Whenever I have my 8's oil changed at the dealer, they fill it all the way past the second mark which i suppose is the high mark.
Is that right??????

 

Sounds like they have overfilled you.

 

Check your air filter, if they overfill enough, it overflows down the 'blow-by' tube, into the bottom of the air filter.

(I have a nice new filter now.)

S

 

they overfilled.... they did the same thing on my 8, these morons don't realize that the 8 takes less oil on a change than a typical car

i took it back and had them change it, too much oil can damage your engine as the manual says.... bring the manual and show them

 

I am so pissed. This is the second oil change where they put in the wrong oil. These Mercury dealers are not used to using 5W-20 oil. I get my new brakes this week and will address this wit hthe service manager. Thanks for the head up on the overflow, I will check my oil here in a few, and my air filter.

 

Also check the 'valleys' in the intake's accordian tube... it may not have found it's way into the airbox yet.

 

Speaking of bad oil changes, have you guys noticed how dirty the oil looks right after an oil change and how it get worse by the next oil change. I was so pissed the last time that I asked him to double checked if he replaced the oil and the oil filter because it looked dirty. This is my first rotary and I can't beleive a fresh oil change looks so bad and feels a bit grainy. Do they empty our all the oil or not?

Anybody have the scoop on this?

 

No, in fact almost half of the oil stays in the system if you have both oil coolers (MT or high power Euro/JDM). The full capacity is nearly 7 quarts, and if you have somebody do a 'normal', level oil change you only get about 3.5-4 quarts out of it. This is why I 1) do them myself, 2) do them every 2500miles, and 3) tilt the car to get more oil out of the coolers (usually 5 to 5.5 quarts). I also use a good quality oil filter as well (Mobil1-110 when I can find them).

 

You hafta remember that the oil in the coolers doesn't drain. I'm 2 for 2 with my dealership as far as getting too much oil during a change. You would think the Mazda people would know better.

 

Am bringing my car for an oil change this weekend and would be bringing my own oil since the dealer is not using the 5W20, would it help if I just bring 4 quarts and "instruct" them to just use 4 quarts to avoid over-filling?

 

If your bringing the dealer your own oil...why don't you just buy a set of rhino ramps and change it yourself? Just keep your recepits.

 

I've opted to do my own oil changes in the future having experienced all the reasons stated regarding dealer(s). I understand tilting the car towards the drain plug for additional drain, but would there be a way to drain more from the cooler by tilting? I own an AT with only one cooler. Tnx.

 

crossbow,

would like to do the oil change myself but i live in an apartment complex and have no room in the parking garage to do it. so no choice but to have the dealer do. ideally it would really be great to do it yourself. i envy you guys who do it yourself.

cheers,

menace1227

 

all the above reasons is why we need to change the oil < 3,000 miles then. Using a quality grade filter is the best advice too.

 

When I called my dealer to schedule my free 1,500 mile oil change I tested the service writer on the phone.

"What weight oil do you use?", I asked, all innocent like.

Without blinking he said, "It's an RX-8 right? They take 5W-20."

After they finished I drove a half mile and pulled over to check the dipstick. It was right on the full line.

Small town Mazda/Dodge dealer, but mostly Mazda judging by the mix of new cars on their lot. Surprisingly, they're a MazdaSpeed dealer too. They had a fully tricked out Miata and a brand new '05 Viper parked out front. Lots of head-turning at that Viper, one guy nearly drove off the road looking at it! :D Whatever you do, don't challenge one of them in your RX-8. It'll eat you alive.

 

oh crap my dealer did the same thing a month ago.
now after 3000km the oil dropped to the top line. do you guys thing I (they, to tell the truth ) damaged my car?

 

Sorry to sound totally ignorant, but what is the oil lubricating since there are only 3 moving parts in a rotary? Only changing 1/2 the oil must be OK by Mazda and it must not be critical to use 100% clean oil!!??!! Sounds a bit scary to me as it does not make sense, quite frankly. Did anybody take this up with Mazda Head Office or have they put out a bulletin of some sort in this regard?

I want this car to run great and for a long time, like the rest of you.

 

The same usually goes for changing the oil in an auto tranny. Some shops don't always get all the old oil out of the converter and so the oil is mixed with the old. I think as long as we keep watching it and changing it less than 5,000 we might be ok unless someone comes up with a pump evacuation system that takes all the oil out including the oil coolers. The pump evac system is used for auto trannies right now in many shops but not all. If they do come up with a complete oil drain system then its going to be more oil needed than the manual says and its going to cost more too. I like the idea of starting with all fresh oil but I guess in this design its not possible yet.

 

Theoretically, if the oil filter is doing it's job, and the oil doesn't break down because of heat/shear/etc, then this is probably not a big deal... which is the case for modern quality oils and filters. I'm sure Mazda's engineers felt this was adequate protection... although I disagree about their recommended oil change frequency (5k miles for heavy duty use, 7.5k miles for normal)... I think they should be coser to 3k and 5k.

You also have to take into account that every 2000-3000 miles or so the motor is consuming a quart and is replaced by a clean quart, which tends help as well. I'm with you though, I want this engine to run forever, and so I change it as often as I can and try to get as much dirty oil out as I can.