Changing to a spin on filter from a cartrige filter?

richrat

Member
:
"04" Mazda 3 Hatchback
Hi guys,
I found DA6's link on how to's.
My question is has anyone done this to thier 2004 3 with a 2.3 liter engine?

I want to do this to my 3 so I can stop bringing my car to the Dealer for an oil change......It takes about 3 hours (with an appointment)

I have been to every jiffy lube, penzoil,valvoline, lube and tune place in St. Louis and no one sells the oil filter other than the dealer.

If you have done it or have a link...let me know.

I know from DA 6's link it should work.....but I want to know if anyone has done it to a 3 yet.

I called the dealer I purchased the car from but they never heard of switching the filter housing........It seems they are always the last to know anything.

Thanks,
Rich
 
Last edited:
They are the same.

Da6's Mazda 6 has the SAME engine as the 2.3L Mazda3. I have not done this yet but can tell you w/ 99.99% confidence that if it worked on his car it will work on yours.

Good Luck
 
Called my dealer yesterday to get the oil changed.. brought it in two hours later and left 1 hour after that... you must have a busy dealership.
 
You could go an buy a few filters from the dealer and get jiffy lube (or whatever) to change the oil and use your filter.
 
What is the deal with these cartridges you speak of? Why did they decide to switch to cartidge style on these cars? Are there any advantages to it?
 
It's actually the other way around, the early production 3s had a cartridge type filter but mid-model year Mazda changed it to the run-of-the-mill spin on filter.
 
BMW has been using cartridges for years.

It's spozed to be "environmentally sensitive" to quit putting those evil metal spin on filters in the landfill.

I have the parts numbers, and plan to do the changeout once the weather warms up and before the next oil change which is due in .....2,000 miles or so.
 
badAzLava3 said:
BMW has been using cartridges for years.

It's spozed to be "environmentally sensitive" to quit putting those evil metal spin on filters in the landfill.

I have the parts numbers, and plan to do the changeout once the weather warms up and before the next oil change which is due in .....2,000 miles or so.
Yeah, BMW, Merc, a few VW's, and a few GM cars use cartridge filters. Quite common on european cars.
 
ordered parts!

I went to the dealer and ordered the parts today!

I will let everyone know how it goes......(it might be a couple of weeks)

The thing some of you are missing is that with the cartridge type filter there are 2 o ring seals that have to be replaced everytime the oil is changed.

If the o rings are not on properly they will leak!!!!!!!

ALSO the center hex bolt that holds the cartridge on is prone to breaking over time.....

(It can snap off over time if the bolt is hot and or on to tight - it's aluminium)

They also are supposed to be torqued to a specific #............

Plus you can buy high performance spin on filters that do a much better job of cleaning the oil than the stock cartridge filter.

(dark)
 
Changing to spin on filter

I called mazdas tech line changing to spin on filter will void your warranty.
richrat said:
Hi guys,
I found DA6's link on how to's.
My question is has anyone done this to thier 2004 3 with a 2.3 liter engine?

I want to do this to my 3 so I can stop bringing my car to the Dealer for an oil change......It takes about 3 hours (with an appointment)

I have been to every jiffy lube, penzoil,valvoline, lube and tune place in St. Louis and no one sells the oil filter other than the dealer.

If you have done it or have a link...let me know.

I know from DA 6's link it should work.....but I want to know if anyone has done it to a 3 yet.

I called the dealer I purchased the car from but they never heard of switching the filter housing........It seems they are always the last to know anything.

Thanks,
Rich
 
Does anyone know if you need a special cartridge (designed for syn oil) when using Synthetic oil?

Last oil filter I bought was twisted when I took it out, any ideas why?
 
MM3Canuck said:
Does anyone know if you need a special cartridge (designed for syn oil) when using Synthetic oil?

Last oil filter I bought was twisted when I took it out, any ideas why?

It just means you have it on there tight like you're supposed to. That way, you know the oil is going THROUGH the filter and not passing between the rubber cartridge housing and the round metal opening. You don't need a special cartridge for Synth.
 
They usually sell the filters in like wal-mart or kmart. I bought a fram for my mazda 3 and it works just as fine as the dealership one. Most places can get the filter, just lazy to get them.
 
MadOzodi said:
It just means you have it on there tight like you're supposed to. That way, you know the oil is going THROUGH the filter and not passing between the rubber cartridge housing and the round metal opening. You don't need a special cartridge for Synth.


You sure about the cartridge? Seems kinda odd for it to twist like that.
 
MM3Canuck said:
You sure about the cartridge? Seems kinda odd for it to twist like that.

To me, it's the only logical explanation. When you put the cartridge filter in, everything's straight. So, you tighten it up and when you next change your oil and pull the used filter out, it's twisted about 1/8 to 1/4 of a turn. It's a tight fit getting the cartridge on there in the first place.

BTW, I wouldn't use a FRAM anything on even my worst enemy's car. When I changed my oil, I got a Napa Gold, which I believe is the same as the K&N and Mobil 1 oil filter. I read over on BITOG forums that all 3 are made by Wicks or something like that.
 
MM3Canuck said:
You sure about the cartridge? Seems kinda odd for it to twist like that.

To me, it's the only logical explanation. When you put the cartridge filter in, everything's straight. So, you tighten it up and when you next change your oil and pull the used filter out, it's twisted about 1/8 to 1/4 of a turn. It's a tight fit getting the cartridge on there in the first place.

BTW, I wouldn't use a FRAM anything on even my worst enemy's car. When I changed my oil, I got a Napa Gold, which I believe is the same as the K&N and Mobil 1 oil filter. I read over on BITOG forums that all 3 are made by Wicks or something like that.
 
MadOzodi said:
To me, it's the only logical explanation. When you put the cartridge filter in, everything's straight. So, you tighten it up and when you next change your oil and pull the used filter out, it's twisted about 1/8 to 1/4 of a turn. It's a tight fit getting the cartridge on there in the first place.

BTW, I wouldn't use a FRAM anything on even my worst enemy's car. When I changed my oil, I got a Napa Gold, which I believe is the same as the K&N and Mobil 1 oil filter. I read over on BITOG forums that all 3 are made by Wicks or something like that.

Yeah it would makes sense, but I the first time I changed the oil, the oil filter was straight (OEM Mazda Filter).

Why not fram? I can't remember what I have been using, but I think it is fram. I can't find any other store in Ontario that makes filters for the Mazda3. What about OEM MAzda filters?
 
richrat said:
Hi guys,
I found DA6's link on how to's.
My question is has anyone done this to thier 2004 3 with a 2.3 liter engine?

I want to do this to my 3 so I can stop bringing my car to the Dealer for an oil change......It takes about 3 hours (with an appointment)

I have been to every jiffy lube, penzoil,valvoline, lube and tune place in St. Louis and no one sells the oil filter other than the dealer.

If you have done it or have a link...let me know.

I know from DA 6's link it should work.....but I want to know if anyone has done it to a 3 yet.

I called the dealer I purchased the car from but they never heard of switching the filter housing........It seems they are always the last to know anything.

Thanks,
Rich

Rich,
Do a search for "Spin-on filters" and you will find a number of people who have switched to the spin on. I switched on my 2.3 and am very happy. Check out "Switching to a spin-on filter" 02-28-2006.

Good luck
Grey Ghost
 

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