oil change picture thread???
 

Hi guys, i'm a newb.

i just bought a 09 mazda 3 hatchback, i was searching around for some info how to change the engine oil. so far i all see is lots peoples complain how difficult the oil change is, i was wondering if any of you guys that have experience on changing the oil on the 3 to help the newb out by starting a picture thread on oil change. show the progress, that will be nice.

anyone???

Well, I just changed my daughters oil for the first time yesterday. I'm not a noob to cars, but am to this one. I won't have any pictures, but I can tell you what I did.


1.) Might want to jack up the passenger side front. Make sure you do this right and safely. Please make sure the car can't roll and that it's not coming off the jack. Jack stands would be perfect and I used them and chalked the rear wheels.

2.) If you are going to attempt the filter change, which you should.............then it's probably best to go ahead and remove the undertray shroud. This will be about 6 10mm bolts and two clips(that were kind of a pain). The clips are the normal snap in type that you need to kinda pry up on the head part before trying to pull the rest out. If not replacing the filter, then don't worry about this step.

3.) Get a pan and remove the oil drain plug............I think this is a 17mm. It's located on the back side of the engine and low, you can't miss it. Caution, the oil spewed out farther than I thought it would and missed my pan at first, so be advised.

4.) Once the oil is draining, I usually go up top and remove the oil filler cap to allow better flow.

5.) Once the oil in the engine is drained, I will clean the area and re-install the drain plug. It's best to have a new crush washer, but not absolutely needed.

6.) Now..............if doing the filter, I will do this next. I'll assume it's the cannister type(on the 2.3L) as my daughters was. You might have to work at this as the size is a little strange, but I have a universal filter wrench which worked okay. Slide the pan you used to capture the oil over underneath where you are taking this filter off. Loosen the cap until it all falls out and remove the filter from the cap that it sits in. Install the new filter into the cap and the new green rubber O-ring seal at the top of the threads on the cap. Re-install the filter assembly.
EDIT: There is a 6mm hex bolt that you can take out before spinning the filter loose that allows for draining the filter housing first, as pointed out by icspots below, but I didn't bother this time. There will also be a smaller o-ring for this bolt if you need/want/should replace.

7.) Manual says ~4.5 qts if doing the filter change, so I will usually start with about two- three qts and then check the level with the dip stick after a few minutes. While waiting, take a look under the car for drips/leaks. Continue to add while checking the dipstick until proper amount is in. Again, check for leaks, and I'll usually keep an eye on this for several days afterward just in case.

8.) Dispose of old oil in the proper manner. My Autozone takes old oil, so don't just throw it out somewhere where it will do harm.

That's it unless I forgot something???????

Here's the walkthrough I used. http://robert.aitchison.org/tiki-pag...DIY+Oil+Change

If you have a 2.3L then you have the canister type filter in the walkthrough. If you have the 2.0 then you have a spin on oil filter and it's a little easier.

I went ahead and picked up the Mazda oil filter wrench. If you have the canister type then on the canister there's a 6mm hex bolt you can remove that will drain the filter housing prior to removing the whole thing so it can be a little cleaner. Your new filter should come with two o-rings, one large one to go on the housing, and one small one to go on the filter drain plug.

+1 to the oil spurting out more than I thought it would.... probably 18" back from the oil drain plug. Either get a big oil drain pan or have a bunch of newspaper/paper towels spread out and be ready to move the pan.

All in all the change was really easy. Of course of the 8 screws and two clips I had four screws and no clips (fraking oil change places!). One of the screws wouldn't come out (just spun) so I got the rest out and then just hinged the panel on that bolt.

Yeah, I knew about the smaller o-ring and 6mm hex bolt, but I didn't take it out this time. I bought like 12 freaking filters........... http://www.finishlineperformance.com...cat=288&page=1

I figured I had an oil filter wrench that would work and I did, but they also have this deal.

http://www.finishlineperformance.com...cat=288&page=1

and if you really, really hate the cannister type, then http://www.finishlineperformance.com...cat=288&page=1

Now I'm off to tackle the cabin filter!!!!!!

^^ yeah I grabbed a filter wrench and a couple of filters to go with the filters I had sitting in the shed. I may do the change over to the spin on filter later down the road. It's an easy enough change to do and there's a great walkthrough for it on mazda3forums.

Oh and the cabin filter is a pretty easy install/change. the only sucky part is you have to remove the mount for the PJB. :(

PJB? Excuse my noobness.

Ha ha. It's the fuse box...... I think it's Passenger Junction Box or something.

Okay..............thanks!

Make your own oil access hole
 

Well i'd suggest changing your oil the easy way.... cut an access hole in the proper location so the filter is accessable. Unlike what the crazy mazda designers were thinking, apparently lining up a too small hole for the smaller engine model only... This is one mod that I hadn't even thought to document when I did it, but see the attached pics.

I used an old tool case to get some heavy plastic and cut myself a removable access door that slides in to keep gunk out of the filter hole. This makes oil changing a relatively painless operation - though the plastic filter holder is easy to cross thread... another questionable design. I'd like to see one that you could buy that's aluminum with fins on the bottom so you need no tools :) how's that for a user friendly option?

Obviously Mazda was listening to you, guess what, they put a hole on the board for the oil filter access in 2010 Mazda 3, 2.5L. This along saves more 10mins for the oil change every time. Way to go, keep up good suggestions!

The drain bolt is also accessible without taking off any other stuff. I started use Full Synthetic Oil now and will not go back to regular engine oil to avoid the engine sludge in the future.

John