Mk1 Oil Filters i swear i will kill someone !

Technical Area Routine Servicing
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 Hi folks, felt i just had to share my experience of todays 1st service. Man what a day !!

This is my first MX5 but not my first service by far. Easy start, plugs done, air filter done, so far so good. Car on ramps, check. Oil flush in hand…hold on i thought best check i can get the sump plug off 1st. Problem one, does my socket set fit …nah does it heck too big, never mind seek out the 19 mm spanner…lost damn ! Anyway find a flexible socket head thing now were cooking. Er no…some £$£^ss has clearly torqued the plug too much. Nearly pulling the car on me :slight_smile: crack ! sump plug comes loose, thank god. Re-tighten …

Back out from under car, knock over engine flush…aw sugar !! why didnt i screw the damn top on, any half a bottle’s better than none ! Run engine 10 mins or so back under with lovely oil catcher, fancy thing that collects and stores for the trip to the tip you know the thing. Loosen sump plug, drop it, falls into the oil catcher, promplty blockss the oil drain hole, 4 litres of oil soon flowing down the drive !!!  Idiot here thinks grab the plug , feck that oils hot , ow , ow , ow!!

Never mind just the filter to go, nearly done. If only, behnd the alternator ??? you sure, look again. Oh yes, your joking wtf !! who the hell puts it there ? Ok grab it best i can, twist…nothing, stuck aw for f’s sake. Call the wife in ! skinny arms, twist swear , walk off. Mmmmm. Grip isn’t a problem this thing clearly was fitted by the gorilla that fitted the sump plug !

1 hour later, sand paper, Marrigolds etc strewn across the garden no way…god damn this car…pile in other car down to spares shop, need one of the cap type wrench’s me thinks. Oh yes they sell em, Citroen, Audi, Renault…Mazda ??? NO. Try this strap wrench sir only £5…drive home.

Still with me ?  Strap wrenches are crap, twists funny and dents the filter now theres no going back. We’re like 2-3 hours in here just getting this damn filter off. My arms are bleeding and sore, the damn thing ain’t moved one mm. Why oh why is it in such a crap place, even the “stab it with a screwdriver and twist” is out of the question.

Sit on the step and sulk for 30 mins…

Ok try once more with the strap different angle…PRAISE THE LORD !! the damn thing shifts…Big Smile this is like 4 hours now.

Fit new filter, refill with oil. Wait for it…

Reverese of ramps and drive over 1/2 litre pot of Copperslip grease, oh for the love of God !!!

Never mind, my drives covered in oil and copper grease and so is my tyre, my arms are cut, bleeding and sore but that damn oil filter that cost £4 is fitted and i feel better for it !

Some days are destined to be bad no matter what you do. Keep smiling tomorrow may be sunny !!!

Ps. To rub salt in the wounds went back to the shop today and they have reduced the oil from £20 to £14 1 week after i bought it ! rofl !!! it can’t get any better !

 

 

 

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 Know how you feel, many years ago doing a service on a Mk 1 mini. All done just the oil to put in, filter tight, plugs changed 25 thou gap, points done 15 thou gap, air filter done, tappets done, rule of nine.  Yep all ok. Eight and a half pints to go in the mini so upend the gallon of Duckhams 20/50 and wait for it to run in. Then the missus says, ‘Why is that oil pouring all over the floor?’ Bugger, isn’t that the sump plug sitting on the wing?? Yup! It was! Sooooo! Lots of mopping up, go and buy another can of Duckhams and put the plug back this time before refilling. Only done it the once but that was enough!

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 Oh dear, sounds like you have had a bit of a Mr.Bean day!Hitting head on wall

Better luck for tomorrowThumbs up

Dr. EunosGeek

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 Thats great,you poor sod,never mind all done now time to enjoy.

I never get tied of hearing stories over the oil filter on these roadsters,and i can never understand why,in 20 odd years i have only ever hit one that was a barstuard to get off,if you get the right tools it is dead easy

One of theses cheap things will do the job,it will go down small enough to fit the after market oil filter also…

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/OIL-FILTER-REMOVER-REMOVAL-TOOL-BS07002-CAR-BIKE-/280670363502?pt=UK_Hand_Tools_Equipment&hash=item415941df6e

But saying that if they are done every year ,you should never have a problem removing them by hand?did you smear a little oil on the oring seal before fitting up?

But thanks for the story, and being dead honest, i gave me a real good laugh, i just wish i had been there to see it and film it.

Fight the good fight buddy.Thumbs up

M-m

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Made my morning reading you had the same problems as me getting the dam filter off.

