NO ONE has confirmed that. I highly doubt it. Re-read my post, and you'll see that I was inquiring as to the source of "newcastle's" concern. The only oil specified in the manual (at least, in the 2004 manual, and, oh, BTW, the 2005 cars are the same...) is 5W20 motor oil meeting API Service SL and ILSAC GF3 specifications.

I suspect Newcastle was running on the old (i.e., dead) "synthetics are bad for rotaries" issue. It's been talked about quite a bit in other threads. I recommend we not turn this discussion into another "synth vs. dino" discourse.

Ciao!

 

The 2005 Owners Manual only specifies SAE 5W-20 oil that meets the two standards (API & ILSAC). It says nothing at all about the use of "Synthetics".

 

I have an 04 and I must have got my thread mixed with my manual. I just read through my manual again to confirm that I did'nt read "do not use synthetic oil", and I did not see it listed any where in the manual. I apologize for any confusion i might have started.

 

since torque was mentioned, what is the torque supposed to be on the drain plug? i don't have my car yet, but noticed there is a dish under the engine. does this need to be removed or is the drain plug behind this "dish?"

thnx for good instructions and information.

yamajj

 

are you saying we can use the oil filter which goes on an r6? if so, k&n makes a filter just a dollar more than the $11 yamaha filter. (stock # kn-303)

yamajj
ps i have two yamaha r1 bikes and work at a yamaha dealer. :D

 

it's actually a 17mm nut on top of the k&n. i know, because i use them on both my bikes. i will most likely use it on my rx-8 also.

yamajj

 

disregard the torque question as i saw the specs in another page.

thnx. yamajj

 

I wrote to Mazda about the use of Synthetic Oil in the Rotary engine, since the manual doesn't say one way or the other... here is what they had to say....

Dear John,

Thank you for contacting Mazda North American Operations. I appreciate
the opportunity to respond to you.

In regard to your inquiry, Mazda recommends using 5W-20 engine oil for
the Mazda RX-8. Please understand, Mazda hasn't done any long-term
testing using synthetic oil with the RENESIS rotary engine. As such,
we don't recommend the use of synthetic oil.

Regards,

Lisa Lasky
Specialist, Customer Assistance E-Business

 

I received the following response from Dave at Redline oil.

Chris,

We recommend and use our products in rotary engines once the engine has been allowed to brake-in. We have used products extensively from the beginning in the rotary engines with very good results.

Regards, Dave
Red Line Oil

 

Well, just changed my 8's oil today for the first time. Did my wife's 6 right after. The 8 already had a service oil change so with the proper setup described in this diy the filter came off easy. The 6, used the plier type wrench and it took a while but I finally broke it loose. I could not believe the amount of oil coming out of the 6 filter. Its snug up tight and you can't help but get a shitload on the car no matter how long you let the pan drain. Next time I will have to cover crap up. The 8 spills just a little but I hate the location of the filter on both cars. Ramps and wheel chocks. Piece of cake on the 8 and the piece of mind you didn't forget anything like the service depts. do habitually. Go for it.

 

I would like to thank Syntrix and all the other people who posted the information in this thread. I just did my first oil change (on any car) at about 2400 miles this weekend. I used the M1-108 filter and Mobil 5,000 non-synthetic 5W-20. Everything went fine after I was able to get the factory filter and overtightened drain plug loosened.

As a note though, my drain plug just had a normal washer on it, this isn't the same "crush washer" that's referred to a few times on the first page of this thread is it? It looks just like a normal metal washer you would find anywhere.

Thanks again for all the help, the walkthrough was very helpful and I appreciated the specifics on the filter size, oil amount (I used 4 qts., I was about 1/3 of a qt. low before the change), and definately the filter wrench size and drain plug size. Next project, the wife's '90 Explorer and eventually, my differential and trans fluids to Red Line!

 

Yep, that's it. The term "crush washer" is a bit misleading. Makes you think of the washer on a spark plug that noticably flattens out when crushed. The washer on the drain plug is not like that. Rather, it is made of a softish aluminum that deforms slightly to form a good seal when the drain plug is tightened.

 

What happened to all the pictures?

Would be nice to have them back...

 

i need to take pics of my oil change w/ the Fumoto drain valve... you guys will be amazed how easy it becomes... lol

 

Which Fumoto did you order, the F106? Do you need the the ADP-106 Adapter? Did you use the stock 'crush washer'.

Thanks for the info!

 

F106 + adp-106.

use the drain valve's fiber washers

it's been great.

 

I use the Fram SD-2

works good

 

Just did my first oil change the other day. Normally, I would not make much of an oil change.... but the oil filter has to be in the worst place I've run into yet. I did not use an extension or cap wrench, but still..... Maybe next time I will heat it up a little.. then cut it off, then punch a hole in the top of the oil filter. I punched a hole and left it for 20 minutes this time around. Other than a little oil running all over, not bad.

 

I agree with Zoom, bought the Fumoto with adapter, also put one on wife's Miata and one on my Montero Sport. These things are the best for quick oil changes, less mess but they do drain slowly. I poke around at the other fluids and change out the filter.

