My Mazda 6 is currently at the local Mazda dealers (Edwards in Worcester) suffering from a blocked oil strainer caused by a faulty fuel injector seal. They tell me that fortunately there are no metal fragments in the strainer, so hopefully there is no serious engine damage.
What they are also telling me is that it is "not very easy" to clean the strainer, and it needs replacing. But it cannot be replaced, and the way forward is to replace the part of the engine that holds the strainer. This will cost around £680, and take six hours labour at £100 an hour!
Previous threads on this topic have indicated that it is a simple yet dirty job to clean the strainer, and there is a helpful post with a photo showing the strainer removed from the engine.
Also, I understand from them that when the car was first recovered to them, with clear instructions from me that it was likely to be a strainer/injector issue, they put some engine flush in, and then ran the car to see if this would improve things(!) To my mind the first thing to have done would have been to drop the sump to have a look at the strainer, rather than firing the engine up and risking damage.
I am going to have a meeting with them tomorrow to go through the costings. Can anybody comment on this generally, and specifically concerning whether the strainer can be cleaned or replaced?
Many thanks!