Knowledge Base

How to find the sump plug and oil filter on an MR2 MK2 Rev3 3S-GTE (turbo).

As someone with reasonable mechanical knowledge, but not much experience with working with Cars, the simple job of an oil change was confounded by the lack of information on exactly where to find the sump plug and how to access the oil filter. Information such as 'the sump plug is right at the bottom of the sump, located in the middle of the car at the back' proved to be not as usefull as it sounds, as with little knowledge of what a sump looked like I could have drained the transmission oil by mistake! [Brick wall]

On an MR2 MK2 Revision 3 Turbo (3S-GTE engine) the sump and oil filter are conveniently found next to each other, and can be easily accessed without ramps or jacking and axle stands from in front of the driver side rear wheel, as shown in the following image:

The sump plug cannot be seen in the image, and not just because it's fallen into the oil catch can! It can't easily be seen from this angle, but it's easy to reach and mounted at a slight angle away from the viewer. A 14mm socket is required.

The filter is also easy to remove (I didn't need a filter wrench of any kind), and though it can be reached without removing the plastic undertray which is beneath it I would advise removing this. The undertray section you need to remove has four bolts which need to be removed, and a small plastic screw like thing which just pulls out. See image below.

The actual oil change itself was an easy job, and other articles detail this well. It's a good idea to remove the undertray section first, so you reduce the operation which take place when the engine is hot.