Premiere Toyota service

I suspect that most shade tree mechanics do not know what a torque stick is. A good, properly calibrated torque wrench will usually be more accurate than a torque stick but I'd bet that an experienced technician with a properly calibrated impact gun will be as or more accurate than a shade tree mechanic with a cheap torque wrench.

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Ray, those weren't my questions! I knew those answers [chuckle]. They were the questions found on the CD-ROM from the book. I pasted everything into my post, including the procedure to change the oil and the 5 questions that followed.

I guess it was a workbook type of thing. Review Questions follow the instructional text.

If you are going to use an oil that is better than recommended by the manufacturer, then you might as well quit fooling around and use a full synthetic from a reputable brand like Mobil 1 (and some others). If you do that, you don't have to bother with checking API ratings etc.

Using a full synthetic is usually cheaper in the long run for about 75% of the people (with the major exception being people who lease a car for 3 years or less and do not purchase it when the lease is over).

Of course, this will cut down on sales of new cars, and reduce employment in the auto business..

When changing the oil on most cars these days, oil will spill on to the ground, especially when the oil filter is removed (not sure about your vehicle).

I don't think AutoZone or their customers would appreciate that.

Not really, but it should be accurate enough for lug nuts iin the hands of someone who knows how to use it properly. The purpose of using a torque wrench or a torque limiting extension on lug nuts is to get all of the lug nuts evenly tightened. For example, if the specification for an alloy wheel is 75 ft-pounds and they all end up at 77 ft-lbs, that is better than having

5 differently torqued lug nuts.

When it comes to tools, I believe that you get what you pay for. My dad's Snap-On floor jack is at least 40 years old and works. My Craftsman jack is about 25 years old and leaks in ncold weather.

Try harborfreight.com.

You definitely get what you pay for with sockets. Cheap sockets usually have thicker walls, which can make them hard to fit in tight spaces. Also, cheap sockets are more likely to split, or have the chrome finish flake off, or strip bolts. Get 6 point sockets instead of 12 point sockets to reduce the chances of rounding off bolt heads. With an 8, 10, 12, 14, and 21 mm shallow and deep sockets, you can tackle 99% of the bolts in a Toyota. Of those, about 75% will be 10 mm, so at least splurge and invest in a decent

10 mm shallow and deep socket. Craftsman sockets have a lifetime warranty and are pretty good quality. If you want really good quality sockets for automotive applications, get Snap-On, Mac, or Matco. I use Craftsman sockets and Snap-on ratchets, with extra Snap-on 10 mm sockets since they get used the most.

That's what an oil drain pan is used for.

I won't tell'em what I'm doing. The parking lot is humongous, so they won't see me, anyway.

Most auto parts stores I've been to have signs that specifically prohibit working on cars in the parking lot, and having a drain pan under the car is no guarantee that the oil will hit the pan. I've been changing my own oil for over 35 years and I still manage to have oil drip on the ground.

That logic makes sense, although I'm pretty sure that most automakers specify API grade SM, which is what most, if not all, of the oil on the shelves in auto parts stores is.

We used to say "thank heavens for people who have to have the latest and greatest new Toyota or business would suck" :-)

With most Toyotas, the drain pan will not catch all the oil from the filter, because it hits the engine and/frame and drips for a long time unless you wash it down..

I bet they will see you.

Well, I guess I won't change the oil in their lot, then.

I've just seen lotsa folks with their car hoods up in the lot, but I suppose they're not actually working on their cars, then.

Most people with their hoods up are adding various fluids (which they will usually let you do), but they are not draining any existing fluids. There are a lot of cars that use oil (burn it or leak it).

AutoZone will install a new battery in the parking lot for free. I have changed out a tail light in the parking lot. But I think they will draw the line at an oil change.

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Today I saw Royal Purple oil at a store with an older API SL rating. Saw a couple other brands like that, too, but can't remember who they were--probably Napa house brand and one other brand.

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Mark A., you are a mench/mensch (Yiddish for a "great guy"). I will take your advice, and not change my car's oil in AutoZone's lot.

I had only considered doing it there in case I had some questions for the AutoZone personnel during my first-ever oil change.

[snip...]

From which reference point is this counter-clockwise direction referenced? Facing the front of the car, or facing the rear of the car (when underneath the car)?

It may seem like an obvious question, but no oil change manual or instruction set I have seen ever actually qualifies this. It seems important, though, because turning counter-clockwise from the wrong reference point would actually be turning more clockwise.

[snip...]

That's just silly. The reference point is facing the head of the bolt.

I don't think it is silly, here's why.

If I put the car on ramps and then go under the car, I can have my legs pointed facing the front or the rear of the vehicle. Looking up and applying a socket to the bolt... it's going to make a difference from which reference point is the counter-clockwise direction.

Similarly, if I could get the car high enough on a hydraulic lift so that I could stand under it, I could look up at the head of the bolt facing the front or the rear of the vehicle.

That's why I asked. The above response failed to sufficiently answer the question.

So, is the reference point facing the head of the bolt and facing the front of the vehicle? Or facing head of the bolt and facing the rear of the vehicle?

It is from the central axis of the nut or bolt when look at the bolt.

All bolts and nuts are either right-handed or left-handed. Right-handed bolts are the common ones. After 10 years of taking apart engines during college and high school, I can assure you that there are very few left-handed ones in cars. I think I ran into them a few times, but very rarely.

The only time I can remember threads being left-handed has to do with certain gases, so that you can't connect things wrong and take things apart accidentally.

Jeff

Clockwise is referenced from the presented face (of the clock). Same for bolts, oil filters, and the like. Doesnt matter whether you are lying down, standing, or walking a tightrope.

"Daniel W. Rouse Jr." wrote in news:6_mdnforhdDPkZPanZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@nethere.com:

The reference point is that of an imaginary observer who is always able to face the bolt head, with the threaded portion of the bolt pointing away from him. This observer is supposed to be able to always face the bolt head square-on no matter which direction the bolt is actually pointing, or what parts happen to be in the way.

If the top of the bolt turns to the right (clockwise) to tighten for such an observer, the bolt is "right-hand thread". If the bolt turns the other way to tighten (counterclockwise), it's "left-hand thread".

99% of the bolts you'll encounter in normal servicing will be "right-hand thread". That left over 1% can be a killer!