Spent a good chunk of the weekend to make sure my Taco has fresh blood

[theking]

When you buy a used vehicle, you can save a lot of money but unless you know where it's been and how it's been taken care of, it's a good idea to replace all the fluids especially those that can't be easily check visually and especially for a vehicle that has 180k miles when you bought it...

I spent a good amount of time to freshen up my Taco over the weekend but I probably saved about 500 dollars in labor cost vs. if I would have dropped it off at the dealership...P lus I know it's done right and all the bolts are torque to specs...


Replaced the spark plugs and glad I did because all 6 plugs were out of specs but didn't look too bad visually. The dealership wanted 200 bucks to do this job (I say F that as I spent less than 30 bucks on parts and an hour of my time to get it done  ):








Cleaning the throttle body and mass air flow sensor was pretty simple...:










Replaced a cracked ventilation hose so figured I replaced the PCV valve too as I did't want to risk the rear oil seal blowing out and start leaking oil:






This is one of the cleanest motor oil change I've done mainly because the filter is on top. The oil pan drain plug looks smaller than the one on my 99 Taco.. :






Besides the motor oil, I also changed the manual transmission fluid as well as front and rear differential fluids because it's a 4x4. It's especially important to change those fluids because it's not easy to visually check it like coolant, power steering fluid, brake fluid...:




Tranny, and differential fluids fill against gravity so I had to buy this little pump to help me:




Gotta have a torque wrench so everything can be tighty up just right...even a cheaper one I got from Harbor Freight will do:

[Mr_Mechanic]

 
I've been putting changing my pilot's oil for a few months now.  It has been so damn cold.  Today, it'll be the day cause we are expected to be in the 40's.  HEAT WAVE!!

[flint-rod]

nothing better than to work on your own vehicle and save money.... 

[theking]

I've been putting changing my pilot's oil for a few months now.  It has been so damn cold.  Today, it'll be the day cause we are expected to be in the 40's.  HEAT WAVE!!

Heat wave...

[theking]

nothing better than to work on your own vehicle and save money.... 

I don't really enjoy working on cars but I do like the fact that when I do it myself, I know everything is done correctly... Down to the individual torque specs...

[ProudLao]

Great job and it feels good when you’re able to do it and save lots of money.

[theking]

Great job and it feels good when you’re able to do it and save lots of money.

Thanks!