Metal Oil Filter Housing and the “clip”

The OEM plastic filter housing has a special “fin” for the metal clip that I hear prevents the housing from spinning off. It has a “groove” for the clip in one of the fins.

The OEM (

$51 Toyota 15620-31060 15643-31050

Toyota 15620-31060) metal housing does NOT have that special fin with a groove. Have guys just forced it onto the metal fin or just leave it off. I found I had to spread the clip a bit to force it onto the metal fin that I don’t think was meant to hold one.

Hard to believe that if it’s torqued to spec (18ft-lb) it would loosen itself up. Maybe for off-roaders? I don't off-road much except to a few hunting spots in the woods nearby but nothing rough.

Bob

 

Clip is worthless. I've never heard of a failure from the housing loosening up.

 

The plastic housing is fine, there's really no reason to upgrade to the metal one. There's 12 years and 186k miles on my stock plastic housing.

 

Since we’re talking about the clip … suppose I perform a textbook oil change and torque the plastic housing to the specified 18 ft-lbs., and then take note of the clip’s orientation. Given the nature of the plastic housing and its o-ring, i.e. that the o-ring contacts the mating surface on its side, is it reasonable then on subsequent oil changes to omit the torque wrench and just tighten up the housing so that the clip is in the same orientation?

 

Just snug it with your ratchet using wrist power.

 

Thanks for the reply, but this thread is not about plastic vs metal. Already crossed that bridge. Very few mission critical parts that are a single point of failure are plastic. Any spin on filters you’ve ever seen made of plastic?

 

Correct! It will tighten itself up to the exact same location. Of course, you can apply more force and go a few notches ahead but if you hand tighten it, it will always 'stop' at the same spot.

 

Your plastic filter housing is not going to crack, leak or give away. It's not a poor material choice by Toyota. That is as durable a piece as any. 190k plus miles, still on original.

 

I don’t see what the big whoop is all about over switching to that metal cap. I bought my 2022 SR5 Premium 4WD Pre-owned-Certified a year ago November.

I found out doing my first oil change in it that it still had its factory plastic cap, and it still does. Before I bought my T4R, I had been reading this board, including
many posts about this must have metal cap. So my thinking was ah man that’s the first thing I have to upgrade on any T4R that I may eventually purchase.

I was already planning to do my own oil changes, so when it came time to do my first oil change, I thought OK, I’m going to have to do battle with removing this plastic cap and see just how bad it is before I go buy the metal cap. Pfffft…. I was able to remove it with no problem. I had purchased the proper cap removal tool in advance, and turned it loose with my breaker bar no problem.

Upon my first ever inspection of the plastic cap, it looked perfectly fine to me. So I decided to keep using it. I torqued it back on to spec with my torque wrench. I’ve now already done two oil changes on my truck, and that plastic cap is not causing me any grief.

Conversely, apparently some of these plastic caps have apparently been damaged through the mis-use of over-tightening. Apparently, mine was treated properly prior to my purchasing it. I’ll continue using the plastic cap on mine until it gives me any cause to change it out. Even then, I could very likely go with the standard plastic piece again. So far so good on the plastic one.

 

The one, and only, oil change that I had Toyota do, some jag-off in the service department overtightened my oil filter housing. So much so that I needed a pipe wrench with a breaker bar to loosen it. The MotivX tool rounded out the flat faces. I bought a new plastic filter housing that has been properly torqued for the past 10 years and 150,xxx miles. No problems. To the OP @AE1M if the metal housing helps you sleep better at night, great. Hopefully you bought it at a reputable place, not scAmazon, or Fleabay where OEM fakes are rampant, hard to spot, and negate your mission critical part. If it is genuine OEM, just torque it to 18 ft.-lbs. and call it a day.

 

My plastic housing broke due to a cheap filter wrench + Toyota techs overtightening the thing.
It was of course my last "free" oil change by Toyota...

Upgraded to the OE metal case I bought at a Toyota stealership. Swapped the spring and tube of course.
I like the aluminum but the plastic one is fine as long as you use a good filter wrench and don't overtighten the thing.

And yes. I now ignore the safety clip at the top

 

You sort of made it about plastic vs metal by stating "OEM (

$51 Genuine OEM Toyota New Oil Filter Housing Cap + Plug 15620-31060 15643-31050

Toyota 15620-31060) metal housing"... Toyota does not specify the metal housing as OEM for the 4Runner. If it were, one wouldn't have to swap out the center tube & spring.

 

Hello Glywood. Somewhere on this forum someone mentioned that lexus had a metal one that was a direct replacement with no need to swap out the tube. I had asked for the part number but never received a reply. Do you perhaps know of this part?

 

I just purchased the plastic housing from someone to swap back to plastic because I believed the hype.

