NewHilux.net

Shane,

I use Mark at Neal Bates Automotive

By the way for those that aren't aware, Neal Bates Automotive do most of the stuff with the Hilux Heroes as well as the Toyota rallying stuff. So they know their stuff.

Cheers
Rob

shane,
find a 4wd service centre. thats what i will be doing. from now on all my work will be done at a 4wd service centre as they know 4wds. they actually care abit more about what is going on with the underneath of the car as well as the motor.
look at what redbeard just wrote,
that would be happening on more 4wds than i care to imagine.
my last experiences at toyota made me vow to never to go there again.
if i need warranty work done i will find a different toyota dealership to go to.
they did my 20,000 service and dripped oil all over my tjm bash plates and never cleaned it up. now i have oil all over my garage and the underneath of my car. took me a couple of weeks to notice but the air flowing underneath the car has splattered oil everywhere, if i go down the beach, it will be looking like a chicken schnizel.
that and a few piss poor attempts at warranty work and they have done their dash with me im afraid.
i would complain to them but it falls on deaf ears every time
sorry about the rant but thats my advice
Glenn

I agree with glen, get your fourby serviced at a mechanics or workshop that understands what a fouby does and how they work, not a workshop that only deals with passenger vehicles as they in most cases will skip over the bits that need attention on our trucks.

TOMUCH,
your dealer is talking crap, because he wants to make an easy dollar off you, thats all. If you look at the back of your owners manual, it (im pretty sure, thou I havent checked in a while) will say which oil to use and Im pretty sure the synthetic oil isnt mentioned.

The dealer saying the thing about the blended oil from castrol is pretty much correct, I thought it was Caltex, same difference in the end. but yeah, the toyota dealers do get this blended oil that is suitable for both diesels and petrol engines.

I do my own services every 5,000km. I changed the eng oil and let it drain properly, every 5K, I change my oil filter, I take a look at my air filter and know whether Ive been offroading in dry dusting conditions in the last 5,000kays which if I have, I replace it otherwise I use the air blower and blow it out from the inside out.

I rotate me muddies every 5K, check the brakes, remove the drums (not the linings just the cover) and use a brake cleaner on both the front and rear and smother it to clean it out of all the dust, let it dry and put it back on.

I lubricate the prop shaft uni's every 5K, visually inspect underneath.

I use amorall spray on the inner and outer CV boots whilst the oil is draining to help moisten them and keep them soft and stop them drying out and cracking easier.

every 10K or so, I'd check the tailshaft bolts and shocker bolts, U-bolts, leaf and shackle bolts, always check the brake pads.

probably a few other small things but you get the gist of it. Just thought Id help out some of thos blokes who may be wondering what to check by doing it themselves at home.

hope that contributes some.

Got mine booked in for its 20k service.
Have been talking to the service divsion and are giving me 2 choices in oils
- Castrol Magnetec 10w/30 (Semi - Synthetic)
- Castrol Magnetec 5w/40 ( Full Sythetic)

They are recommending the full sythetic one (5w/40), saying its better & are charging a premium.

But after reading maxx's post above about not recommending the full synthetic, i have doubts now about using it.

Maxx you got any more news on it.
Anyone else got any opinions

Damn I cancelled the service in Brisbane and have just booked it in at Chatswood and they want $280!

as for how much the 10,000km service will cost you.....about the same as a tank of diesel

just had 20,000km service done
cost me $330
included all standard 20,000km & got fuel filter & some premium synthetic oil
the oil alone cost almost $100, apparently its $40 more than normal oil.

I was asking the service guy there that i want to try the standard semi-synthetic one, but he advised as i have been using the sythetic one already it is not a good idea to down grade. He said that i have started using it then i should continue with it.

He said he had a case where a t/diesel prado was using the sythetic oil & wanted to try to use the other oil.
They put the oil in for him but he was back the next day because it was making more noise & rattling. They changed the oil back to the syntheic and the rattle/noise was gone. He explained that the tappers have adjusted & its not recommended to stop using the synthetic once you start.
Is this true?
I also asked him that i heard that the syntheic oil could be working to well, that it could clean the bores to well.
He said that could be true for older vehicles but not the new ones

david,
your dealer tech should go into writing short fiction stories in my opinion.
i've used 4 differrent oils in my vehicle till i settled on the one i'm using now.
and to be honest i didn't notice any difference in any of them in any way.
the truck is gunna be 80 thou this weekend and no engine problems touch wood!
the tappets or cam followers on our d4d engines are changeable caps.
they have to be measured and replace with the correct tolerance thickness cap in order to adjust@ about 30 bucks each.
if my valve clrearaces were gunna change just from changing my oil i think i'd tell them to jam the whole thing where the sun dont shine.
the whole thing in a nut shell clean oil/air/fuel and sholud go for a long time.
i'll stand corrected
regards
ken

yeah old rev, it all did sound very strange.

i have noticed that mine when iddling is making a slight ticking/clatter noise.
Mines an auto. When I put it into Park it is less but when I put it into Drive or Reverse (Into gear) then the noise is more hearable.
Hard to tell what is normal & not normal.

