I've just bought a 323F and have a few questions.

1. Where is the god dam oil filter this is bugging me so much.

2. The car seems to have shakes. When at idle the car sits at 750 rpm but drops to 500 it feels like its going to stall but goes back to 750. Does anyone know why this is and of any way to fix the problem.

So you know I’ve got a Mazda 323f 1.5 glx on the N plate she’s done 106000 miles. I changed the oil and plugs but can't find that oil filter.

Please help.

hia,

i have a v6 and the filter is at the front of the engine behind the radiator, but i believe the filter on the 1.5 and 1.8 is at the back of the engine, sort of in front of the drivers seat (but in the engine bay obviously).

try searching for oil filters, there have been lots of questions recently. alternatively look in the hand book, the oil filter is highlighted in there.

you say you changed the oil already, i would definetly change that filter soon or you will start to mix up the old oil in your filter with your lovely new oil!

Ok so it’s on the driver’s side at the back of the engine I will have a look ASAP will need to wait until the weekend but I’m going to look there first.

Yes I’ve put clean oil in but that’s because I drained the sump before i started to look for the filter and the oil was black so there was no way I was putting that back in.

I would look in the hand book but I didn’t get one with the car. I got the service history but no hand book. If anyone knows where I could get one that would be cool.

Should be available at your Mazda dealer for about £6.50. Mine was anyway...

well looks like its a trip to the dealer this weekend aswell. :P

The filter is almost directly in the centre of the engine (in between the V's and situated against the inside of the foremost bank) It's really easy to find, moreso than on 1.5 and 1.8s.

As for the idle you may need to go to a garage to get the BASE IDLE checked. It's a straight forward job and the last time someone did it on my car it took about 5 mins.


Welcome aboard!

I've got the 1.8 - I believe the 1.5 oil filter is the same ...

Oil filter is on the back of the engine, under the inlet manifold and squeezed in next to the alternator.

Access is easiest through the drivers side wheel arch, after removing the right front wheel. There are several threads explaining in greater detail (such as which way you are facing etc. )

I still don't understand this through the wheel arch approach?!? I just put her on axle stands, got underneath her, reached up and unscrewed it. No problems at all! (On my 1.5) :-k

Adjust the base idle by bridgeing out TEN and GND terminals in the diagnostic socket (do a sesrch) and adjust the idle speed with the air screw on top of the throttle body

I found it . At last i've changed the oil filter. i see what you all mean about it being hard to get.

I'm going to take the car into the garage to get a compression test on the first cylinder i think this may solve the shaking problem. hope it don't cost to much

Go to Halfrauds and buy a compression tester, it's not hard to check yourself and I'll bet a tester won't break the bank

I have the same problem re idle speed changing. If you adjust the idle speed it stops it but then once car warms up you end up revving at around 1500 and isnt worth the bother. Krypton tuning helped but I still drop revs when I switch on heated rear window, operate electric windows, switch on lights etc.

The engine will drop it's revs when you turn on heavy electrical stuff because the alternator becomes harder to turn. As long as the engine brings it's revs back up to where they should be (~750rpm) then I wouldn't worry.

Mark

Might be worth checking your battery - the less charge the battery stores, the more juice the electrical system will demand from the alternator ...

I don't think it’s the bat.

I spoke about getting a compression test because I started the engine and then disconnected each of the plug leads one by one until I found one that did not effect the tone of the engine. This has made me think that there is something wrong with the first cylinder as it did not effect the engine when I pulled the lead off and the lead was still sparking.

[quote="djcritter"]I pulled the lead off and the lead was still sparking.[/quote]

This is probably a silly question, but have you checked the spark plug on the first cylinder ?

yes i've checked the plugs and they have been replaced with boosh super 4s

The lead shouldn't be visibly sparking unless you get the metal bit of the connector near a ground. HT lead failure is a fairly common problem according to my local dealer. Expect 5 to 6 years from them.

I can't see any of the leads sparking but i can hear a clicking sound when they are dissconnected from the plug.

A decent auto-electrical workshop will be able to test the leads etc while the engine is running to see if any are breaking down. I had this done by a mobile tuning van-man on a Golf GTi a few years ago and it found just the one faulty lead. Sorted.