 

It's more got to do with gaining an additional 2 HP with the metal housing. Also, longer oil change intervals due to the alleged 'superiority' of the metal housing.

 

That's exactly what I do, minus the initial torquing. I just always tighten it back to where it was when I got it.

 

Yeah, I've heard that rumor also, but I've yet to see anyone who purchased the metal housing, whether from a Toyota or a Lexus dealer, that didn't have to swap the the tube out. I guess Lexus owners don't circulate as much oil, hence the shorter tube...

 

Same here. I'm the only one who's changed the oil, since I purchased my rig new from Toyota. I just align the clip to the detent, the exact position as set by the factory.

 

Yes. Just tighten it up to the same spot.

 

I'm glad we've all independently arrived at the same arbitrary solution, good work team.

 

I just did my second DIY oil/filter change on my 2024 Limited. First change at local dealer at 1,000 miles (factory paid). Second change at same dealer at 5,000 miles (also factory paid) was a disaster - poorly trained new tech put the housing O-Ring in the wrong place and the next day I had a pool of motor oil on my garage floor. I made the dealer flatbed the truck back to the dealership and told him I was going to get under the truck with him and we were going to see what had happened - skid plate was loaded up with oil, it was obvious it was the filter cover - not cracked, just with the O-ring in the wrong spot. As you might imagine I was livid. Oil pressure idiot light never came on so hopefully no permanent damage. Ventura Toyota in Ventura California.

So as I am doing an oil change at 15,000 miles I have the clip come popping off and for the life of me I can't figure out where it goes. Sounds like it's not critical, I'll put it back on after next oil change. I use the MotiveTools housing wrench.

To add to the joy, one of the skid plate bolts/nuts is stripped. I'm going to use a 9mm brass barrel brush to try to clean up the nut thread and see if a new bolt works, otherwise I'll have to run a tap through it. What a hassle - the truck will be on ramps so not level - I'll have to be super careful with the tap. As they say, there are two kinds of skid plate bolts - those that are stripped and those that aren't stripped yet. It's a dilemma - I'm 71 and I really really don't like crawling under a truck on ramps in my garage, dropping the &*^%! skid plate, etc. ... but then who can you trust to do a simple oil change on a 4Runner? I'm tempted to leave the skid plate off the truck, maybe only put it on when I know I'm going to be off road or in snow/ice.

 

Yes, just too many horror stories for me to trust a "dealer tech" with something so critical as an oil change. Easy to misplace the O-ring on the filter housing, but the instructions on the (filter) box clearly show where it goes! It's a good idea to chase the skid mounting threads with a tap and put a dab of anti-size on the bolts....makes subsequent oil changes/skid removal much easier. I'd lean towards re-installing the skid after oil changes as I've found it tends to keep the underside of the engine and engine bay cleaner when installed, even when just mall-crawling. Glad to hear you'll be a DIY oil changer moving forward....your truck is certainly going to appreciate it!

 

Thanks for the reply. I'll likely wind up using the tap but I am apprehensive about doing a good job with it, getting it lined up properly. If the welded receiving nut inside the frame gets ruined it's game over. Getting the skid plate back on is the real hassle - it just never seems to want to align adequately to line up the bolts. I use an impact wrench to remove the bolts - maybe that's part of the problem. I do hand torque the bolts on reinstall. The clips on the front of the skid plate make me want to do harm to whoever designed the skid. And the Limited has an additional plastic air duct that has to come off before you drop the skid AND it collects road debris that falls in your face. But I do love the truck so I'll be doing this as long as I am able, after that who knows. I just hope I don't wind up with a stripped thread every time.

 

Another 71 year old here who can commiserate with your plight. I have a 2019 Off Road 4R and a 2003 Tacoma Prerunner that get maintenance. My 4R has been to the dealer twice in my ownership since new. Once for the 5k Toyotacare visit, which turned out was just checking fluids and rotating tires, so no damage done from an oil change gorilla, thank heaven. The other visit was after my DIY Eibach leveling install, for an alignment, which they managed to complete without any destruction of parts. The Tacoma had an adventure at a 'trusted' mechanic near me - I took it in for an estimate on a timing belt/water pump/radiator replacement, and after their inspection, they left off the skid plate. I discovered it later, and took the truck back. They found the skid plate and reinstalled it, using 3 SAE bolts instead of metric, and left one off completely. I was able to clean up the bolt holes and reuse factory bolts. They did do the repair work, but I left the skid plate at home before taking it in. Needless to say, I've not returned there either.

I still have my oem skid in storage, but replaced it with a Talons with an access panel. Even if the access panel doesn't work out, the skid is easier to remove than the oem skid, as it too only has 4 bolts that are easily accessed, but I don't have to remove the plastic filler piece to the bumper first.

I really hate crawling under there any more, though, I have to say.

 

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