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2.3L I-4 Oil Change Fun!


mtl1977
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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 5 months later...
$9.42 at Amazon

 

The Fram PH9566 is a spin-on. $8.68 at www.rockauto.com

 

Rock Auto has several models for the 4cyl engine.

 

Amazon's price for the Fram is now $10.42 (CH9641) and a couple dollars cheaper from partner resellers. You can get two Puralator L15505 filters at Amazon for $9.98. I find Fram quality questionable and would rather have the Purolator. If you want something better - PL15505 PureONE Oil Filter (Pack of 2) - $15.58.

 

Even the Motorcraft FL2017B Filter is cheaper than Fram at Amazon, currently $6.43 ea from a dealer. Unfortunately, the shipping costs make this unattractive. My dealer sells the Motorcraft filter for about $8.50. You can try a Mazda dealer too.

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This subject is the very reason I joined the forum. I was aghast at my discovery of the bassackwards oil filter. "Discovery" is the appropriate term as the manual offers no hint as to the atypical contraption unnecessarily applied to the 2.3L motor. "Oil filter drain plug???" WTF?

 

I had enough of a headache coaxing what the hell Ford/Mazda was thinking here that I'm resigned to taking the car in to the dealer for oil changes. I'll gladly fork over $30 every two months to avoid the P.I.T.A experience of dealing with this moronic engineering exercise.

 

This is the first vehicle I've owned in my life that I don't do the oil changes for. It's not a bad strategy for Ford--this bizarre filter application gets me back in the dealership, drooling over Shelbys and Saleens--but it also feels oddly foreign for an American car. Sure the motor is sourced from Mazda, so that explains it... but the Fusion is a commodity vehicle that will see a lot of fleet and rental service. This filter element/canister invention is about as far from convenient as logic can define.

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This filter design (for US market Fords) seems to have started on the 2.3L I-4 from Chihuahua on the 2005 Escape Hybrid. I have a feeling they thought it was a "green" design since you are only throwing away a paper filter and the two o-rings.

 

MASSIVE BRAIN FART! The design f-ing sucks. Murray's doesn't sell a filter wrench that fits. They were amazed that the black pile of plastic in my hand was for an oil filter!

 

I'll bet the 2.3L Rangers/B2300s also use this stupid design. I think ChEP builds their engines too.

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Some of you may recall my frustration and disgust with trying to understand what the hell I'd bought. It just didn't make sense at all. I'd never seen an oil filter of this nature on a passenger car... baffling.

 

I'M SO CONFUSED <CLICKY>

 

http://www.mazdastuff.com/product.cfm?ProductID=2168

 

filters for under $5 and a wrench that actually works.

 

I have been told that the cartridge vs metal issue is some sort of mandate in Europe to reduce metal waste.

 

There is a way to convert the 2.3 to a conventional spin-on filter, you simply install the housing off a 2.0 Mazda 3 that bolts on and accepts a different spin-on filter.

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There is a way to convert the 2.3 to a conventional spin-on filter, you simply install the housing off a 2.0 Mazda 3 that bolts on and accepts a different spin-on filter.

 

Yeah, I saw that how-to before. Can't say it's a smart move though. Having your oil filter sticking out of the bottom-front of your engine just waiting to get knocked off by any random road debris is just asking for it.

 

Ford engineers really laid an egg by not at least putting the filter on the back of the motor like every other intelligent real-world design.

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You guys ever worked on late model Caddillac or Saturn? It's been a while, but the ones I saw had cartridge filters.

 

Powerstroke has cartridge filters. I'll find out what the "engineering advantage" is other than reducing metal waste.

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  • 2 weeks later...

The cartridge filter change is EASY. Unscrewing the cartridge drain plug every time is a needless step. There is no need to take this off and replace this o-ring every time. Last oil change took me 15 min total and I did it with full synthetic for less than 20 bucks.

 

There are several advantages to the cartridge. For one, it doesn't fill up the landfills with a bunch of metal cartridges. If any of you have cut open a metal cannister filter before, you'd know the insides of the filter look just the same as your cartridge coming out. The cartridge is advantageous because I can SEE the quality of the filter I'm buying for my car.

 

The position of the drain plug on the pan is in a great place. With the car jacked up, it actually allows most of your oil to drain from the pan since the plug is facing to the rear. Like I said, we really don't have much to complain about...at least we don't have a cannister or a filter that is in the way of parts in the engine bay and splashes oil on various parts. This is a simple, straightforward, CLEAN oil change.

 

I compiled a list of all the different filters for our I-4. There are more out there and I plan on updating the list as I go. I have a stock of about seven different ones and I plan to line them up and have a review of each filter soon. The part number is in the left hand column. I have the Motorcraft/Mazda/Napa Gold/PureOne/Premium Plus/Fram/STP currently in my stock. So far, I've found the Napa Gold/Wix cartridge to be the most economical. You can order them from Fleetfilter.com for under 4 bucks each SHIPPED. You can buy the Napa Gold directly from Napa for under 5 bucks if you want to go to Napa. So far, I have found the Fram to be one of the most expensive. I bought two of the Mazda filters off of ebay for 9. shipped.

 

If you have any questions, let me know.

