Plenty of MX5 owners do their own maintenance, the fact the cars are inherently easy to work on and of course supported by MX5 Parts making it a fun way to bond with your Mazda, as well as saving money on garage fees.
If youve never taken a spanner to your MX5 before were here to help with more than just the parts. And here well talk you through one of the easiest but also most important jobs you can do to get into the swing of DIY maintenance. And thats changing the oil. This guide is for Mk1s and Mk2s, though the principles are the same for any MX5.
Click to watch our 'How To' guide or read on for more details
It goes without saying all engines work best with a sump full of fresh oil and, however many miles you do, its probably something you want to be getting into the habit of doing at least once a year. Work it into your pre-MoT schedule and youve got the perfect incentive. Its a super simple job too, requiring very little in the way of tools and quick and easy to do. If its been a while why not combine with a full plugs and filters change while youre at it the parts can be bought inone affordable package and your car will be set for many more miles of motoring off the back of it. Below well walk you through what you need to do. Before we do that a quick health and safety warning. This job requires jacking the car up and working beneath it, which carries significant risk if you dont know what youre doing. NEVER get beneath a car supported on a jack alone and consider axle stands under the sills a bare minimum. Wheels remaining on the ground should be chocked and you should be certain the car is securely supported before getting beneath it. The other important note is that you must dispose of the used oil and filter responsibly. Most household recycling centres will accept used oil make sure you have an appropriate container to transport the oil there before you start.
What you need:
- Jack, wheel chocks, axle stands
- Rags, something to catch the oil (an old washing up bowl works well), a secure container to transport it for disposal, a large funnel for pouring the fresh oil in
- A large sheet of cardboard to put under the car and catch the inevitable drips and dribbles
- Protective gloves and, possibly, goggles or safety glasses
- 19mm spanner or socket
- Fresh oil, new oil filter, sump plug washer
How to do it:
- Warm the car up to get the oil circulating and up to temperature this will help it flow out of the engine and bring all the gunk and nasties out with it. Keep an eye on the oil pressure gauge rather than the water temperature when this starts dropping at tickover you know the oil is running freely.
- Jack the car up, paying heed to aforementioned safety tips. Lay cardboard under car, make sure you have your catch bowl and spanner to hand before getting beneath it. Open the bonnet.
- Once under the car crack sump plug with spanner until it turns freely by hand. Hold catch bowl as close to the sump as possible and quickly unscrew the plug with your fingers, holding it against the hole for as long as possible before moving smartly away to let the oil flow into the bowl. Caution! The oil will be hot and squirt sideways out of the engine at first so be ready with the bowl and make sure youre positioned so it cant get in your face.
- Leave the bowl in place and remove the oil cap from the cam cover.
- The oil filter is buried beneath the intake manifold and behind the alternator on the drivers side (RHD cars). You can just about see it but youll have to feel around with your hands to unscrew it its about the diameter of a Coke can and has a smooth surface. Hopefully its just hand tight and you can unscrew it easily enough if not you may need a tool to grip it and twist it but space is tight. Good luck Bear in mind the filter is also full of oil so unscrew it as quickly as possible and turn it open side up to keep spillage to a minimum.
- Take the new filter and smear its mating surface and seal with fresh oil. Reverse the removal procedure, feel your way under the intake manifold and screw it back onto the threaded boss. Hand tight is fine youll thank yourself next time you come to do it!
- Look under the car to see if theres still any oil dribbling out. If there is go off and have a cup of tea. If not then you can carefully remove the catch bowl and replace the sump plug with its new washer. Do not over tighten. Have a wipe around while youre under there.
- Youre sure the new filter is in place and youve screwed the sump plug in? OK, time to fill with lovely fresh oil! Insert the funnel into the filler on top of the engine and carefully pour the oil into the engine. When youve put three litres or so in pause and let the oil circulate for a while. This is a good moment to drop the car off its stands, carefully pour the old oil into your container and have a general tidy up.
- Check the level on the dipstick and top up as necessary a Mk1 1.6 takes 3.5 litres of oil in total and a 1.8 up to four litres, so go by the markings on the side of the bottle. You should have enough left in the bottle for future top-ups as necessary. Replace the cap on the top of the engine, start the car and look around the filter and underneath for any obvious leaks.
- Stop the engine, check the level again and top up if required. Keep doing this over the coming days to make sure its bang on. Other than that youre done go for a drive and have fun!
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If you have any questions on how to care for your MX5 please don't hesitate to contact us
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