Switching to a spin-on filter

ag bullet

Member
:
2004 Mazda 3 Hatchback,MTX
I ordered what I thought were the right parts to do this, but upon inspection tonight, the new housing is for the cartridge system.

The part number listed in the Mazda6 how-to is incorrect at least to the person I ordered from. Can someone please verify the correct part number for the "adapter" for me?

Thanks in advance!
 
Don't know if you got an answer to this yet but the adapter is L301-14-310 and the gasket is LF01-14-342.

I've ordered the parts myself, so I know they're the right ones. Maybe the dealer ordered the wrong thing for you?

Worse comes to worse, just have them look up the part number for an oil filter mount for the 2.0L engine. Same-same.
 
Would you guys recommend doing this?

I got a cartridge, have just been taking car to the dealership for oil changes.

But I'll probably be doing that once I start heavily modding it.
 
I heard that all the new engines, including the 2.3L, are going to have the spin-on filter.

Don't see any reason not to change over. The whole reason they went with the cartridge was for weight savings and "environmental concerns". Has nothing to do with filtering ability.
 
goldwing2000 said:
I heard that all the new engines, including the 2.3L, are going to have the spin-on filter.

Don't see any reason not to change over. The whole reason they went with the cartridge was for weight savings and "environmental concerns". Has nothing to do with filtering ability.


I just don't see a reason to change over. Seems like a waste of money to me.
I guess the only reason I can see doing this is if you have a local lube do your oil changes for you. Not me!
 
AzMz3 said:
I just don't see a reason to change over. Seems like a waste of money to me.
I guess the only reason I can see doing this is if you have a local lube do your oil changes for you. Not me!
For me it was the ease of finding the filter/parts, plus with the few times I concede and let someone change it for me, I don't want them to act like they have never seen something like that before. Plus the filters are cheaper and the change out is faster and less cumbersome. I guess it boils down to personal preference.
 
AzMz3 said:
I just don't see a reason to change over. Seems like a waste of money to me.
I guess the only reason I can see doing this is if you have a local lube do your oil changes for you. Not me!

I think it'll save me money in the long run.
I can now buy better filters for a much more reasonable price. After enough oil changes, this conversion will have paid for itself and then some!! (cool)
 
I'll keep my cartridge filter since it's fun watching the oil jockey have to remove the plastic cover, remove the filter and re-install everything.BTW, in my younger days I was an oil jockey at a garage. I hated the cartridge filters on the first Acura Legends back in the 80's. The Mazda setup is much easier to do, and a much better design than the Acura. My .02
 
Badger Biker said:
I think I'll do this soon, I am lazy: About how much for the parts? ^_^

$50-60, give or take.
 
Oil filter adapter ???

Those of you that have installed the spin-on oil adapter; does it offset the filter so that it is more in line with the hole in the underbody panel? Therefore, making it more accessible without taking the panel off when removing the filter?
Thanks in advance,
Grey Ghost
 
Grey Ghost said:
Those of you that have installed the spin-on oil adapter; does it offset the filter so that it is more in line with the hole in the underbody panel? Therefore, making it more accessible without taking the panel off when removing the filter?
Thanks in advance,
Grey Ghost
No
I havn't varified this, but I suspect the hole in the underbody panel lines up with the filter on the non 2.3L engine.

If it doesn't, then I don't know what the hell that hole is for!!
 
Grey Ghost, no, the hole still doesn't align with the spin-on (though some people have cut the hole further to access the filter without removing the shroud).

So what's that hole for, well its such a great question that there's a TSB on it?

SPLASH SHIELD MYSTERY HOLE
Applicable Models
MAZDA3

Some customers may ask why the access hole on the splash shield
does not line up directly under the oil filter for serviceability.

The reason for the hole is for oil leak visual checks by plant
personnel on the plant assembly line, not for oil filter removal.
 
wongpres said:
Grey Ghost, no, the hole still doesn't align with the spin-on (though some people have cut the hole further to access the filter without removing the shroud).

