Anybody had this problem where the canister cracks and leaks oil? Have had Mazda do all my oil changes and then they tell me I have a cracked canister and I need a new one? Not a warranty issue either. Also, can you buy the tool to take the canister off? I think I am just going to do my own oil changes from now on! Thanks for your help....Kevin

 

Hi Kevin,

You need to share with us the year, model, and engine of your car in order for us to think this thru with you. Thanks!

David

 

I had an oil filter crack on a previous vehicle my wife had (Subaru Outback) that caused the oil to spray down the bottom of the engine. She didn't realize it as it was nighttime, but she was putting off a James Bond style smoke screen behind her as the oil cooked on the exhaust system of the car.

Had she not been paying attention she could have easily cooked the motor. (Turned engine off as soon as the oil light went on.)

 

It's an 05 3.0 liter. The guy at the dealership told me you needed a "special tool" to get the oil filter off! I was not happy to find out that the "special tool" was 4.49 at Auto Zone, and is called an oil filter wrench! Well, problem is fixed and I will be changing my own oil from now on. The mazda dealership here might not be as friendly as most.

 

I thought the 2.3 was the only engine with the canister setup.

http://www.mazdastuff.com/product.cfm?ProductID=2176

http://www.mazdastuff.com/product.cfm?ProductID=2175

 

My 06 also has the 3.0 with the canister style fliter. Thought that setup was long left to history. Wonder what Mazda was thinking - a spin on is much easier to work with in my opinion. I haven't had to change oil yet as the car is new to me with a fresh change. I was also shocked that the canister is plastic - how could this possibly be good? Wonder if you should just plan on replacing it every so often?

 

I've read countless horror stories about fried engines due to leaks centered around the plastic filter housing, so at first I was hesitant to do my own oil changes...until.....I spoke with the parts manager at El Dorado Mazda and he said the only canister setups he's seen fail are the ones that were not operated properly. He mentioned scary stuff like people using pipe wrenches, etc. to get them off or tighten them, severely over-torquing them, crossthreading, etc. I'm not sure what grade of plastic this is, but I think if you take care of it by using the proper tools and torquing it according to specs, you won't have a problem. I also do not remove the drain plug...I just remove it like a normal filter. It's a messy job either way, so why give yourself one more o-ring to worry about?

Ikeep a spare housing in my garage in case, despite being very careful, I do something to damage mine. That way I'm not stranded at home if something happens. IMO, if you take your time and get used to how it works, it's no different than a normal filter.

 

I have a 2007 Mazda 3 S GT with the stock 2.3 oil filter canister. I swapped the 2.3 engine out with a 2.5 engine from a 2011 Mazda 3 S. It came with the adapter so you can just screw on one of the WIX or FRAM oil filters. When I compared the oil filter adapters, the bolt pattern was the same four bolts with a fixed gasket so I just stuck with that. I hate oil filter canisters because with the expansion and contraction with heat cycling of the engine and, being a plastic part, it seems a part bound to fail and not last the life of the vehicle. In fact, I used to daily drive a Mercedes SUV and had to replace the canister on it after 70k miles. There wasn't even noticeable damage on the canister and I used the special installation tool properly torqueing it every single time and it still developed a leak. Only replacing the whole canister fixed it. The canister cost the same as several WIX oil filters. Given my example is for a 2.3 inline 4 and 2.5 inline 4 engines, you might be able to change the whole oil filter adapter for one where you could just screw on a whole new oil filter each time. That would lead to faster and easier oil changes while not likely ever experiencing a leak from the housing itself. On the 2.3 and 2.5 the adapter is at the bottom of the engine and easy to get to. Attached are pictures are examples of what's installed in my Mazda 3.