Topic: Changing the oil (S2000 + Mazda3)

[wing]

Changed my oil on both cars today.

Let's just say this:  Honda -- good design  Mazda -- VERY bad

Steps for changing oil on S2000.

Place pan under car -- get 17mm socket and ratchet lean in from above, undo plug.  Unscrew filter from side drop in pan (yes no need to move the pan even!)  Let drain for awhile.  Come back, put plug in and new filter on -- fill with oil.  Done!

Mazda.

Place pan under car, jack up car super high, crawl underneath way to the back of the engine.  Undo plug, which shoot oil out about 3 feet.  Catch with oil catch can and mop up mess.  Wait awhile to drain.  Replace plug from underneath.

Now, remove 7 bolts and 2 plastic clip from plastic undertray.  Move oil catch can to new location under car.  Get out hex key and undo filter holder, wait while it drain, get out filter wrench and under filter housing, watch it drain some more.   Pull housing all the way down, replace filter, drop some more oil about.  Get rubber gasket from package, fight with gasket on housing for awhile and give up on it because it's near impossible to remove to replace.

Reassemble housing, put hex bolt back on and replace plastic housing with 7 bolts and 2 plastic clips.

Refill.

WHY WHY WHY does that have to be so hard? 

[Careener]

For those who don't change their own oil the dealers have to justify their $400 oil change + inspections somehow ;-) .

Actually I agree.. I gave up doing my own oil on the 3. Its much easier to go to the local lube shop where they let me go downstairs and inspect the while undercarriage.
I bring my own Napa Gold (Wix) filter.

[si]

hmm..

getting the filter off is pretty hard on the civic

[curls]

Oil/filter change on the TSX is a pain in the arse because of the position of the oil filter -- it's not only hard to access (and impossible from above), but when you remove it, any oil in it or around its opening will drop down the engine block, and onto the main crossmember... causing random drips all over the place under the car.

I've devised a "funnel" system using 2 shop towels to channel 95% of it into the drain pan... but a normal funnel will not work as the filter sits flush with the block.

For the Mazda Protege5, the changes are simple and fairly uneventful, definitely a LOT less messy than the Acura.

[airbalancer]

Holy sh$t how much did the  17" socket cost!!!!!!

[B2]

Mazda.

Place pan under car, jack up car super high, crawl underneath way to the back of the engine.  Undo plug, which shoot oil out about 3 feet.  Catch with oil catch can and mop up mess.  Wait awhile to drain.  Replace plug from underneath.

Now, remove 7 bolts and 2 plastic clip from plastic undertray.  Move oil catch can to new location under car.  Get out hex key and undo filter holder, wait while it drain, get out filter wrench and under filter housing, watch it drain some more.   Pull housing all the way down, replace filter, drop some more oil about.  Get rubber gasket from package, fight with gasket on housing for awhile and give up on it because it's near impossible to remove to replace.

Reassemble housing, put hex bolt back on and replace plastic housing with 7 bolts and 2 plastic clips.

Refill.

WHY WHY WHY does that have to be so hard?  Roll Eyes

I've heard it's very difficult to change the oil on the 3's.  I've never done it.  I heard some dealers were cutting holes in the plastic coverings underneath to get access to the filter, so that every time they change the oil they don't have to remove the plastic cover.  I will be pissed if they cut a hole in mine.  Had my oil changed not long ago, I still haven't checked it.  Car is so low I need to jack it up to look.

The 2.3 L engine has the cartridge type filter.  The 2.0 L engine has the normal canister type filter.  I think the cartridge one is more eco-friendly because there's less waste (no metal waste).

I bring my Mazdaspeed3 into the dealer for oil changes.  The dealer charges $45 total.  Buying the cartridge filter (which I don't even know where to get aside from the dealer who probably overcharges) plus the oil makes the price close to what the dealer charges just to do the job anyway.  The cost difference of doing it yourself does not seem worthwhile.  The dealer uses Motorcraft synthetic-blend (which is an oil made by Ford I think).

The only thing that bothers me about the dealer doing the oil change is if they do it right.  I know they won't let the oil drip more than 2 seconds.  However they could forget to fully tighten the plug or filter.  Or, like what happened to me once on my Mazda3 sedan, they didn't put enough oil in - engine light came on not long after and I had to add another quart.  From now on I always check the level after I pick the car up from the dealer.

The good thing about having the dealer change the oil is that there's no doubt the car will be in compliance for warranty.  I'm not convinced doing the job yourself and keeping receipts will be sufficient if something happens with the engine and the car needs to go in for warranty repair work.

[wing]

Interestingly there was a round hold in the plastic cover but it didn't line up with the filter!  Not sure if that was there before or not it looks really perfect though.

[wing]

Holy sh$t how much did the  17" socket cost!!!!!!

smart ass 17mm

[barrie1]

Wing I hope you put Jack Stands under both of the cars while you were useing the Jack and were under them. I also assume you greased all the grease fittings as well. 

[dr_spock]

WHY WHY WHY does that have to be so hard? 

So that you'll want to pay someone else to do it.   

I have 4 hex bolts to undo to remove the plastic cover under the Bug. 

[dr_spock]

hmm..

getting the filter off is pretty hard on the civic

A good filter wrench will loosen that filter.  Then it drips oil down the side of the engine block, onto the exhaust pipe and cross member and also down your arm as you're removing it.  I ruined a couple of shirts changing the oil filter on my Civic.  Oil stains don't come out easily. 

[HeliDriver]

I used to crawl under the car to change the filter on my Civic.

It only took me three years, a dozen oil changes, and about a gallon of used oil spilt on my forehead to eventually realize that the filter is also reachable from above. 

Changing it from above is a little awkward at first, but definitely less awkward than the alternative. Oil changes go much smoother for me now. 

[tpl]

Wing I hope you put Jack Stands under both of the cars while you were useing the Jack and were under them. I also assume you greased all the grease fittings as well. 

What is a grease fitting?   Do they still make cars that need to be greased?   One of the great improvements in car design in the last 30 years IMHO is the invention of suspension and steering linkages that don't need to be greased every 3000 miles

[Careener]

Wing
That hole is supposed to line up..it just doesn't.

[wing]

Yeah I figured that was the point of the hole but it is off by a lot!

[airbalancer]

Best when the oil filter is on the top of the engine, then you can use an oil extractor, no problems at all

[inco]

That cover is supposed to help with the air flow underneath the car. I guess it does, but it might also be there to discourage some from trying to do this by themselves. Passat had a similar cover and at the garage they do it much faster than me - plus they guarantee it.

So Wing - how much oil did you leave on that nice big garage floor?

[safristi]

..SUCK IT UP.....says AIRB..................... ...I say drop 'em  drip 'em and run.......... .........fer a shop towel and the right wench wrench.........

[Cortina]

Changed my oil on both cars today.

Let's just say this:  Honda -- good design  Mazda -- VERY bad

Don't you warm the car a little? 

I used to change my oil. Then I would used the old oil to paint the wooden fence around my house. But since arriving in Canada I have stop changing the oil. Oil changes where I come from were around 200 bucks. So it was one of the first things you learned very quickly was how to change the oil. 

Ahhhh, it feels good to tinker with an old car.

[safristi]

Or in your case to be a TINKERwith an old car.............   $200 bucks an OIL Change...call the BEVERLY HILLS COPS,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,