How much oil does it take between the low line and high line on the oil dipsick? Is it one quart? More?

 

1.8 quarts from high to low I beleive.

 

Between the low and high hash mark it only takes me 1 quart.

1.8 quarts seems high to me.

 

If the manual is to be believed, it's stated on page 8-10:

"The distance between L and F on the dipstick represents the following: 1.7L (1.8 us qt, 1.5 imp qt)"

 

I was about 1/3 below the high mark, I added 1/2 quart, and now I'm about 1/4 inch above the high mark.

 

hmm.. really, maybe I have one of those recalled dipsticks I heard about long ago.. I dunno? Maybe the book is incorrect and that is why some people were getting overfill on oil when at the dealer... mine seems to hit the full mark with only 1 quart, i've done it a few times.

 

Well, it seems your 8 fills with 1 quart like mine... I would fix that overfill though.

 

Today I had planned to change my oil but when I got started, I realized it wasn't going to be as easy as I thought. I had all the right tools and since I'm a pretty thin, I thought I'd slide right under there...NOT :p

I was going to use one of those disposable oil boxes to drain the oil in and that thing barely fits under the car too. So I ended up just checking oil and topping it off.

I think I'm going to go buy me some front wheel ramps to get the front up another 6-8 inches or so. I guess I'll try again next week.

 

How do you fix an overfill w/out draining? Go do some burn outs and redline it for about 1/2 and hour :p

Seriously, will the 1/4 inch overfill cause any problems? If anything happens I'll just blame the dealer and say the car came with too much oil

 

I think someone said overfilling is no good. Last time I check it was 1/4 down from H mark... the dealer told me to leave it until it drops below the half way point

 

If overfilling is bad, they should say in the manual to wait until it gets to the low line before adding oil...instead of making you paranoid that the 8 drinks oil faster than vampires drink blood.

I would think from a safeguard standpoint that not just Mazda, but any automaker, would not allow engine in an amount that would be harmful to the engine to be filled. By that I mean the oil fill spout would start overflowing.

The automaker cannot control how low a car owner runs the oil level but they surely can control how much oil can safely go into the engine by creating an overflow.

 

If I remember correctly,the oil plug is located on the right side center of the oil pan. I do not think that much oil will drain out with the front end up.

 

I found that simply raising the car by 1-1/2" was enough to fit my drain pan underneath, and kept the car reasonably level to get good drainage. Simple to do, just drive up on a pair of 2x4's.

 

I don't have to raise mine, and I'm not as thin as I used to be (I'm about 145 nowadays, sigh...) Anyway, as for drain pans and fitting, take a look here . Scroll down to the photo depicting all of the tools and Saran-Wrap.