HOW TO: Change your own oil

[BSTD3]

Instead of buying the "special" Mazda oil filter wrench cap, we picked up one of these at VIP Auto:

"B" type oil filter wrench cap $5.99

This worked on my wife's CX-7 and will work on the Speed3 (and 6)

 

[fasteract]

The prices at the site linked above sounded good until I got ready to checkout and they were going to charge me nearly $15 for UPS Standard Shipping!!!!! What a bunch of crap. Anyone know of a place that doesn't rip you a new one on shipping where you can get those washers?

Harbor freight sells a box with an assortment of copper washers, 6 or so the size you need for $10.99 at their retail stores. I can usually use the same washer over the duration of several oil changes without a leak if I follow the oil drain plug torque rating (approx. 22 ft/lbs) and don't gouge the crap out of the washer by overtightening. They are a bit tougher than the OEM aluminum washers also.

 

[mz32quick]

^ Thanks for the tip. I'll check them out the next time I'm in Winston which is the nearest place to me with a Harbor Freight store.

I did stop by the dealership today to pick up a washer just so I could do the change this weekend and the guy behind the parts counter just gave me 3 of them. Sweet! haha Even better!!

 

[wmherman@mchsi.]

Funnel suggestion: Cut the bottom one inch off an empty, 1 qt plastic oil container (I used a Castrol container). Unscrew the cap & stick the makeshift funnel into the oil fill opening. Carefully pour the new oil into the makeshift funnel. All is well...

 

[wmherman@mchsi.]

^ Thanks for the tip. I'll check them out the next time I'm in Winston which is the nearest place to me with a Harbor Freight store.

I did stop by the dealership today to pick up a washer just so I could do the change this weekend and the guy behind the parts counter just gave me 3 of them. Sweet! haha Even better!!

I changed my speed3 oil & filter for the first time today. The metal washer on the drain plug does not look like a crush-type washer. It looks like a regular, flat-surface washer.

What did the washers the parts guy gave you look like? Most crush-type washers I've used before went on exhaust systems & were round, like an o-ring and hollow inside. When they were tightened, they compressed. The washer on my speed3 did not appear to be that type...

 

[Rivman]

Metal Drain Plug Washer

I'm sure it's just a plain soft aluminum flat washer, and you could probably use a nylon washer that was the same size to seal the plug ! (dunno)

 

[wmherman]

OEM oil "crappy?"

wait until 1000 at least, or until the manual says, and you don't want to go off running out and buying some royal purple (or even any synthetic) for the first 5,000 miles really.. most of the engine break in happens the first 1-2.5K miles, but additional break in happens after that as well, and because of that, high VI oils will prevent said break-in because of their high film stregnth, which is never a good thing.. so if you must change your oil using a good quality conventional, such as some valvoline or castrol GTX.

the OEM oil is crappy not because they cheap out on it, but because it needs to be crappy.

How do you figure the OEM oil is "crappy?" Just because it's not synthetic does not mean it's crappy. You should be able to use the OEM type oil for the life of your vehicle, along with oil & filter changes at the intervals recommended by Mazda and never have a "oil induced" problem whatsoever.

Of course, after break-in, if you switched to synthetic, some folks feel there is some advantage gained in the extra expense. It certainly wouldn't hurt anything.

 

[wmherman]

Incorrectly installed o-ring will leak...

Geez, how many times have I said that I used NEW o-rings? 3 or 4 times....YES I replaced the o-rings. And i kow that the filter does not seal it...obviously. Old ones looked fine...the only thing i was surprised about, they were flat. Which would make sense since they are compressed in there, BUT I would think that their flexible characteristic would make them go back to their natural 'roundness' afterwards. Filter caps seemed to be in perfect shape and condition.

Flat o-ring? Now we know exactly where the problem is. If the housing o-ring is flat, as you stated, it's obvious someone has installed it in the wrong position & it will leak. A properly installed o-ring will not compress.

The o-ring goes into a groove and seals against the inside surface of the housing, not the bottom surface as some folks might think. When the o-ring is properly placed, it should be fairly easy to move around. When you install the cap check to be sure the o-ring is not getting pinched, but goes "inside" the housing. When you tighten the plastic cap, it should snug up to the lower metal housing surface, with no o-ring showing. This is because the o-ring goes inside the housing & seals from within.

I hope this helps.

 

[wmherman]

I'm about to do my first oil change. Can anyone shed some light on the washer mentioned in the quote above? I don't see where in the original post this washer comes into play. Also, I don't want to drain my oil and run into a situation where I can't put the drain plug back on properly due to a missing washer. Do you guys know what size the washer is? I saw some next to the oil wrenches at the auto store, so maybe I can get a pack of washers there.

Speaking of oil wrenches, I just bought a generic oil filter wrench. Will this be enough, or do I REALLY need that special mazda thing? (I also have a socket wrench and a torque wrench.)

I'm still working my way thru this thread & this question may have already been answered, but just in case it wasn't, here goes...

The washer is simply a flat, aluminum washer. You should be able to reuse it multiple times unless you damage it somehow.

As far as a wrench to remove the plastic housing cap, you do not necessarily need the OEM tool. Look at the tool in the picture of the tools you will need & you will see an oil filter wrench that is a metal band with a handle on it. These come in different sizes & you will need one that covers the size you need but it should work just fine. When you put it in place & pivot the handle, the metal band tightens up fairly evenly all around the cap. You then should have enough "grip" on the cap to remove it by pushing on the handle.

