Ok, I'm back with the photos I promised to post. I really think
anyone could do this oil change themself without much hassle at all. In fact, unlike so many other cars, you shouldn't even need to raise this one off the ground to get the job done.
For starters, you'll need the typical oil changing supplies and 5 qts of which ever motor oil you choose, as the 2.3L needs about 4.5qts. I chose regular Castrol 5w20 for this first change but there are several other brands available. I also bought a universal filter wrench which I found was totally unnecessary once I crawled under the car.
Here's a shot of the familiar 'rats nest' under the hood. I recommend removing the oil filler cap before draining the oil. It helps if the engine is warm as well.
This shows the location of the filter - this is looking at the car from the ground head-on. That is the right front driveshaft on the lower left side of the picture. The tube that comes down in the center of the picture and enters the oil pan is the dipstick tube.
This is a view from underneath the car looking forward. The center of the photo is the drain plug with that built in rubber seal I mentioned which acts as the washer. You can see how far away from the drain plug the oil filter is in this picture. It's about a foot difference, but because the oil arcs out an additional foot when you are draining it, there's no real way to position an oil catch pan to cover both of them at the same time.
Here's the drain plug removed. It is definitely longer than the ones I have seen on other engines. It does have that additional unthreaded end section which I thought might be a magnet, but it's not. I know some manufactures have used the magnet tip before to collect fine particles of metal. The drain plug requires a 15mm socket or combo wrench to remove, or you could make do with a crescent wrench.
Here's a close up of the filter still mounted, seen from the driver's side. As mentioned, no filter wrench is necessary - I was able to remove mine with brute strength. There is a lot of room for your hands to grip it and no need to worry about denting it.
Here is the filter mount. The recessed section at the top is where some oil will still be trapped even after you drain the pan. This oil will spill down on your hand when you remove the filter. I assume you could take a screwdriver and puncture the bottom of the filter to drain it before removal if you don't enjoy getting your hands dirty.
Here's our factory replacement filter. As I said, I didn't have any luck getting a different brand at an AutoZone, but I didn't try any other parts places. I also didn't ask them about a filter for the Mazda 6 2.3L engine which might also work. The receipt I got says that list price for the factory replacement is 6.98, but my local dealer sold it to me for 5.97 + tax. I guess different dealers may be cheaper or more expensive.
I have read that it's a good idea to prefill your oil filter if it's vertically mounted. I have no idea if it provides any real benefit, but I went ahead and did it before screwing it on. I also dabbed a little bit of oil on the filter's rubber gasket to make it easier to remove later.
Then you just need to add in the new oil and check the oil level to make sure it's right. Look under the car once to make sure nothing is leaking and you're done. Make sure you put the filler cap back on too - I know someone who drove away from Jiffy Lube when they had failed to complete that simple step and it was not pretty.
If you want to see a larger version of any of those pictures, simply copy & paste the image URL and add '
.orig.jpg' to the end of it. They're all uploaded at 800x600.
>8^)
ER
P.S.: Please remember to help protect the environment by returning your used oil and filter to a recycling center as opposed to disposing of them by other means.
