Newbie question: Camry oil change

I've volunteered to change the oil in my mother-in-law's Camry. I've done this for other cars, so I don't anticipate a problem.

When I searched this NG, I saw that the filter requires a gasket so I'll make sure to get a new one when I get the filter. Is it necessary to jack the car up to get at the filter? Any tips or tricks I should know about?

Thanks, Dave O

Reply to
Dave O
Loading thread data ...

It might help if you told us what model year? But assuming it's not fairly old, then the filter is accessible from the top of the engine compartment. The oil will spill onto the bottom of the block and frame (and floor) when you remove the filter, so make sure you have lots of material to soak it up (and keep it from spilling). This probably means you don't want the oil quite as hot when you pull the filter as otherwise might be the case.

I don't know where you heard about needing a gasket for the filter, but that's not true. The rubber gasket that comes on the filter is all you need. You might need to jack it up to get to the oil drain plug unless you are very skinny.

Reply to
Mark A

Hey, Mark- Thanks for your post: the car is a 94 LE. Last time I opened the hood I saw what appeared to be an oil filter with two hoses leading to it, and figured "No, that can't be the filter, that would be too easy." Thanks for the tip- I would have been crawling around underneath looking for the filter!

I mispoke about the gasket and filter: meant to say "drain plug gasket". I'm going to make sure I have a replacement on hand.

Thanks again!

Reply to
CycleZen

About the easiest car to change the oil on. I don't need to jack mine to get to the drain nut. The latest Camry filter is underneath, but next to the oil pan and not that bad either. You can but don't need to change the pan nut gasket every time, but have a new one handy in case it is bad, as they are cheap. I am on my 2nd one in 180K miles!

I tend to wait a while after shutting the engine with my 99 Camry. I wait an hour or half an hour. This way the filter drains back it's oil and doesn't leak a drop when removed...it is mounted on the front of the block, facing down and makes a mess if you do it right after shutting the engine. Plus the oil doesn't tend to scald you so bad. Yours has an oil cooler (thing with the hoses on it) mounted underneath the filter. The 99 did away with that.

Gary

Reply to
Gary

The only thing easier to change on the 94 Camry ('92-'96 models) than the oil is the sparkplugs. If you were Popeye w/ 18" forearms and a light-build, you won't need a jack or anything to do the oil change. (:

Reply to
Thomas

I heard somewhere that Camry's don't need oil changes, something about getting a new motor?

Reply to
John H

Which camry's have an oil cooler? I was wondering if any of them did. I thought it might be a good idea to have one for towing.

Scot

Reply to
Scot

I've seen them on the engines of a few mid '90's four cyclinder Camrys. They are not oil-to-air "coolers." Rather, they are oil-to-engine coolant "heat exchangers."

Reply to
Philip®

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.