You can use the same tool to reinstall the cap. Just install by hand 'till it gets too tight to turn. Finish the job with the tool. You don't have to get it overly tight as it is sealed by the o-ring that goes inside the housing. It is not sealed by the plastic cap sealing against the bottom surface of the housing.

I used the "band-type" tool & it worked just fine for my first filter change. I do plan on getting the OEM tool as I don't want to take a chance on cracking the plastic cap. I did try an aftermarket, metal "fluted" oil filter tool I use on some of my other vehicles but it just did not fit exactly right & would just slip.

Once you understand the basics of the cartridge type filter you will realize it's not that big a deal. There's no reason to have to convert to the spin-on type other than it's more familiar to some people.

I hope this helps.

 

[builthatch]

There's no reason to have to convert to the spin-on type other than it's more familiar to some people.

I hope this helps.

the only thing i think that should be added is it's been proven that certain types of premium oil filters, with their synthetic/synth blend media, etc are more efficient and better adapted to longer interval service with high performance synthetics than your standard paper cartridge, which was designed for shorter service life with conventional oils. i knew that i could go down to advance and get a mobil1 synth blend media filter to go along with my high performance synth oil; that was one nice selling point on the conversion.

EDIT: however, i've found that K&N seems to make what i'm assuming is a synth blend media cartridge that works for this application, so that is a viable option as well - HP-7013, though i'd still not recommend that over an amsoil or even mass market mobil1 filter.

 

[wmherman]

the only thing i think that should be added is it's been proven that certain types of premium oil filters, with their synthetic/synth blend media, etc are more efficient and better adapted to longer interval service with high performance synthetics than your standard paper cartridge, which was designed for shorter service life with conventional oils. i knew that i could go down to advance and get a mobil1 synth blend media filter to go along with my high performance synth oil; that was one nice selling point on the conversion.

EDIT: however, i've found that K&N seems to make what i'm assuming is a synth blend media cartridge that works for this application, so that is a viable option as well - HP-7013, though i'd still not recommend that over an amsoil or even mass market mobil1 filter.

Thanks for the info. I understand your reason for doing the conversion but are you of the opinion the standard filter will not serve it's purpose well for the 7,500 change interval using either dino or synthetic oil OR are you saying you simply feel the synth blend filter is better/recommended when one is using the synthetic oil?

Also, regarding the conversion, what all is involved?

 

[Rotus8]

As far as a wrench to remove the plastic housing cap, you do not necessarily need the OEM tool. Look at the tool in the picture of the tools you will need & you will see an oil filter wrench that is a metal band with a handle on it. These come in different sizes & you will need one that covers the size you need but it should work just fine. When you put it in place & pivot the handle, the metal band tightens up fairly evenly all around the cap. You then should have enough "grip" on the cap to remove it by pushing on the handle.

These wrenches actually put a lot of pressure in one point where the handle pulls on one end of the wrench. This has been known to fracture the plastic housing. It is insideous because it can crack the housing without it being obvious and you lose your oil over a period of time which can be unhealthy for your engine and turbo.

 

[wmherman]

These wrenches actually put a lot of pressure in one point where the handle pulls on one end of the wrench. This has been known to fracture the plastic housing. It is insideous because it can crack the housing without it being obvious and you lose your oil over a period of time which can be unhealthy for your engine and turbo.

Thanks. I agree. Even though the metal band goes around the filter, there is definitely more pressure in one area. This was my first oil & filter change on this car. I will have the proper OEM tool before my next oil & filter change as I certainly don't want to take a chance on cracking the plastic housing end cap.

 

[SgtP]

the spin on conversion is pretty straight forward. Replace one metal piece with another metal piece. Just make sure the car has cooled down for a bit. Hot oil does not feel too good. Not that that happened to me or anything...

 

[wmherman@mchsi.]

How to make the Rhino Ramps work with the MS3

My car would not clear the ramps without using the 2x6's. I have a 45 degree angle cut on the front edge. I've added a 1x4 turned sideways so that the tire doesn't drop down when it goes off the end of the 2x6's and onto the ramp. This setup works great & makes changing the oil & filter a breeze.

I'll never have to depend on anyone else to change it for me, at least as long as my health holds out...

 

[hilmar2k]

My car would not clear the ramps without using the 2x6's. I have a 45 degree angle cut on the front edge. I've added a 1x4 turned sideways so that the tire doesn't drop down when it goes off the end of the 2x6's and onto the ramp. This setup works great & makes changing the oil & filter a breeze.

I'll never have to depend on anyone else to change it for me, at least as long as my health holds out...

Or you could just buy the correct Rhino ramps. They make two models, the other one works without any lumber.

 

[MikeHTally]

I built these a year or so ago... I use 'em on my Ram, 300C, and the MS3.

 

[mspeed3 617]

looks good..

DIY FTW...

I just use a jack and some jack stands...

 

[wmherman@mchsi.]

Or you could just buy the correct Rhino ramps. They make two models, the other one works without any lumber.

hilmark, I'm not sure but isn't the width the only difference between the two ramps? What year is your speed3? Mine is 2008. Could it be that the front end is different on our two cars so that you might not have a clearance problem with either ramp?

 

[hilmar2k]

hilmark, I'm not sure but isn't the width the only difference between the two ramps? What year is your speed3? Mine is 2008. Could it be that the front end is different on our two cars so that you might not have a clearance problem with either ramp?

Mine is also an '08.

The angle of the ramp is also different, which is why it won't go up the heavier duty version (steeper angle on that one).