Word of caution though...if you poke a hole in the filter... first make sure that you have the wheels turned to the right so you can reach the valve. My bonehead move the first change with the Fumoto, turned the wheels the wrong direction..couldn't reach..jumped in started it up to turn the wheels and saw oil flying from the hole in the filter. Total brain f*rt! Shut down immediately (luckily engine was warm, no flooding worry). What a mess to clean up.

 

you needed to turn wheel to the right to reach the drain valve? i can reach it with the wheels pointed straightforward... i have extra long right arm?? :o :D

 

Yeah, the 33 sleeve doesn't quite make the reach without turning the wheels so I can get my shoulder a little under the car.

 

Where's the pictures from the beginning of this thread?

 

Yeah, pics?

 

After the prospect of another $24 oil change at the dealer yesterday, I bit the bullet and bought a half-dozen OEM filters (and crush washers) from the parts counter and a case of GTX from the parts store. Thus the makings of a Saturday project...

Thanks to the initial postings here, I had a vague idea of where/what I was looking for underneath. I will say I had been overly used to oil changes on my previous cars and had become used to looking for the drain plug on the driver's side of the pan. A quick reference of the manual fixed that (owner's manual?? Yeah that thing taking up space in the glovebox...who knew?). The "turn the wheels all the way to the right" tip was money.

Well, after finally finding the drain plug (more on the side at the bottom than just "on the bottom"), I discovered that I wouldn't have enough clearance to get any muscle behind turning the ratchet. Damn. Alright, I guess I WILL have to jack the car up a bit. Since I've been lazy and haven't ordered the replacement saddle for my floor jack from Eastwood, I ended up breaking out my scissors jack from the trunk and cranked up the right front side.

With freshly raised car, I still find I can't quite get the leverage I need to break the plug loose. Given this I do find that there's quite a bit of room from the front. This is where the warning bells go off. Am I willing to chance my life on the "emergency" scissors jack graciously provided by Mazda (you know, the one that was provided without a spare tire unless you ordered it)? Short answer: oh hell no. Fortunately, the floor jack I got from Sears had a pair of jack stands that came with it (bought last year when Megareds posted the deal on here). A few more cranks on the jack give me just enough room to slide the jack stand in next to it.

Ok, with new found safety net to prevent me from earning a Darwin award, I move in and am able to finally break the drain plug free. FYI: for those without a 19mm socket, a standard 3/4" socket works just fine. Is it exact? Well, 19mm works out to be .748 inches. I'm willing to live with 2 thousandths of an inch difference. Quick, someone call Mazda and void my warranty. Not.

After removing the oil fill cap and then letting the drain plug fall into the grated catch on my drain pan, I pull the jack stand out and lower the car back down to drain out. I had expected to NEED my oil filter cap wrench to get the filter off. After a few choice words when I realized that there was no getting my ratchet extension to the filter wrench attachment without a universal joint, I chanced it and tried twisting the filter by hand. God bless the monster who torqued down on my drain plug, because he did me a favor by not overtightening the filter (thus redeeming himself). I could turn it by hand w/ a little effort, so I then pop a hole in the oil filter w/ a phillips head and my trusty rubber mallet to break the vacuum in the filter to let it drain as well. Time to go fix a cold drink and motor around the house a bit.

About 15 mins later I come back out to find only an occasional drip from the oil pan drain and figure I'm probably safe to remove the filter. "No, that's just what they'd be expecting us to do..." All I can say is that I shudder to think of the mess if I hadn't popped a hole in it to start. Expecting a few drops, I got a few more than that. Quickly I screwed the filter back down, and with a few more choice words I head for my roll of garage paper towels. Quick plug: if you haven't used them before, Viva paper towels are extreeeemely absorbent if you're short on shop towels. After stuffing several of these down around the bottom of the fliter area, I unscrew it again. Much better this time. I'm thinking, "Great, it's all good now that I've got the filter turned upside down." Yeah, not so much, mastermind. Remember the hole you tapped in the top? That's where the motor oil running into your hand is coming from. A quick save by putting it in the leftover plastic bag from the parts store and it's no longer a factor.

Ran a little fresh oil around the gasket on the filter and threaded it on to the "solidly hand-tight" level. It won't be going anywhere, but it won't require Herculean effort to remove either. With scissors jack and jack stand in place again, it's back under the front to put the drain plug and fresh crush washer on. I don't have the requisite 1/2 to 3/8" adapter for my torque wrench, so it's a guessimate of effort putting the plug back in. In the end I tighten it to an approximate of what effort it took to remove. It ain't going anywhere. Jack and jack stand back out again.

When you guys posted "3.7 quarts" to fill it (provided you didn't jack the left side to make it drain out even more), no joke - it was 3.7 (or so) quarts. Something to be said for attention to detail - thanks! Checked the dipstick - dead on "full." Swab the oil fill cap gasket w/ fresh oil and put it back in. Time to fire it up and check for leaks. None noted, and everything is right with the world. Thanks again to all the previous posters w/ all the insider info, as it made it a much easier job. Next time will be a piece of cake.

 

Yea, I don't see the pics either.