Got a question for you. I may have an oil leak coming from under the oil filter. I know this because you can see the oil start from somewhere around there, and then it goes down the side of the engine block. Is this a common place for these cars to leak? Easy to fix? I called my local Mazda dealer and they said something about O-rings, and that they cost $5 a piece. Is that my problem?

Also: I purchased oil to do a change this weekend, and the guy told me to get 10W 30. Castrol of course Is that correct? I live in arizona. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

My is doing the same thing it went into the shop to day and he said that he is replaceing the hoses and the gasket and what not for around $200.
Hope that helps

 

read the thread "o-rings and rocket science" and yes o-rings would
help stop that leak

 

It's most probably the two orings under the oil filter tower. Easy and inexpensive fix.
hanman

 

I went to Big River Rubber & Gasket here and got 5 for 25 cents... Same size as the mazda ones, just these were made outt viton rubber

When you replace them I recommend Hylomar sealant around the oil rings, and you WILL NEVER worry about them again...

 

man that viton crap is EXPENSIVE.. we were talking about it in Polymer Science class today. something like $40 per pound of raw materials or something like that.. not quite sure the exact number..

but that crap is GREAT for sealing..

 

If you have the oil cooler under the filter (83-85 12A) there are 4 O-rings total, once you get the cooler off the engine you remove the metal plate from the bottom of the cooler and there's 2 between that plate and the cooler.

I don't think Hylomar will solve it permanently... the O-rings harden from the heat of the oil and are guaranteed to fail, usually with the '83-85 12A type cooler but the regular type will also leak there eventually too. if it's been leaking for a while check the heater hose(s) beneath the filter... if they're all oily and squishy REPLACE THEM ASAP, and it's a lot easier to replace them with the cooler out of the way (again '83-85 12A) and the oil weakens the rubber and the hose WILL blow out, this hose blowing out is the prime cause of death for these engines because you don't notice you ran out of coolant until the engine overheats and it's too late.

 

Yeah its also kinda funny looking, its kinda brown instead of black. He showed me a piece of hose they got there, you can take a propane torch to it, and it will just blacken it, eventually it burns through it but takes several seconds... Thats some tuff ****@!

Too bad they dont make rebuild kits in viton, ooops I forgot they like us to pay 2.49 per o ring...