Changing oil filter Grrr

[Beati Dogu]

227bhp said:

You won't find the oil filter by pushing your arm up the exhaust.

Aye veterinary. That's more keyhole surgery.

[MXRod]

Removing strut brace and turret,will be my next move,then with son ,the various suggestions made ,hopefully the strap wrench with the two of us above and below should do the trick,he has slim arms unlike me 😁
To be continued......

[MXRod]

Finally sorted , removed strut brace , and mounting turret , and with the strap wrench done in no time , look closely and you can see the shiny new filter

[buzzer]

well done!

[MX-5 Lazza]

Good job. I hope you didn't use the strap to fit the new one.

[Ricardus]

I did this on my 1.8 mk2.5 a couple of weeks back. Some goit had overtightened the oil filter and I couldn't shift it. Eventually I had to use a chain wrench (I used to use these to take the suspension spheres off a Citroen BX) to shift the thing.
Hand tightened back up this time.

[finishing touch]

I did mine yesterday for the first time. This is my first mx5 and I've only had it three weeks. A Mk 2.5 S-VT.

I too removed the strut brace. I think they must be made by Gillette or Wilkinson with the sharp edges that they have.
Note to self:- must make a nice shiny new one from stainless pipe, all nice and rounded.

Already made the repackable stainless back box in 2.5" to deepen the sound.

The only fault the car has is that it's fitted with a stereo. What's that all about?
The rush of air through your hair, the squeal of tyres, the exhaust note, the roar of oil & the smell of the crowd.
What more do you need? Sod the stereo.

Paul G

another note to self:- a set of 15's , et 25 or 30. Fast road set up. Roll bar. Book a track day. The list goes on.

[caelite]

finishing touch said:

Already made the repackable stainless back box in 2.5" to deepen the sound.

The only fault the car has is that it's fitted with a stereo. What's that all about?
The rush of air through your hair, the squeal of tyres, the exhaust note, the roar of oil & the smell of the crowd.
What more do you need? Sod the stereo.
.

Hehe, what I would give to be able to weld, would absolutely love a centre exit exhaust for my 5 as I absolutely love the look of them. Would rather not pay IL Motorsports £400 for just a backbox though

Also, at least your stereo actually works, in my mk2.5, on a long winter commute with the hardcap on, I put the radio on and get sound out of a total of 2 out of the 6 speakers , I believe there is a loose wire somewhere behind the dash.

[finishing touch]

caelite said:

finishing touch said:

Already made the repackable stainless back box in 2.5" to deepen the sound.

The only fault the car has is that it's fitted with a stereo. What's that all about?
The rush of air through your hair, the squeal of tyres, the exhaust note, the roar of oil & the smell of the crowd.
What more do you need? Sod the stereo.
.

Hehe, what I would give to be able to weld, would absolutely love a centre exit exhaust for my 5 as I absolutely love the look of them. Would rather not pay IL Motorsports £400 for just a backbox though

Also, at least your stereo actually works, in my mk2.5, on a long winter commute with the hardcap on, I put the radio on and get sound out of a total of 2 out of the 6 speakers , I believe there is a loose wire somewhere behind the dash.

Stereo is both rears squealing in harmony. Obviously a drift would be quadraphonic.


My back box. Now go get some welding tuition.

[S7Paul]

My daughter has had 2 Mk 2.5 Sports. I always removed the strut brace and turrets as a single item, then used a strap wrench and short extension to get the filter off. It is tricky though, as you've found. Looking at the photo above, the plate with the connectors attached is rubber-mounted. I always used to pull that as far out of the way as the mounts would allow, and then cable tie it. That gave a little more clearance and meant that I left less skin & blood on the car!

[Perseverant]

I agree the filter is not the most accessible, but though I'm right handed I can squeeze my left hand down far enough to grip the filter. The current car's been fine but I remember with the previous one using a spike of some sort to puncture the blasted thing followed by a screwdriver to act as a handle or lever.

