Oil Leak From Oil Filter Housing

[m3-4me]

I had my mazda parked in the garage, over night when I took it out the next morning I heard an engine noise, around 2 grand, I stopped the car and looked under the hood but could not see any leaks or sounds from the engine. The next day after hearing it while driving again I had a few minutes to really check it out. I pulled it into my garage and checked the oil the dip stick was dry.... and my garage floor was full of oil. I had the car towed into the dealership. They told me it was the oil filter housing which is plastic and holds the filter into the engine, it cracked and all my oil leaked out. The oil engine light did not come on, and the temperature gauge stayed in its normal range. The dealer said it was the second one to come in cracked. Has any one else had this problem, it seems pretty serious to me to be driving around with no oil or very little left in the engine. The dealer didnt seem to think so, Im sure if the engine blew up they as well as Mazda might have a different opinion of things, all for a cheaply made 5 dollar part.

[Skarbro]

http://www.torontomazda3.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=16142&highlight=problem

[majic]

you're not the only one (http://www.torontomazda3.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=16142).. let us know how it turns out... has it been dealer serviced?

good luck!

EDIT: damn you scarbs! ;) except my link is cleaner so nnnnnah!

[Skarbro]

Heh....

[wtom]

They told me it was the oil filter housing which is plastic and holds the filter into the engine, it cracked and all my oil leaked out.


I have a feeling "no" but can you confirm that you had your last oil change done at a dealership's service dept.?

[mazda lover]

Another reason to do the housing conversion to the spin on filter

[m3-4me]

Yes I have had all of my oil changes done at the dealership, and by their attitude, it was like they couldnt care less,(that the car was run with out oil on the dip stick) when I pushed the issue they did say they would check the engine out for me, I never did recieve any thing on my bill stating that I had a loss of oil, only that I had a cracked cap. Im going to be heading back to the dealer to have that info added to the bill just in case of long term damage that might have been done to the engine. Ive had the car back for just over a week now and its running great so far, Im just hoping to be able to get a few more years (like 10 lol) of problem free driving from it. I read the other thread from the guy who changed his own oil, and if the dealer can crack it with all their information, and the proper tool, I have to wonder why he has to pay 500 dollars. I have a feeling that one day soon there is going to be a recall on this part, as changing the part is a whole lot cheaper then replacing even a few engines. This problem is not going to go away proper wrench or not, dealer oil change or doing it yourself. Its of my opinion after seeing the crack in the part that it is and was defective and should have never been put on an engine in the first place, to keep the oil in. There is a saying that your only as strong as your weakest link, and this main part is weak. Keep an eye on the ground, your oil light, and your dip stick, and keep your oil in the engine. Happy driving cause my mazda still makes me smile.

[Skarbro]

Another reason to do the housing conversion to the spin on filter

It's not advised if your car is still under warranty. The dealer would be quick to deny an engine failure claim if you make the conversion.

I'm going to wait until after my warranty is over to do the conversion.

[mazda lover]

It's not advised if your car is still under warranty. The dealer would be quick to deny an engine failure claim if you make the conversion.

I'm going to wait until after my warranty is over to do the conversion.

They would have to prove that the conversion was the cause of a engine failure. If the engine fails convert back to the canister and then take the car in. I am no expert but I see no difference between a plastic canister with a removable paper filter to a spin on with the fixed paper filter inside a metal container. A friend of mine owns a 1956 Chev and Oldsmobile worth more together than 5 mazda 3s and guess what, he did the canister conversion to the spin on filter 5 years ago. Would you think he would do it if he thought it would cause a problem to his expensive cars. This system was used over 50 years ago. check out www.boyistheoilguy.com

[Skarbro]

They would have to prove that the conversion was the cause of a engine failure. If the engine fails convert back to the canister and then take the car in. I am no expert but I see no difference between a plastic canister with a removable paper filter to a spin on with the fixed paper filter inside a metal container. A friend of mine owns a 1956 Chev and Oldsmobile worth more together than 5 mazda 3s and guess what, he did the canister conversion to the spin on filter 5 years ago. Would you think he would do it if he thought it would cause a problem to his expensive cars. This system was used over 50 years ago. check out www.boyistheoilguy.com (http://www.boyistheoilguy.com)

It's not that difficult to lay blame on a converted oil filter. It directly affects the oil, which directly protects the engine. You would likely end up in an argument that you won't win.

[FLIPDADY]

The spin-on filter is made for the 2.0 only. Converting your 2.3 to spin on is up to you.