 

FL-2017B - Motorcraft OEM filter

L321-14-302-9U - Mazda oil filter

7203 - Napa Gold oil filter (made by Wix)

52703 - Wix oil filter

L15505 Purolator Premium Plus oil filter

PL15505 Purolator Pure One oil filter

GL15505 O'Reilly's/Microgard oil filter

P7313 - Baldwin oil filter

HP-7013 - K&N oil filter (made by Champion Labs)

84203 - Carquest oil filter (made by Wix)

LF594 - Hastings oil filter

CH9641 - Fram oil filter

P960 - Champ oil filter (Champion Labs, makes oil filters for other companies)

S9641 - STP oil filter (made by Champion Labs)

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I compiled a list of all the different filters for our I-4. There are more out there and I plan on updating the list as I go. I have a stock of about seven different ones and I plan to line them up and have a review of each filter soon. The part number is in the left hand column. I have the Motorcraft/Mazda/Napa Gold/PureOne/Premium Plus/Fram/STP currently in my stock. So far, I've found the Napa Gold/Wix cartridge to be the most economical. You can order them from Fleetfilter.com for under 4 bucks each SHIPPED. You can buy the Napa Gold directly from Napa for under 5 bucks if you want to go to Napa. So far, I have found the Fram to be one of the most expensive. I bought two of the Mazda filters off of ebay for 9. shipped.

 

If you have any questions, let me know.

 

FL-2017B - Motorcraft OEM filter

L321-14-302-9U - Mazda oil filter

7203 - Napa Gold oil filter (made by Wix)

52703 - Wix oil filter

L15505 Purolator Premium Plus oil filter

PL15505 Purolator Pure One oil filter

GL15505 O'Reilly's/Microgard oil filter

P7313 - Baldwin oil filter

HP-7013 - K&N oil filter (made by Champion Labs)

84203 - Carquest oil filter (made by Wix)

LF594 - Hastings oil filter

CH9641 - Fram oil filter

P960 - Champ oil filter (Champion Labs, makes oil filters for other companies)

S9641 - STP oil filter (made by Champion Labs)

 

Awesome, mrc :superhero: Thanks for providing this list. I'll have to bookmark this post in case I ever get the nerve to get back into the business of changing oil.

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Awesome, mrc :superhero: Thanks for providing this list. I'll have to bookmark this post in case I ever get the nerve to get back into the business of changing oil.

 

No problem. I'll have pics of my filters for review too. I purchased the Carquest filter today. It's the exact same as the Napa Gold/Wix filter with just a different number. It's about .75 cents more than the Napa Gold version though.

 

I see you are in NO. I live in Biloxi. I was down in the quarter this past weekend just walking around.

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I see you are in NO. I live in Biloxi. I was down in the quarter this past weekend just walking around.

 

You're close enough to know better than that! Sounds like it was daytime since you're still breathing. Seriously though, this city has gone to hell. I'm glad I live on the Northshore.

 

Poor Biloxi... I really liked that town.

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  • 4 months later...
Some of you may recall my frustration and disgust with trying to understand what the hell I'd bought. It just didn't make sense at all. I'd never seen an oil filter of this nature on a passenger car... baffling.

 

I'M SO CONFUSED <CLICKY>

 

My Dad's 1966 Chevy Biscayne 283 CID 8cyl. also had this type of filter - only about 5 times larger. IIRC, it was an AC/Delco PF-141. The filter cover was all metal and held on by a giant bolt running through the center of the filter. There was no filter drain, so oil dripped everywhere when removing the filter. It also had a gasket that required changing every time.

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  • 4 weeks later...
  • 2 months later...

It has been too cold for me to get out and look, but where is the cartridge filter on the I4? What does the housing look like, and where do get to it at? I have had the car for a few months now, but won't be ready for an oil change until spring.

 

Person I work with has theirs (either BMW or Lexus) right up top and he can change it between oil changes in minutes.

 

Thanks in advance

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Heck, I just bought the mount for the spin on type filter and replaced it. Now oil changes are SO much easier! And a bit cheaper too.

 

Oh, and it DOESN'T hang any lower. the mount itself is shorter, so the spin on filter hangs just about as low as the old plastic housing did.

 

My plastic housing used to leak all the time too.

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  • 3 weeks later...
Heck, I just bought the mount for the spin on type filter and replaced it. Now oil changes are SO much easier! And a bit cheaper too.

 

Oh, and it DOESN'T hang any lower. the mount itself is shorter, so the spin on filter hangs just about as low as the old plastic housing did.

 

My plastic housing used to leak all the time too.

 

So, tell me more about this mount. Where did you get it? Cost? etc...

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  • 1 month later...
Heck, I just bought the mount for the spin on type filter and replaced it. Now oil changes are SO much easier! And a bit cheaper too.

 

Cheaper? I ordered PureOne and K&N cartridge oil filters for less than $5. You can get K&N spin ons for less?

 

My plastic housing used to leak all the time too.

 

Improper gasket fit and install. Mine doesn't leak a drop. You can also do this with a spin on if you over tighten, cross tighten, etc. Not something exclusive to the housing.

 

Again, people pay 20 bucks for a tool to cut open spin ons after they use them so they can inspect the filter. With the cartridge, you don't have to and there's no unnecessary waste. I just performed my fourth oil change on my vehicle and they get easier each time.

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I just changed the oil and filter on my '08 SEL I4. I guess I'm used to the cartridge type filter on my 6.0 diesel. I had no problem. Drain old oil, drain filter, remove filter cap, put all back together, 15 minutes at the most. I'd like to read some of the posts after some of you crybabies change oil/filter on a 6.0! This 2.3 only takes 4 and 1/2 quarts! I can imagine all the complaiming you girls would do after adding 15 quarts to a Powerstroke. Compared to the diesel, I thought it was a piece of cake! :headspin:

 

BTW, the filter and oil for this baby cost less than the filter alone for the PSD!

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