Rx450h oil change - no room for a funnel !

[jumbojake]

Did my first oil change in my Rx450h today ..... every nice and smooth as you would expect until it came to re-filling with new oil .... for whatever reason,  Lexus made it impossible to use a normal funnel to help avoid oil spills .... some kind of plate is immediately below the hole.. I presume because the mounted it above a camshaft.... why couldn't they adjust the casing to make it possible (grrrrr.. )

first car I've ever had like this.. ... so I decanted the 5L tub into 1L and poured it in very carefully... real pain.    I can see the Lexus garage has also seen some spills in the previous services... really grates me to have spilled oil on the engine, only attracts dirt.

 

However, I noticed the 1L tub   as exactly the same thread as the filler cap  (was bored while waiting for a shower to pass) .... so next time I will make use of the old 1L tub  (cut down) as a makeshift funnel ... next time should be a bit easier.

 

[Barry14UK]

That seems a good tip! Good spot about thread sizing. I will adopt if my car needs significant amount of oil.  Prior to reading this I would just have used one of my 1 litre oil pumps which has flexible tube at end.  (I have used these for filling differential etc on previous cars). 

[rich1068]

Wouldn't be surprised if pumps are used at the dealers. Made use of more often than you think for in and out. Recently read the small print on the service paperwork for a couple of our Ford commercials and they use pumps to remove the old oil and leave the filters in place!

I've done numerous fluid changes (oil, transmission, coolant, PAS) on the GS and V70 recently and I'd be a bit wary of the upended 1 litre container. If it starts to overflow the thread you're in for a world of mess!

[Barry14UK]

My pumps simply draw the fluid (has to be an oil) on upward stroke into the metal cylinder and push out by depressing lever, no relay or electronics lol.  Prior to this I used the plastic tube on plastic container where you just squeeze.  This might work here but the hand lever pump is better when you are underneath car and needing to force oil upwards.

[rich1068]

I'm never that prepared. Hence me knowing what PAS fluid tastes like 

[jumbojake]

I thought about using the pump I use for the diff, but the engine oil is so thin I wasn’t sure about control, plus doing that for 6litres is a real faff... first time I’ve used 0w20 oil, it’s like water... still saved a fortune over the dealer doing it

[Illogan]

8 minutes ago, rich1068 said:

I'm never that prepared. Hence me knowing what PAS fluid tastes like 

I still recall lying on a snow-covered drive, 50+ years ago)changing the gearbox oil in my mates Bedford van, and receiving a mouthful of warm Hypoy 90.

mmmmmm.

 

[darrude]

I never had an issue, kept the engine cover on used that as a support for the funnel.