Looked at the owners manual book last night & there are various viscosity oil levels that we can use for our engines.
But interestingly it shows that the one that is recommended is the 5w/30. It actually states that that one is recommended

Firstly, Im not employed by Toyota...

Point I wanteed to make was that the Toyota in Lavington, (Part of Jacob Toyota Group) have always looked after my rig and have been awesome. I supply my own oil for the job as Toyo oil is laiden with gold and costs the same as 20 litres...

Other than that.. they go over evrything really well, they leave all the replaced filters in the tray or seat to show me prior to leaving etc...

Just thought it worth putting some faith back in the dealer... not all just the good ones...

max

you guys use the 10w/30 right.
dont you have a 15w/40 that you guys also use for the diesels

my mate gets his service done at brighton toyota & he said they use the Castrol 15w/40

I actually noticed on my top right hand side where toyota puts the sticker for the next service it has 3 different types of oils there from castrol, so logically you should be able to choose from them
10w/30
15w/40
5w/40

With aust weather isnt it better to say go for the 40, fo that extra heat protection.

I talked to a helpful guy at the castrol tech line & asked him about each oil.
He said that he would use the following oil in this order
5w/40 (syntheic) first
15w/40 (semi) second
10w/30 (semi) last

He told me that the 5w/40 syntheic one offers much more protection as it helps with cold start/ warm up as it is a 5w but also at high temp the synthetic will protects better than the semi one

On a side note I noticed a slight rattle coming from the engine bay after my service.
I had a good look this evening & found a pair of pliers sitting next to the front light near the battery

What a joke hey, well at least i got a free pair of pliers

David,

at the end of the day it is up to you, the customer which oil goes into your vehicles engine.

If you do not like what the dealer is using supply your own, its as simple as that.

Some dealers may be going by either experience, what they may have heard or read, or even just their own opinions,whether they are new or outdated....basically each to their own.

we all want whats best for our engines, and this is one of the benefits of forums such as this one, we can all throw up into the mix what we know, experience and/or have heard and you, the reade makes the final decision.

Like Ive previously stated, I was always under the impression synthetic was better, until corrected by the head technician for hilux's here in australia.....I trust his word as he would be the one signing of or in charge of those that would be signing of warrantee jobs on the hilux's.....so I gather that he would know what he's talking about.

I stand by what Ive previously said, and as long as your oil and oil filter and airfilter are as clean as possible as regularly as possible, then your vehicle will last a long time.

and what Old Rev said about the tappets is right aswell, that dealer saying theyadjust themselves according to pil viscocity just goes to show how little he klnows about engines and how good he really is at his job of duping customers and spinning shit.

give toyota a bad reputation at the end of the day having uneducated people dealing with customers face to face.

oh, yeah, we use a blended oil that goes both into our petrol and diesel vehicles and is backed by toyota, I think Ive mentioned which oil it was previously. we have never had one vehicle come back due to our oil in the over 12 years Ive been there and we have the highest vehicle turnover and service amount in the country....and I think that says something.

hope that helps.

hey max
i bought some genuine oil the other day to do my 5000k service after getting about half way home i relised it was a 20w 50 grade after checking my manual its on the top end of the scale. i would have thought they whould have given me a 10w 30 grade or do specify the grade you need?
cheers troy
by the way we had a -3 morning the other week and the 20w 50 is for a -7 so its cutting it close do you think i should change it over to a 10w 30?

you should be fine mate. till your next service, then get the oil that suits you the best.

Quinny23,

I have had my Lux serviced at Jacob Toyota in Lavington twice. I agree with your comments. They were terrific and even looked after me for price.

Cheers, Matt

what is it with getting a service done & the toyota delaers over filling the oil.

Its the second time i have come home after a service & checked the oil noticing that it is over filled on the dip stick

how much over are you talking ? how are you leaving it before checking the level ?

its like 2.5cm over on the dipstick

checked it after the vehicle was standing for 30min

happens to me too, they probably empty when oil is cold and it doesn't fully drain also if you have a look at the position of the sump plug you'll notice it's not at the bottom of the sump so i guess there's always some oil left in it unless you slightly raise the front of the car. usually change my own for this reason as it's a bloody nuisance getting under the car to drain the excess

maxx

i just went through your service suggestion regarding tightening bolts etc

was checking the U bolts on the suspension with the eletric/air power gun & everything seemed tight.
So i thought i would check it by hand. Got under the vehicle with a spanner in a compfy position where i could put some force into it & the nuts on the U Bolts actually had some movement in them.

Question I got is are the electric ones good enough or is it worth going through them by hand with some force applied

what do you do on your vehicle or even at toyota