P00Man

tomorow im going to go buy some 10w-20 non-synthetic oil to put in my car, cause, as some of you know, when i went to the gas staion the guy didnt know what he was looking at, then someone posted that theyd never trust an attendant to top off their oil cause they might put the wrong stuff in. anyway, those 2 things combined makes me want to do it myself, however i have no idea how to do it, so any directions directed towards a newb would be helpful.

thanks
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zoom44

shouldn't that be 5w20? first thing you should do is read the manual so you understand how to read the dipstick. only add the amount that is indicated. and make sure you have a rag or two handy and also a plastic sealable bag to put the open but not yet empty oil container in so if it decides to leak later it doesn't leak onto your nice new trunk carpet. make a note in the manual or where ever you are keeping your service logs on how much you addded so you can keep track of how much it is using for future reference. if you see a sharp up swing in the usage later it might indicate a problem before you break something.

P00Man

yeah, i meant 5w-20, does it tell you how to do it in the manuel?

and does the manuel have a log for that stuff, although to be honest id rather have all the logs in one place, so wherever the service technician would put it after performing a service is where id want to put it
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Doctorr

What is this "does the manual have...." stuff?

Sounds like Mr. Poo has no car, no manual and no clue.....?
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doc

notdeafyet

I've been noticing Poo catching all sorts of flack regarding whether or not he owns a car (people wanting a pic and such). At first I thought this person was getting hassled for no good reason whereas now, and in light of recent posts, I am suspicious. Indeed, why should he be asking what's in the manual?

I personally don't think that even a pic proves anything, because it would be easy enough to find an owner-with-car pic on the web.

Poo, how about a pic of your car and YOU HOLDING a sheet of paper that says "POO"?

P00Man

uhhhhhhhhh cause i havent READ the manuel...have never owned a car before, am not a "gear head" and such, which is why i would really have no idea whats in the manuel without actually reading it, aside from the obvious crap like "getting to know your mazda" and such

anyway, read the thing on oil today and i remember people posting about a "top-up mark" or something like that, but the manuel only describes two marks, the Low and Full marks

so my question is, when you "top off" do you just fill it to F, since it says filling above F can cause damage
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OmegaBob

Let's see... at the time of my reply,

Poo had 888 posts

notdeafyet had 16 posts

I think I'd believe Poo when he says that he HAS his car and hasn't really read the manual (how many people actualy do?). Also, not everyone wants their pic posted on the internet.

Geez! Leave him alone or help answer his question.

(I would but am a total noob when it comes to oil changes)

Doctorr

888 yes, but most of them consist of the words BLAH & HA
in some combination......
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doc

akrx8

just picked up my car on saturday and spent that night reading the manual.there are so many threads/posts about noises are whats wrong with this or that AND ITS ALL IN THE MANUAL,looks like poo is not alone at tosing the manual aside.

RX-Nut

here's the manual kids..

http://www.rx8forum.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=8769

P00Man

thanks for the support bob...

anyway, any tips for topping off my oil?
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Zoloft Lawsuit

sferrett

To top off the oil:

* Pull the dipstick, wipe it off, plunge it back in (all the way) pull it out again and take a reading. If the level is somewhere near the full mark then you're done.

* Figure out approximately how much oil to add by where the level is on the dipstick. (according to the manual, the amount of oil from Low to Full on the dipstick is around 1.8 quarts)

* Add oil (in the oil filler tube, after taking the cap off) - using a funnel or something - check the level on the dipstick and keep adding until the level on the dipstick is up to the F mark.

* Make sure to put the oil filler cap back on again

* drive on.

See also page 8-9 of your manual.

-- Read your manual. There is some interesting stuff in there especially some procedures to follow (such as how to change/check the oil, how to reset the TCS/DSC system if you unhook your battery, etc.)

Simon.

pelucidor

You missed a bit (I am paraphrasing):

Before checking oil let the engine warm up to standard temperature (around middle of guage) and then turn off engine and let it cool off for 5 minutes. Check the oil making sure you are on a level surface.

Pooman - about 70% of the manual is legal cover-Mazda's-*** crap. Thankfully all this legal nonsense is in little boxes on each page. Just ignore all the boxes and read the other stuff which is actually very useful - especially chapter 8 on maintenance/care. Should only take 10 mins or less for this section.

jonalan

Tell this to Dobbs! My wife took her car a while back to Dobbs for an oil change and they forgot to put the filler cap back on. When she got home, the car smelled of oil (very strong). So I opened the hood - EVERYTHING was covered in oil (including the garage floor). The cap was just setting there on top.

After a bit of reaming, Dobbs cleaned the engine, topped off the oil, gave her 1 year of free oil changes, AND cleaner for the garage floor.

So, to recap - Make sure to put the oil filler cap back on again

jonalan

LOL :D So true!

sferrett

I'm guilty of not putting the filler cap back on in my FC... Luckily no oil came out, I noticed it next time I opened the hood to do something and kicked myself for being such a dumb-***.

I had to get a new filler cap from kragen since the old one was long gone.

So yeah - it sounds stupid, but it's quite easily done if you get distracted.

Also if you're changing the oil - remember to put the drain plug back in before you start filling it up with new oil. (This one I've not managed to do yet)

wakeech

well i've got the third most posts here (like it means something :p), so stop bashing the new guy. we're all welcome here.

eccles

I've been guilty of forgetting the cap, too. It's the sort of thing you only do once.

And a buddy of mine once forgot the drain plug and deposited five litres of Castrol R all over the floor of his workshop. That was an expensive mistake.

sferrett

And a messy one too - lots of kitty litter required to soak up that much oil...

He didn't see the puddle forming after just a couple of litres?

eccles

The bay floor was already covered with "mop" so the puddle didn't spread far. He didn't notice it until he pushed the car over to the other side of the workshop to do an alignment and noticed he was leaving a snail trail. Lucky he didn't try to drive it over there.

RX-EVolved

BLAHHH BLAHHH BLAHHHHHHH.....

I ONCE MET A MANUEL DOWN IN TIJUANA. VERY NICE GUY.:D

P00Man

so i was checking the oil today, looked to be a slightly above the full mark, so i left it, just one question, i had about 380 miles on it at the time (give or take, finished driving today with 409 so its in that area) anyway, it looked to be a little above F, i wiped it and put it back in for a couple rechecks and it was more or less the same, which makes me wonder, could i have been looking at the thing wrong, like holding it at a slight angle or possibly a little dripped down while the dip stick was still verticle.

ive been driving very easily so i suppose it could still be full, but just figured id ask some of the experts on here just in case
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OmegaBob

Sorry of it seemed like I was bashing him... that being said, he WAS bashing Poo.

The # of posts doesn't make anyone smarter than the other anyone else; however, I'd trust the word of a member I know more so than someone new.

Sorry if I offended.

wleonard

Bob:

Just curious...why put an outdated "Main gaming rig" in your sig?

Although I used to be into gaming in my youth, your equipment is a bit dated (read: slow), but cant figure out why put it in a car forum.

mikeb

different strokes for different folks