So what's that hole for, well its such a great question that there's a TSB on it?

SPLASH SHIELD MYSTERY HOLE
Applicable Models
MAZDA3

Some customers may ask why the access hole on the splash shield
does not line up directly under the oil filter for serviceability.

The reason for the hole is for oil leak visual checks by plant
personnel on the plant assembly line, not for oil filter removal.

great info.. but what a supid reason. I would think that if this hole was ligned up with the oil filter, that it could serve both purposes. Ahh well. I guess the lpastic shroud wasn't designed with serviceability in mind.

then again, last time I was at the dealer, looking into the shop, I saw a technician performing an oil change without completely removing the shroud, just bending it outa the way! I take the time to take mine off completely, but I think I'm going to modify the hole such that I can perform an oil change without removing it!
 
djltoronto said:
great info.. but what a supid reason. I would think that if this hole was ligned up with the oil filter, that it could serve both purposes. Ahh well. I guess the lpastic shroud wasn't designed with serviceability in mind.

then again, last time I was at the dealer, looking into the shop, I saw a technician performing an oil change without completely removing the shroud, just bending it outa the way! I take the time to take mine off completely, but I think I'm going to modify the hole such that I can perform an oil change without removing it!


I just took mine completely off months ago.
 
Spin-on filter change over

Just an FYI
I just got my parts from mazdastuff.com, they are some nice people to do business with. The adapter to fit the the 2.0 spin-on filter to the 2.3 engine is called a Filter Body, Part # L301-14-311 $38.00 The Gasket is Part # LF01-14-342 $2.94
The filters I'm entertaining are:Purolator Pure One PL10241 or PL20064, Amsoil LF503, Mobil 1 M1-102, and Mazda LF10-14-302.

Grey Ghost
 
Unless you can verify dimensions, go for the OEM filter. Every aftermarket filter I saw was the shorter Protege filter. They hadn't bothered making a new, longer design for the 3 yet.
 
2.0 engine filters for the 2.3

goldwing2000 said:
Unless you can verify dimensions, go for the OEM filter. Every aftermarket filter I saw was the shorter Protege filter. They hadn't bothered making a new, longer design for the 3 yet.

goldwing2000,

My research for the listed filters was from the manufacturers for the 2.0 engine for a 2004 Mazda 3. I will buy an OEM and compare it to the aftermarket. Hopefully, I'll find one even longer, (ie: greater filtering capacity), than the OEM. By the way, did you use any gasket seal when you mounted the Filter Body? And what torque was used for the bolts?

Thanks,
Grey Ghost
 
Yeah, they list them for the 2.0 Mazda3 but it's not the same size as the OEM filter. The 3 and the Pro have the same size filter base but the 3 is longer. Check it out, though. They may have wised up.

IIRC, I didn't use any gasket sealer. It's a crush-type gasket, so none should be needed.

I don't recall the torque specs but if nobody else jumps in here, I'll look them up for you when I get home.

Just fyi, the folks at Mazda6Tech made a little how-to (with pictures) if you want to have a look.
http://www.mazda6tech.com/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=47&Itemid=
 
goldwing2000,

Thanks for the info on the gasket.

The dimensions of the cartridge filter for the 2.3 pretty well match up with the Pure One 10241, Mobil1 M1-102, and Bosch Premium 3330. All come in at about 3.5" long. They all also fit the threads to the 2.0 filter body (I took it in to the stores and tried them all).
Also, the Pure One 20195, Mobil1 M1-205 and the Bosch 3421 all fit the threads and come in at about 4.75" in length. The extra 1.25" would come to something like an additional 10sq. inches of filtering media, not counting the pleats. I've seen a site where a guy rips dozens of filters apart and measures everything...I'm just guesstimating.

Didn't have an OEM filter (For 2.0) to check its dimensions. Dealer was closed today. Ha! Another reason I'm switching over to a spin-on.

Grey Ghost
 
Back