Miata Mailing List: September 1993, Message #10
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   From: elewis@kong.gsfc.nasa.gov (Harry Callahan)
Subject: My oil experiences
   Date: Wed, 1 Sep 1993 12:31:48 -0400

I got a new '92 in December, almost 11K on it now.  I've changed oil at
1300, 3000, 6000, and 9000.  I did it at 3000 and 9000, my local Shell did
it at 1300 and 6000.

The reason for Shell doing it at 1300 was weather and fee coupons.  The
reason they had to do it again was that at 3000 I couldn't get their filter
off my car.  They didn't use a Miata filter.  (At 3000 I just changed the
oil as a result.)  At 6000 I gave Shell a filter to use on my car.

This wasn't a problem.  At 9000 miles I did my own oil and filter w/o
incident, and it didn't take long.  I have A/C but bo ABS, even still I
could just reach down and get the filter off (with the Mazda wrench).  The
only problame was that I had to use vice grips to get the wrench off the
new filter once it was installed.

At 10500 I had a problem.  I found a spot of fresh oil under my car.  It
was from my drain plug coming loose.  I tightened it and then found out
that there is supposedly a washer that belongs on the plug that should be
replaced was oil change.  This was certainly news to me.  Are there any
obvious sources for these washers?

As a side note, my 1986 Chevy S-10, bought in a fit of panic when I was
much younger, with 125000 miles and its second transmission, to date has
lost or burned less oil than my new Miata.  Who woulda thunk it?
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Edward Lewis NASA/GSFC Code 520.0 Center Network Environment

"The British prefer the spelling 'routeing,' presumably to distinguish what
happens in networks from what happened to the British in New Orleans in
1814."
 - Piscatello and Chapin, Connexions, Vol. 7, No. 9, page 66.