoying :) especially after oil change...

To remove drain plug you need 14mm socket.

I used cheap tool from Halfords to remove oil filter.

You can see the whole procedure on pictures.

[ibby]

you can change the oil without ramps or a pit

Do not use the oem jack. that is dangerous.

[01GS300]

I just changed the oil on my 2001 GS300 and could not find the torque value on the drain plug. I just read somewhere that it is 33 ft/lbs, which seems high to me (I'd hate to strip it). Can anybody confirm the torque setting?

[1990LS400]

I just changed the oil on my 2001 GS300 and could not find the torque value on the drain plug. I just read somewhere that it is 33 ft/lbs, which seems high to me (I'd hate to strip it). Can anybody confirm the torque setting?

It is probably about the same as shown in the shop manuals for my 2000 LS400 -- 29 ft-lb. I've changed the engine oil exactly 20 times on my 2000 LS400, 26 times on our 98 Camry, 36 times on the 1990 LS400 I used to have ... and I never used a torque wrench on a drain plug. I always use a regular 3/8" socket wrench and slide my hand down to near the socket so I don't apply too much pressure. If you always use a new compression washer -- very important! -- you can feel the washer compress as you gently but firmly tighten the drain plug. IMO, "click type" torque wrenches on an oil plug can be dangerous -- inadvertently set it too high and you've got stripped threads. When I use a torque wrench, I'm more comfortable with my old beam-type torque wrench.