Oil collected on the undercover doesn't automatically indicate a cracked head, however a burning oil smell inside the cabin with the engine running is almost always the definitive symptom of an NA cracked head. So, do you have that burning oil smell inside of the cabin?

 

LOL...
All these pictures are great but really don't help much. Speculation from those not physically seeing the engine supports auto-hypochondriasis.
The vehicle should be taken to a qualified service shop or the dealership and let them inspect and find the origin of the leak.

Also new or older member posting on a thread started by another member no matter the age of the thread is sort of counterproductive to helping any member with what they conclude to be a similar service-related problem. Start your own thread about your Mazda and problems. EVERY VEHICLE is different no matter how close you think the problem is.
ASE

 

OK .... then!

Maybe use a different descriptive wording instead of "burning smell" you smelled motor oil! There is a BIG difference. For one if oil was burning it would have been dripping on an exhaust part in which case you would have also seen a small degree of smoke. Hopefully before the oi dripped on the CAT and then the burning smell would be your engine compartment on fire.

But I am glad that YOU found your oil problem. Other members should realize that oil can have many locations of leaking, and not all are similar to what other have so a better and more accurate way to determine where it is coming from instead of assuming all oil leaks are related together.
We get many customer yearly like yourself that come into the shop and state that they think their head is cracked or the head gasket is leaking because of exactly the description you posted (may that why they read it? lol ) Yet we find it came for a simple valve cover gasket, sender/sensor or other area NOT a cracked head.

 

​​​​​​As a matter of fact, that was how I discovered the problem. I started to notice the burning smell inside the cabin with the recycle air instead of fresh air. The leak was minimal so it didn't leave much oil on the ground since a few drop of leaks are burnt through the heat of the exhaust cover and the wind. I am sure there's a different smells of different degree of burning oil, I might not be able to differentiate the smells of burning oil in different temperatures but I definitely can differentiate between engine oil and burning engine oil. Unless they open the engine, it's all probability and of course the dealer will say it with high probability since they've seen similar problems. I did bring it to the dealer and they emailed me the video. All they did was raise the car up with engine on, showed couple spots of the drips and concluded it was a cylinder head cracked. I already knew that through my research and because I did the same thing. The crack can be anywhere in the back so it will drip to different places and it would be impossible to see the exact location because of the manifold.

 

So now you have become an expert Automotive Diagnostic Technician or Mechanic??

 

Hi, Thank you so much for the help. I'm in Mass, and decided to bring to the dealer and see what they come up with.

At first they told my it was the timing chain cover leaking and between the diagnostic fee and the job it was just under $1500. I called and asked if they were sure and he told me they were aware of the head problem but it was definitely leaking from the cover. I was happy with that and approved the job. Today they called with the news that it was also the head leaking and it would need a head.

Here was their offer, which I was more than happy with. They are going to replace the head at no extra charge to me above the $1500 I approved for the timing chain cover leak. The service manager said Mazda was going to cover $2700 of the job and they would cover the rest. They will also be giving me a loaner in a couple of days while the work is being done. He said it will probably be a couple of weeks to complete the job.

Thank you again for your help, and I will let you know how it goes,
Dave

 

Glad that it works out for you.