Is it bad if I lost the crush washer and then put the drain plug back without one?

 

technically no, but it may leak. its a 50 cent part that they sell at autozone/advance auto parts, so not really that difficult to find.

 

Haha, yes. But if I take the drain plug out to put the crush washer on.... well... you know what will happen next.

 

Read that (and this entire thread) - and have a question about the whole tilt-a-whirl ride many people seem to be giving their cars to get more of the old oil out. What's the difference between tilting the car sideways from each side to try to drain the oil coolers vs. having the nose in the air either via centrally jacking the front up or driving up on ramps (my preference) and giving the car plenty of time to drain? Either way seems to put the oil coolers well above the drain plug.

You'll end up with some dirty oil trapped in the back of the pan behind the drain plug, but that seems acceptable to me assuming this (ramps) gets more oil out of the coolers.

Later,

Luke

 

Good thread thank you. from the mechaniclly challenged!!

 

Don't forget....

Series II (09~)Owners ....

You must use the original factory oil filter as ANY larger diameter filter will NOT Fit...
Oil filter is located at the bottom of the front Timing Cover, you have to remove the silver Sump Guard (7 Bolts) to get at the filter...REPLACE Guard When Done.

I highly recommend you order from your dealer the Genuine Mazda Oil Filter Wrench..
Part # 49G0-14-001
There are not expensive, and the easiest way to remove the oil filter as you cant get your hand in there.

The sump drain PLUG is also different, it is a recessed type and you MUST have an 8mm HEX/Allen Type LONG key to remove it...

Crush washer is the same as Series I RX-8's...

 

Maybe someone can post photos of the pieces needed to be removed in order to get to the filter and drain plug.

One other question... does the plastic cover under the engine need to be removed in order to get to the filter and plug, and, can everything be removed and the oil and filter be changed using a pair of typical drive-on ramps?

Thanks

 

Ah, should have done it when I did it - will do next time. What plastic cover ? The front bumper lip ? You need to remove the silver sump guard to access the oil filter.

Typical drive-on ramps, yes.

 

Can't you read ^^^^ mate...

The ONLY thing you have to remove are the 7 SILVER BOLTS that holds the SILVER
under body sump tray in 09's....that is all...to get to oil filter.

I suggest you look under your car where the engine is and look.

Did I say you had to remove any plastic?

NO YOU DON'T...

BTW Welcome to the club.

BTW. The Engine is Behind the front wheel line to-wards the dashboard.

Ash

 

Thanks for the quick response guys. It was impossible for me to see much of the engine while peeking under the car in the showroom. There wasn't much room to squeeze underneath.

I just looked under the car and I see the "sump guard", about 1.5 by 1.5 ft in size, just behind the "plastic splash shield" that I referred to earlier.

When removing the sump guard, both the filter and the drain plug will be accessible, right?

I just got the car, so I won't be changing the oil for a while, but I'll try to remember to take photos when I do the job. I'll get a 8mm allen wrench "long key" socket adapter, so that I'll be able to use my socket wrench. I assume that little handheld wrenches might not break loose the 8mm drain plug when trying to remove it.


Also noted the cable to the 02 sensor; the cable hangs a little low, need to be careful about obstacles in the road. May add some type of wire "hanger" to at least get it flush with the underbody. May decide to purchase oil cooler guards before a pebble makes a hole in them. Have a link, anyone?

Again, thanks to all.

 

Right.


Search is your friend:
https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-do-yourself-forum-73/diy-installing-racing-beat-oil-cooler-ac-condenser-screens-86185/
http://racingbeat.com/resultset.asp?PartNumber=11808 (if yours is 09)

 

Thanks again. Will practice using search for this forum as I get used to navigating this forum.

 

Autozone one is okay.... slightly thicker and bigger, S2000 is even closer, I'll post some comparison measurements and pictures next time.

 

I got under the car this weekend and removed the sump guard. It's easy to get to the drain plug, but the filter is wedged off to the side of the drain pan. I bought the filter wrench but I'm thinking that because the filter is "recessed" into it's attachment point, that it's going to be a mess removing it, with a lot of oil dripping out onto the frame members that are in the vicinity. One would have to leave a lot of rags or paper towels over these frame members because I just don't see how it's not going to leak a lot of oil in the removal process. It looks almost impossible to get paper towels around the filter where it screws into the block, because there's so little room here.

Comments anyone?

 

Yeah, after you do it once and drip oil on the ground, then you know exactly where to place to pan to catch the drippings.

 

Sorry I didn't read the entire thread but I'm in a bit of a hurry. I checked my oil for the first time at the gas station this afternoon (a habit I'm trying to get myself into) and noticed that it was at about the last dot from the bottom. I'm about 1500 miles away from the next oil change, do I need to add more at this point? i've noticed the oil pressure needle is a little higher than when I first got it. Any estimate on how much more I would need to put in if needed?

 

Well since the oil pressure sensor is a dummy light, its impossible for it to change. The only change that it would be is if you are totally out of oil, then its not happy with you. Personally I would put in a quart, and be sure to check it more often, especially with heavy driving.

 

You have a Series II also!.. I have done 3 changes so getting used to it, the filter is hidden away isn't it.

IMO the Mazda genuine oil filter tool cap is the go for loosening, but you still need your hand to remove it, and yes a little mess.
49G0-14-001 is the Mazda wrench. ONLY for the S2 size filters.
Make sure you replace your silver sump guard.

 

Do you have to reset the computer after doing the oil change? If so, how?

 

what computer?

 

I rebooted my Mac (inside the house, not in the car) everytime I changed the engine oil in my 8. Soooo that proves that my Mac can survive without reboot for 3K miles (in my case that's around 3 months)

 

I meant the ECU, I had to do this with my old car.

 

No reset rquired, there is no warning light or monitor involved.

S

 

I'm one of these dummies. With the amount of space after jacking the car and putting a jackstand there I couldn't budge the oil pan plug laying on my belly :P Any tips? It's extremely hard to get any momentum in that position, do you guys use a sturdy extension or something? The mechanics that did it last time probably used air tools.

 

An 18" socket "breaker bar" is your friend when you have limited room and leverage. Available at Autozone and similar. Useful for the tranny and differential fluid changes as well.