it is always under the uim perhaps the previous fd had a oil filter relocation kit.

 

forums' fault

 

its not under the uim its under the elbow

take the screw out from the oil pan and let it drain for a few minutes. take the filter off put on a new filter and put some oil where the filter screws into to lubricate it. then close off the oil pan again and fill it up with oil and check it over and over until the level is right on the F

The proper way to check the oil level is to let the car get to operating temp 180 and then turn off the car and wait 5 minutes to check the level.

 

yea under the elbow.. you dont need to take anything off.. i would suggest you go to a Auto store. and get a oil filter remover thing tool.. makes life alot easyer.

 

yeah the oil filter isnt located in the most convenient place or position but it isnt the worst either. Anyway, after you try changing the fuel filter, the oil filter will seem like a blessing, hahahaha.

 

just twist your hand upside down and to the side and you should beable to get to the oilfilter out

 

Let the car sit over night before changing the oil. That way the oil in the filter will have drained out, and you will have less of a mess.

 

Take a screwdriver and puncture the filter, then remove the oil pan screw. Do not do it cold. That is stupid as the oil is thicker. Start the car and turn off when the engine is warm. Wait 10-15 minutes and then start the process.

 

That's exactly how I do it as well.

 

The oil will be thicker when cold, but it will still drain just fine. No one ever has a problem adding oil from a "cold" quart of oil. Cold oil will pour or drain just fine. If you drain when cold, more oil will have drained into the pan. That leaves less oil in the other parts of the engine including the filter. This means that you will remove more of the old contaminated oil when draining. Less mess from removing the filter too. And no reason to bother punching a hole in the filter(more mess).

 

That's not entirely true. I have NEVER made more of a mess when I punched a hole in my filter, however, there have been times where I didn't punch a hole into it and when I removed the filter oil leaked all over. This goes BOTH ways here...

 

When I let it sit over night, and do the oil change cold, the filter is empty. When you remove it, everything stays clean. No drips.

Give it a try next time. Maybe you will like it. I used to do the hole in the filter thing. I think this is an improvement.

 

Shards of ... ?

 

I hard a hard time taking off the oil filter for the first time. I think it was on too tight. Had to take off the intake elbow and use a lot of elbow grease.
Now I don't have any problems taking it off. Don't even have to take off the intake elbow. Just don't tighten the filter so much when you put it on. Also try wearing latex glove when trying to take it off. Gives you more grip than using you dirty/oily hands.
GReddy makes a filter relocation kit. I think it's like $300 bux though.
Not worth it.

 

You must use cheap filters with no anti-drain back valve. Since the filter sits upright the oil drains out unless there is an anti-drain back valve like the stock filter uses. This means on engine start there is going to be a hesitation in oil feed to the motor while the filter fills up.

The stock Mazda filers have them as do the Purolator Pure One filters I use.

 

When you are ready, just try twisting it off with your hand. Maybe it will come right off.