Oil Change Tips

[winty87]

and dont drop the plug in the drain pan. I did that expecting the oil to be burning hot...But it wasnt. No tips from me. everybody else covered it.

 

[falsedawn]

Jacking up your car/putting it on ramps on a down hill is just plain nutso!

Agreed - you should NEVER try to raise a car that isn't level. Basic safety common sense!

 

[wildo]

slick 50 is indeed an additive. i use synthetic 5W30. i use the slick 50 every 3000 miles- probably WAY overkill, but like i said, i am real rough on the car with the heel and toe, hard corners, red-line shifting, etc.... i wanna do all i can to protect it. by the way- tranny fluid is not that hard to change- go for Redline M90, i think is what it is. (maybe M80- but i think it is M90...) hope this helps. also, the drain plug is at the back od the oil pan, so putting the car on ramps is not a problem at all during oil changes. hope this helps someone.

 

[Douggie]

I disagree on the ramps issue. You should do it on level ground and raise the front of the car!
Jack stands raise the front of the car as well, it helps to angle the oil pan toward the drain nut. Jacking up your car/putting it on ramps on a down hill is just plain nutso!

Well, if you really have no choice and have to do it on a slope (not a uber steep one of course), you should put blocks of wood at the rear wheels to prevent movement and pull your e-brake. I think it's fine if you use ramps, but not so sure about jacks.

And you should point the car UPHILL to help get the oil out as the drain plug is facing the rear of the car (as wildo pointed out)

 

[AceProtege]

Write with a Sharpie[tm] pen on the inside of the windshield to note the next change mileage & rotate mileage.

i always forget this one......good point here!

 

[Douggie]

i always forget this one......good point here!

Goto http://www.mymazda.com and register for an account. There is a "Repair & Maintenance log" that you can update yourself so you can keep track of all the maintenance that you have done.

 

[GNO]

I'll stand against what some have stated so far.

Run the engine for around 20 minutes prior to draining the oil. You don't have to let it sit and idle. Get ready to change the oil. Run an errand in your car. Change the oil while the engine is still hot. This way the oil is thinner, so it will drain faster. The contaminants will be well mixed with the oil rather than settled in low spots, so more of the crud will come out.

Next, don't bother with the Slick 50. Teflon (PTFE) works nice as a non-stick surface coating. I'm sure if you have parts coated, there'd be gains to be had. But having particles suspended in your oil isn't going to help much. Save your money. Oh, not to mention them being dinged by the FTC. http://www.ftc.gov/opa/1997/07/slick.htm
http://www.msgroup.org/TIP043.html

Other oil treatments. . . Prolong = Paraffin. Yep wax, like what's used in candles. Zmax = mineral oil. Tinted mineral oil which will degrade your oil rapidly.

I've used Slick 50 on an engine before and it crapped out on me. I've used Zmax as well. . . this one is hard to swallow. My fuel economy sky rocketed. The car was rated at 28mpg hiway. Right after I used it, I took a road trip and averaged 36mpg. On one of those tanks during the trip, I managed 40mpg. I also tore apart the motor at 120,000 miles and found very little wear on the cylinder walls. However, I did not inspect the bearing surfaces.

Read up before using an oil additive.

 

[aMaff]

Danm, good info. Is Zmax an oil or an Additive?

 

[GNO]

zMAX is an additive. It's not cheap, at ~$40 for the system, to be used every 6 mo or 6,000 miles. It comes with a fuel additive, oil additive, and small engine oil additive (for the mower and what not). The FTC had a claim against it as well, but it wasn't quite as bad as the Slick50 hit. You can find a lot of negative stuff about Slick50 on the net. zMAX was able to maintain the majority of their claims in their ads after the FTC suit, unlike Slick50. The neat part about zMAX is its FAA approval. Not an easy task. That's what compelled me to try it. The big thing on aircraft is the reduction of deposits on the exhaust valves, since the fuel uses a lot of lead. Not as much of an issue in an automobile engine using unleaded fuel.

I've read one comment on how it'd break down oil. Not much else on the negative side. I haven't used it for awhile, don't think I will.

 

[Douggie]

For that price, might as well just get some Amsoil or Royal Purple motor oil. Supposed to be THE best.

 

[aMaff]

yeahhh...I think for my use Mobile1 5000 is gonna be the way to go.

