...is hateful.
I'm convinced it was located there by an engineer whose spouse would change the oil on every car in their stable whenever she wanted him to go shopping with her.
...is hateful.
I'm convinced it was located there by an engineer whose spouse would change the oil on every car in their stable whenever she wanted him to go shopping with her.
It's not great. Removing the intake brace makes it much easier, and Keith swears that the brace is unnecessary. Having it up on a 2-post lift does make it easier as well, but the thing dumps oil everywhere no matter what
To be fair, that engine was originally designed for a FWD application.
But yes, the location sucks.
I don't have an intake brace and have no issues reaching the filter. It's much better than a Saab 900 turbo.
My Miata cemented my belief that they are still pissed off about Hiroshima
z31maniac said:To be fair, that engine was originally designed for a FWD application.
But yes, the location sucks.
And the first thing you do to access the filter on a transverse FWD/AWD application is remove the brace 
Also have brace removed... no problems with access.
I've found that letting it sit overnight before removal minimizes the residual oil, and a wad of paper towels is usually sufficient to catch it.
Keith Tanner said:z31maniac said:To be fair, that engine was originally designed for a FWD application.
But yes, the location sucks.
And the first thing you do to access the filter on a transverse FWD/AWD application is remove the brace
Which was is it oriented? Seems like in those applications if the exhaust is to the front, it would still be much easier than in a Miata.
Exhaust in the front, which means that not only is the filter under the intake manifold, it's up against the firewall.
Keith Tanner said:Exhaust in the front, which means that not only is the filter under the intake manifold, it's up against the firewall.
So like in a Honda
I always do the oil changes at the same time I do tire rotations. The filter is easy to access through the wheel well, and if it sits a while, it does not make nearly the mess.
If this seems like a problem, y'all never tried to adjust the valves on a 914, clearly.
In reply to Keith Tanner :
Just like my ZX2SR. The Fiesta, even being reversed is not much easier. My K car 2.2 was the easiest.
Doing an oil change on an older Subaru (like an EJ18) will make you want to kiss a Subaru engineer.
z31maniac said:To be fair, that engine was originally designed for a FWD application.
It sucks majorly in a front driver, too.
One of the great things about the Duratec/MZR is the oil filter is RIGHT THERE.
But on the 1.5/1.6 engine, the oil cooler is below the filter and you get oil all over the nest of coolant hoses no matter what you do.
Keith Tanner said:Doing an oil change on an older Subaru (like an EJ18) will make you want to kiss a Subaru engineer.
After having three EA82 engined cars, my mind is still hanging up on EJ engines being in an "older" Subaru.
Keith Tanner said:Doing an oil change on an older Subaru (like an EJ18) will make you want to kiss a Subaru engineer.
... or a VW engineer on a 2011 GTI. Spin off filter is on the top side of the engine, but doesn’t leak a drop when you remove it. Somewhat pricey at $12=each, but worth it compared to the mess on our 2014 Accord.
In reply to Keith Tanner :
L series Datsun.
If they'd put the drain plug on the side of the oil pan, you could've changed it from the top.
Knurled. said:Keith Tanner said:Doing an oil change on an older Subaru (like an EJ18) will make you want to kiss a Subaru engineer.
After having three EA82 engined cars, my mind is still hanging up on EJ engines being in an "older" Subaru.
Maybe it was an EA. Whatever's in a 1986 wagon, before Subaru discovered model names. But the EJs aren't bad either.
Wikipedia says the EJ18 was last sold in the US 18 years ago, BTW
einy said:Keith Tanner said:Doing an oil change on an older Subaru (like an EJ18) will make you want to kiss a Subaru engineer.
... or a VW engineer on a 2011 GTI. Spin off filter is on the top side of the engine, but doesn’t leak a drop when you remove it. Somewhat pricey at $12=each, but worth it compared to the mess on our 2014 Accord.
I did ONE oil change on my 2.0 1999.5 VW Golf. It was not a good experience.
For some reason, 2011 TSI in the GTI and other models was made easy to do oil changes on. Much earlier or later had a hateful spin on plastic thingy with a filter element in it, but the 2011 is a easy to change spin on canister with a check valve in it. Why they went away from what is in mine is a mystery to me!
OldGray320i said:In reply to Keith Tanner :
L series Datsun.
If they'd put the drain plug on the side of the oil pan, you could've changed it from the top.
RX-7. They DID put the drain plug on the side of the oil pan, and you CAN change the oil from the top.
On the flipside, this is on a stripped down car. On my all-stock '80, the A/C compressor and hoses and such made me realize it was easier to change the sparkplugs from underneath. They needed changing every 3000mi, so I just did them at every oil change while it was up on a lift anyway.
Keith Tanner said:einy said:Keith Tanner said:Doing an oil change on an older Subaru (like an EJ18) will make you want to kiss a Subaru engineer.
... or a VW engineer on a 2011 GTI. Spin off filter is on the top side of the engine, but doesn’t leak a drop when you remove it. Somewhat pricey at $12=each, but worth it compared to the mess on our 2014 Accord.
I did ONE oil change on my 2.0 1999.5 VW Golf. It was not a good experience.
Want to know how I know you had power steering?
It's particularly bad with the Mazdaspeed because of the extra array of plumbing. I couldn't access the filter from the front even with the intake brace removed. At this point, I can pretty much remove and reinstall the filter blindfolded, but it's still a pain. Stuffing a plastic bag under the filter sometimes catches the oil. Early on, the Miata Club recommended using a diaper to catch oil spilling from the filter when it's unthreaded.
I changed the filter in the challenge car dead cold. Wasn’t enough spillage to even break out a can of brake clean...
Cartridge filter stuck INTO the block of the Audi 4.2 V8 that required removing parts of the air intake just to access. And comes out upward pouring oil all over everything.
First time I ever had to go to the youtubes just to figure out where an oil filter even was! Stupid Germans!!
Any inline BMW motor built in the last 40 years is pretty easy (can't speak to the latest generation, but at least up to the N5x engines). Either a canister fairly high on the left side of the block or a cartridge right up front level with the valve cover, both accessible from the top.
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