In my case it was early evening, sun going down and I thought I’d give it one last go to get to the filter…with my arm at angles it was never designed for and gritting my teath to ignore the burns from the hot engine, success it turned a little.

I was a man possessed, car on ramps, trolley jack in place, sum plug off (what a sod), oil into the wifes washing up bowl, dash to Asda for some new oil. Its now 9pm and going very dark. Can I get the new filter back on, flaming impossible, I can turn it a few mm. at a time but can’t pick up the thread, it’s slipping from my grasp, oh god if I drop it I’ll never find it again.  I’ve got cramp, wrenched shoulder mussles and cuts and burns which are now starting to swell up, it’s going past 10pm by now. Decide to dangle my teenage daughter over the engine and see if her delicate arms can get the sod in place, she’s not impressed and the wifes spotted her washing up bowl apparently its the only one in that colour and I’ll never get another “they just don’t make them”.

At last the filters on, I think. Is it cross threaded, should I take it off to double check, no it seems ok. Is it too loose or too tight, god knows but it feels about right. Sump plug time, where’s my torque wrench, its pitch black by now, convince myself its better to check the torque tommorow when the engines warmed up. In with the new oil, its delicious pure synthetic like honey.

Fire her up, 1 secs. of HLA ticking then silence, oh she sounds soooo… smooth. Check for leaks, go for a quick blast. Get back after midnight and go to bed happy and contented and stuffed with paracetomol and nurofen to take away the pain.

 

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 Welcome to our world, eh Wayne?

You should try changing the oil pressure sender unit on the side of the block while the engine is still in the car, now that IS fun!Hitting head on wall Lol!

Dr. EunosGeek

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 I had a similar situation quite recently.

I decided to change my HT leads - not difficult I hear you say, but we must always remember that toast lands butter side down!. Well two hours later and much swaering the job was completed. What was the problem? Removed No 1 to 3 leads - then the final lead. Removed this from the sparkplug and then from the coil pack, however the lead broke just as it goes into the coil pack.

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For sure not a lot of room no matter which way you come at it for the attack,the USA instructions are great,dead easy, if only,but we have all the steering gear in the way alsoRolling eyes

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LOL! At least the OP’s oil was on his drive.

Years back a mate & I decided to change the oil on his Capri before an evening scatter rally.

No problem with filter or sump plugs, dashed through the process easily and ready to go and rally.

Mate reverses Capri out of the garage and onto the (steeply sloping) road outside - at which point the non-tightened filter unwinds itself and drops onto the road, along with most of the fresh oil that was pumped out quick-smart!

Holy cr@p Batman! I can categorically state that fresh oil is massively harder to break down and clear up than old stuff. We had a couple of gallons of degreaser and the hose out on the oil slick and all we got was an even larger and still extremely slippery slick that extended down the hill about 50m to the T junction at the end.

I know that it was still extremely slippery because, despite our best efforts to slow cars before they reached the spill, not a single one could stop until they had slithered down to the junction and bumped across the kerb and gentle stopped by a hedge - fortunately without damage.  Embarassed

BIG lesson learned there - it’s never happened again…

 

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 Andy you think car oil is slippery - some of the race bike oil now being used is amazing never seen anything like it , not good on the exit of Graham Hill bend !

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 Andy’s “slip up” should have been captured for You’ve Been Framed.Big Smile

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 surely back then I would have been “It`ll be allright on the night!” eh Andy?

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Darn it Steve - I have a horrible feeling you might be right there.

Still, it means that you’re old enough to remember as well so it doesn’t make me feel quite such an old git!

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 That post made my day… thanks for sharing the “fun”!Devil

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It’s easy! All you need to do is remove the two bolts holding the bracket for the throttle body and when the bracket is removed you can get both hands in the gap. Especially if you have deleted the charcoal cannister.

Some people run without the bracket all together.

I did mine yesterday, and it was done up tight by the gorilla that fitted it (me :wink: )

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no it should be all tight on the night

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 doh!

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Oh Alan…

Go and get an holicksWink,and get that dog from under the bed before your good lady gets homeShock

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Wazza - well you certainly gave me a good laugh - well done!  Big Smile

For anybody that doesn’t want trouble with removing oil filters, and there even more difficult to get at on a 2.5 like mine, get yourself the Oil Filter removal cups 65mm and 68mm.  You need both because Mazda OEM filters for Mk1/2/2.5 come up in both sizes and you could get (or have) either.  You’ll get the two for about £15 on ebay.

So easy with one of them.  I personally have found the claw type difficult to grip and use properly in the confined space you have to get your hand in on my 2.5.  The cups are easy and for approx £15 it isn’t worth the debacle Hitting head on wall that Wazza has had.