 

[overdrivex]

as far as jacking the car up on a slop just us some commen sense. if you use stands make sure the stand is sitting flat and does not wobble. also make sure you put the stands in the correct spot. i dont recomend stands for some one that has no experiance with them.. ramps are good all you need is to drive up them. no need to worry about correct placement or jacking the car up.. put some thing behind the tires something bigger than a wood 2x4 block.. i mean come on we all know know the p5 is one overwieght biotch and to expect some little rinkydink 2x4 to keep it from rolling back really gonna work? if your gonna make it a habbit of changing you oil or jacking one side of your car up they sell these rubber blocks that you can put behing your tires between 10-20 bucks depending on which one you get they are worth it ..

as far as oil i have also notice my car rev alot smoother with synthetic oil. oem oil filters or the aftermarket ones will work great for normal conditions. and as far as changing the oil i recomend changing it cold and the p5 only needs 4quarts and i get a 5 quart jug and just run a quart of fresh oil to pushh all the old oil out.

they are alot of good tips on the forums to save minutes, but nothing is safer than just taking your time and getting the job done right. rember alot of these tips are to save you minutres not hrs. is hurting your self or possibly doing it incorrectly really worth a couple of minutes?

 

[MSP032879]

That's good info but how many guarts used in the MSP with it being turbo and all?

 

[mogi]

you should change your oil at near operating temperature, the contaminents are more easily/still suspended in the oil, the waxes are at flowing tempuratures, and will be removed during draining
also, the P5 uses 3.7 qt. of oil, not 4

 

[RaiderMS3]

the P5 uses 3.7 qt. of oil, not 4

Using a Purolater filter for a 2002 626 with a V6 will help that issue. The 626 filter is bigger, so we can put in all 4. I have done it for a long time, and it measures out to not be a problem to use that filter and 4 quarts.

 

[mogi]

his post mentioned nothing of using a 626 filter, so telling someone the P5 uses 4 quarts is still wrong!

and by the way, how the **** do you put a jack stand on level ground if you are jacking it on a slope? wtf?

 

[RaiderMS3]

I was giving some advise, that's all. Makes it so he does not have a near empty bottle of oil laying around collecting dust. 4 quarts is fine with the 626 filter, many have done it here on the forum, which is where I have learned about it.

And as far as jacking up on a slope, be sure to have a video camera running, you might make $10K for a funny video...

 

[aMaff]

I was giving some advise, that's all. Makes it so he does not have a near empty bottle of oil laying around collecting dust. 4 quarts is fine with the 626 filter, many have done it here on the forum, which is where I have learned about it.

And as far as jacking up on a slope, be sure to have a video camera running, you might make $10K for a funny video...

nice

 

[Douggie]

his post mentioned nothing of using a 626 filter, so telling someone the P5 uses 4 quarts is still wrong!

and by the way, how the **** do you put a jack stand on level ground if you are jacking it on a slope? wtf?

Relax dude. The extra 0.3 quart is not gonna do anything. Just look at the size of the oil pan. I don't think that 0.3 quart is gonna raise the oil level in the pan even by 1mm and I doubt that the high-tech dip stick will be able to register the difference . Besides, you guys use measuring cups when changing oil or what? How do you get to the 0.1 quart accuracy? And if you corner hard often or do Auto-X, it's better to put a little more oil in.

 

[overdrivex]

first off dumb s*** a flat surface is flat regardless if its 0 degree angle or a 10-20-30-100degree angle!!! its obviouse this guy wants to do this on his driveway not some fucken hillside!! this is an example of flat "_____" no matter how you spin it its still flat!!!! this is example of not flat "^^^" when u jack the car up the car is no longer at 0degree anyhow. the way stands tip over is when wieght is shifted improperly and if stands are not firm on the ground or not placed in the proper weight bearing possisiton!! if you never use jack stands b4 why risk you fucken life over a goddamn oil change?!?!?!?and 3.7 - 4quarts who gives a s*** when u put oil in ur car do you bust out the fucken measuring cup or something..OEM is "ORIGINAL EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURE" wheither its for p5 626 its oem as long as u get it from mazda..as far as sedament and debre thats what the oil filter is for. and as long as you chang your oil regularly it wont pose a problem. i have two cars one of which has 180K and almost 18year oldcar and has no engine problems what so ever.. u guys are worried about little tedious things that pose no real problems to the reliablility to the car.