[itcaptainslow]

My trusty oil filter pliers have never let me down when servicing my Dad's Mk2.5. Don't have to remove the strut brace either, just angle the pliers in, use them to crack it off and unscrew by hand. Smear of grease on the new one and do up by hand only. Easy!

[fatjon]

I had a nightmare with one a couple of years ago. Tried the filter socket and just twisted up the filter, tried the screwdriver throu it trick and ripped it to shreds but it still hung on. Eventually got very violent with a lump hammer and a long chisel right on the rim of the filter and got it loose. I fitted the filter myself, not over tightened and been on less than 6 months. I replaced it with a K&N branded one with a big solid hex nut shape on the end of it. Much easier the next time.

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=mx5+K%26N+oil+fi...

[Charles-7w587]

Instead of removing the strut brace etc, I’d recommend the filter removal tool in the picture. They come in a set of two, the smaller of the pair goes down to 63mm and is *just* small enough to undo the filter on a mk2/2.5 mx5. It works with a 1/2” socket, and I’d recommend using a small extension on your ratchet (2-3”) to get the ideal clearance.

I’d also recommend investing in a decent pair of gloves. I use ‘Mechanix’ gloves normally, but for gripping things ‘wonder grip’ have a range that cost about a fiver. They look like glorified marigolds, but offer excellent grip and some protection to your wrists and back of hands if you try to unscrew the filter manually.

Either of these options will save you a helluva lot of time compared to removing the strut brace or having to access the filter via the wheel arch. The ‘massive chisel and club hammer’ or ‘fire a screwdriver through the filter’ options both work, but if they fail you’ve potentially got an undriveable car. Speaking from experience!

[Turn7]

Ive no expereince of these cars, but is it any easier access wise, from underneath ? Most cars are built to be worked on by Techs with ramps.....

[anonymous-user]

Charles-7w587 said:

Instead of removing the strut brace etc, I’d recommend the filter removal tool in the picture. They come in a set of two, the smaller of the pair goes down to 63mm and is *just* small enough to undo the filter on a mk2/2.5 mx5. It works with a 1/2” socket, and I’d recommend using a small extension on your ratchet (2-3”) to get the ideal clearance.

I’d also recommend investing in a decent pair of gloves. I use ‘Mechanix’ gloves normally, but for gripping things ‘wonder grip’ have a range that cost about a fiver. They look like glorified marigolds, but offer excellent grip and some protection to your wrists and back of hands if you try to unscrew the filter manually.

Either of these options will save you a helluva lot of time compared to removing the strut brace or having to access the filter via the wheel arch. The ‘massive chisel and club hammer’ or ‘fire a screwdriver through the filter’ options both work, but if they fail you’ve potentially got an undriveable car. Speaking from experience!

No, I have one of those and it's crap. What you want is a cup filter wrench sized to fit the mx5 oil filter - for a mk1 with a genuine Mazda oil filter it's 68mm , 14 flutes , £7.79 from Amazon:

"Laser 6368.0 Oil Filter Wrench, 68 mm x 14 Flutes, 3/8-inch Dia "

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Laser-6368-0-Filter-Wrenc...

Trust me, I've used both types and you will find the job massively easier and less fuss with one of these cup types, no arms to wobble around, it gets a perfect grip on the filter every time and cannot slip.

[finishing touch]

There's only 4 nuts hold a strut brace. How long to undo 4 nuts ????


I also go the whole hog and release the two M6's that hold the carbon filter thing, then its in with the 901 or 902 (depending on filter make) then jobs done.

You can buy the pair for under £7 on eBay.

Paul G

[MXRod]

Oh this thread had woken up !
The strut brace and support tower took no time at all and additional access made all the difference.

[J-Tuner]

Just as another option - i have one of these :



Works a treat. Slip it on the filter then 1/4inch ratchet on the smaller squares for leverage. That said a gripper glove would be my next choice -- i always scratch the st out of my forearm doing it from above though!

Can get the above from Jass Performance

Cheers

Steve