[RedRaptor]

It's not advised if your car is still under warranty. The dealer would be quick to deny an engine failure claim if you make the conversion.


There is ZERO truth in this statement.

[Skarbro]

There is ZERO truth in this statement.

Care to elaborate?

Like Flippy points out, the spin-on is designed for the 2.0, not the 2.3.

It seems to me that modifying a component that directly affects the engine can be easily blamed for engine failure. A lot of dealers would look for ANYTHING to get out of having to replace a whole engine under warranty and this is an obvious flag.

[Skarbro]

...and by engine I mean the motor. ;)

[RedRaptor]

Care to elaborate?

Like Flippy points out, the spin-on is designed for the 2.0, not the 2.3.


Mazda has a "conversion kit" that can convert 2.3L to use the spin-on. If you have the conversion done by a Mazda dealership and the papers to back it up, why would Mazda void your warranty if anything was to happen to your engine? Especially when they did the work for you?

Of course, if you went ahead with due diligence and converted it yourself, THEN if anything should happen, Mazda would most likely void your warranty. But that goes without saying and is no different then messing up your DIY oil change.

The spin on and cartridge are just two different types of oil filters. It is not rocket science, if you get it done "properly" at the dealership, you are fine.

Joe pointed out that the 2.0L comes with the spin on. When you convert your 2.3L to a spin on, there are no ill effects.

[wtom]

I'm going to wait until after my warranty is over to do the conversion.

... happily playing with the stereo power button

http://www.precizion.org/ken/Mazda%203/Avatar/Mazda3%20Top%20Gear%20Skarbro.gif

hahaha

And mazda3_4u is referring to the url BobIsTheOilGuy.com (http://www.bobistheoilguy.com)

[Skarbro]

I think it goes without saying that if you can get the dealership to do it for you, then you're ok, since they are taking the burden of responsibility - I agree with you.

I've never heard of an actual Mazda "conversion kit" though. From what I understand, the parts aren't intendended for conversions, but rather they're used as replacement parts for cars that already have them. I've PMed Joe for more info - and to see if the dealer is willing to do it while under warranty. If this really exists, then that certainly is promising!

Like I've implied in my first post - I prefer the spin-on and plan on doing it after the warranty runs out. But if I can get them to do it earlier and still honour the warranty, then that's a different story. I've never said that you will get any ill effects from the spin-on filter - other than warranty woes. ;)

[RedRaptor]

Then you will be pleased to find out that I've already done the research and you can get it done at a dealership. I honestly don't think a knowledgable guy like MajesticBlueNTO would get the conversion done to spin on if it was a "hack" solution for 2.3L. The engine block is the same for the 2.0L and 2.3L, like I said its just two different oil filters at the bottom.

[Skarbro]

Well Majesticbluento did the conversion after his warranty ran out - that is what I was led to believe in the other thread. So voiding the warranty is not a concern of his.

(I have some more info to post later on the parts/warranty. Just waiting for a response...)

But in the meantime - you have to ask yourself - why did they use the different filter styles on the 2.0 and 2.3? Everyone knows that the blocks are the same. It would seem to make sense to use the same parts to cut production costs. There has to be some answer, likely sitting in a Mazda engineer's notes somewhere....

[MajesticBlueNTO]

But in the meantime - you have to ask yourself - why did they use the different filter styles on the 2.0 and 2.3? Everyone knows that the blocks are the same. It would seem to make sense to use the same parts to cut production costs. There has to be some answer, likely sitting in a Mazda engineer's notes somewhere....

so that the dealership techs could quickly see which engine they were working on :)

[Skarbro]

so that the dealership techs could quickly see which engine they were working on :)

LOL I think a 2.3 stamp would have been easier. :)

[Skarbro]

Ok here's more info from Flippy...

There is no such thing as a "conversion kit". All it is is the housing from the 2.0 engine. (This is just semantics - no big deal really - I'm sure we all knew this)

Flippy's MoT cost for parts and labour is $189.29 + taxes.

The parts are not covered under warranty.

[mazda lover]

The spin-on filter is made for the 2.0 only. Converting your 2.3 to spin on is up to you.


Another reason for a spin on conversion. Even if you have the dealer do your oil changes this could still happen and they won't tell you.
http://www.filtercouncil.org/techdata/tsbs/88-3R2.html

Also at www.bobistheoilguy.com search "Crooked hour glass shaped boutique cartridge filter" but this thread is about different filter manufacture