Mazda must have spent thousands developing the hardest place to get your arm when trying to change a oil filter on a mk2. Why Mazda
Thinking back to my MK2 (or was it the MK1) there’s a bracket under the intake manifold, remove that and it’s easier to get a grip or get your oil removal tool on it👍
If you think that’s in s stupid place, if you get to do a filter change on a MK3, the MK2 will seem a breeze.
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Oh blimey, I’ve got a MK3, and was gonna try a filter change myself , …but maybe not 
Mk3 is different 
It’s really easy if you have eyes on the end of your fingers!! It’s actually quite straightforward to get to from underneath but you would need a lift for that really.
Hi PHEONIX22
I am interested to know does the filter drop down easily from the underside?
In two words yes but no😁
It’s easier if the car is on a ramp, a proper garage lift I should say. If doing it at home (me) on the driveway then it’s jack the front NS up and support that area with a jack stand. Crawl under and you can see the filter just forward of the cross brace, it’s in an upright position so any oil it contains should stay there when unscrewed. Not really because it’s needs to be jiggled about to get it down and out. Have plenty of cloths placed under it to catch the oil, it’ll go all over that cross brace🙄
Of course access to it is fiddly laying on your back and trying to get your big chunky hand up there in a tight space. I use a tool to ease the filter loose, again fiddly getting that in and you’ll say who tightened this up on the last oil change, well that was me.
All good fun, love it (not really) but only once a year.
It’s fast approaching that time when this stuff will be a garage job, ho! my aching bones🙄
Think of it a Mazda’s version of rust proofing. Oil gets everywhere underneath about once a year.
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Undo the filter a couple of turns then place either a large ziplock bag or the bottom off a 2l milk carton over the filter. Continue to unscrew and remove. Any oil spill will be captured in the container. You really need the front end up on ramps to get sufficient clearance to easily access the oil filter and to some extent the drain plug on the NC.
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The 2l milk bottle is very good, I will use that idea when I next change the oil on the Mini, thank you.
Good tip, I’m not far off trying that out, oil change imminent.
I’m afraid my oil-changing (and any other home car maintenance actually) days are over - far too old and crotchety now. We have a service & MoT contract with the dealer from which we bought our latest MX-5, so we just let them get on with it. More expensive than doing it yourself obviously, but a lot less stressful.
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When you put the new filter on, smear the rubber gasket with oil or grease. This makes it far easier to free when you need to remove it at a later date. Many garages do not do this and the rubber gasket bonds to the metal sealing surface making it extremely difficult to apply enough torque to break the bond and remove the filter when it is in a restricted area.
Well MickAP and barneypig2 your mail came through as JUNK,far from it it is good sound advice.
I have 2 Trolley Jacks one is high lift and the other is low access and i also have 4 large Axle Stands and a pair of Ramps and various lengths of 7 by 2 timbers.It takes me about 20 mins to get the cars about 2ft 6 off the ground at the wheels and i am not tall and can virtually sit underneath them to work.I do not drive up the Ramps just jack it up as high as i can then lower it on blocks on the ramps.I have extended the Ramps by 6 inches at the high end on the ground side this stops them tilting up to the sills when i jack up the rear of the car and place the Axle Stands where i want them.
Many Thanks Ian.
My method and my car is lowered…
I’ve got a pair of ramps, I drive up maybe half way with the front wheels, a couple of pieces of timber helps me get on the ramps as the front valance would catch on the ramps.
Once on I get under the car and crack open the drain plug but don’t remove it, The drain plug is nearer the OS of the car no engine shield to remove. Back the car off the ramps then jack up the front NS high enough to get under to remove the filter. I can also at this point get a low receptacle under the drain point and remove the loosened plug. Whilst that’s draining deal with the filter.
On standard height cars maybe you can skip the driving on the ramps part to start with and get to the filter and drain plug with just the front NS jacked up.
Anyways it only adds another 5 mins to the process of the oil change using the ramps. Chocking of wheels and the use an axle stand are used for support and safety during the process.
Its only once a year and i get mine as high as i can in order to check the underside of the vehicle for the annual test which i do in comfort on crawling board with lead light run by my generator.I have no electricity in my rented garage.
Hi all.
I use a Draper Expert OFW3 oil filter wrench which works a treat on the MK 3.
Sure it will be just as good on other models.
For the MK3 just be VERY careful about that little hydraulic pipe very close to it, (for those that have not done it before).
You may also need the universal joint drive attachment for your ratchet, (I didn’t).
Just an opinion.