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Arkansas is for winners and Protege Owners!
How is my Tigress of floor mats been getting along? I decided against Walmart. We Protege Owners here in Lacaster have boycotted them. They stopped carry the ZOOM ZOOM Sun Screens last X-Mas.
-Lovetrain
-Lovetrain
Wouldn't be Love Train without something to love!
Hmmm....I always thought Arkansas was for people who don't like to wear shoes and like to drive Camazers. Wasn't Arkansas the place where the mullet was created?
And this IS on-topic ... Hey Larry (er, Dale too), aren't you like me in the fact that comfort for us "big 'n tall"/"plus-size" folks was a key factor that eliminated the likes of Sentra, Corolla, Civic and even Jetta (yes, my non-latitudinally challenged friends, ALL of the competition) from our lists?
Meade of La Nacho
XXL or bust (my shirt)
I don't doubt Pat will be along any minute to delete posts.
Hey, the Protege's such a great car, what else can be said that hasn't been said already?
Let's just archive this useless old discussion and go for a drive.
Meade
*Restores "new car" performance
*Restores fuel economy and helps the environment by lowering your car's emission."
I don't know if it's worth the $75.00??? Sounds too much like a late night infomercial to me. What do the regulars at the Mazda Protege Sedan Owners topics think? If it has some value to a good regular preventative maintenance program I'll consider it. What say ye....
Respectfully,
Larry
Let's hear from ya, Jim!!!
Meade
I'm getting better gas mileage now than I did when the car was new. My two cents -- if it ain't broke, don't fix it. If you were experiencing engine problems, it might be a good thing to try. (They did this when my B2300 pickup was pinging like crazy -- it never made a difference though.)
I've actually heard that these "cleanings" can be detrimental to your engine, which is designed to run with a bit of "build-up" in the system. Think about it -- as your engine wears, your rings, seals and other things get worn. The very "varnish" and other stuff that's in there helps to seal the minuscule gaps created by this wear, and on top of that, the engine has worn "around" whatever's in there. Clean every speck and particle out of there and you may be opening a can of worms.
One local transmission firm advertises heavily NOT to do the same type of thing to transmissions since that's what it does, causing leaks, blowby's, etc.
Think of it this way. Some people die of blood clots after heart catheterization because the process of cleaning out a clogged artery loosened a part of the clog, sending it downstream where it caused another. Now of course, those people needed the procedure because they'd had a heart attack. But tell me -- would you go in and have open-heart surgery as "preventive maintenance"? Why perform open-heart surgery on your car when it hasn't had heart problems in the first place?
(Sorry for the analogy, but I think it applies here)
Meade
No, I don't mind North Carolina. Ya got great mountains and a stellar oceanfront.
Plus UVA loves stomping all over ya.
Meade
Mdaffron
Does anyone know if the new (2001-2003) owners manual say anything about fuel injector or fuel system service maintenance? I was thinking that the trend among car manufactures is to limit the cost of scheduled maintenance to present their vehicles as low cost to maintain. For instance 7,500 oil change intervals, etc.
BTW, my service manager at Lancaster Toyota-Mazda asked me to initial a refusal endorsement on my last service report. Because I turned down their MotorVac CarbonClean service and their Enviro Engine LifeGuard Sludge-Out System service after my 45,000 mile service. Jeeze,....
-Larry
-Larry
IIRC, the manual specifically says NOT to use any fuel additives. I'll have to go look at it again.
Not sure if I mentioned this before, but I would not recommend UVShield on the windshield. I tried it on the P5, and did not like it. The good part is it comes off easily enough.
About the fuel-injection cleaning, I've noticed dealers and repair shops trying to sneak this in on my other cars. If a manufacturer does not have it listed in the owners manual it does not need to be done.
IMO, get as far away as possible from these crooks.
I say, remove your spark plugs and check them for carbon deposits. If positive, then your engine might have carbon deposits and u might actually benefit from the "liquid plummer" service.
A short primer on the myths and facts about octane and fuel additives:
http://theserviceadvisor.com/octane.htm
Meade
P.S. Nice to see us at No. 1 (where we should be) again.
The Escort starting in '90 has been based on a previous or contemporary 323/Protege chassis, though not slapped together nearly as well IMO. Only the GT has used a 323/Protege engine, to my knowledge. The current one has been "evolved" more by Ford, thus its relative lack of interior space compared to its contemporary Protege (apparently, Mazda's "Optispace" design philosophy [y'know, the one that acknowledges people have to fit in the darned things] hasn't crossed over). Anyway, BIG improvement to the Escort.
I noticed a lot of other stuff that looked very familiar too, both under the hood (cable placement, coil, etc.) and inside the car (door lock knobs especially) that made it pretty blatant that the same supplier had been used.
Overall I was pretty darned impressed with how the car drove and sat (front seats, that is) -- but the suspension definitely had been marshmallowized for American fannies.
I've always wondered why the American definition of "suspension" means "vague."
Meade
Are ya sure it was a 98' and are you sure it was an Escort and not a Tracer? The reason why I ask is because the 98's had Ford engines and the valve cover doesn't look like any Mazda valve cover. Also, only the Escort GTs (3 door) and some Mercury Tracers had the Mazda 1.8L, but like I said, that was before 98'. If it was a pre-97' model with the Mazda 1.8L, the valve cover does look the same except for the Ford logo.
I've got a friend of mine looking for a used car and the Protege is one of the ones on the list. (Others are Altima, Civic, and Corolla as an FYI).
Any items to watch out for or other recommendations regarding Proteges from 2000 - 2002?
Thanks for your help.
With all due respect, unless if you have a better proof to back up, the above statement is simply wrong. From http://www.chevron.com/prodserv/fuels/techron/techback.shtml
it reads:
"Chevron's Supreme grade receives an even higher dose of Techron, which can clean up dirty carburetors, fuel injectors and intake valves even faster than the Regular or Plus grades."
Bruno
a 10+ year old car may benefit from it, I doubt a newer car would...
Give it a thorough check like you would any used car: look under, around and in the car, check the smells, look for fluid leaks, shift through all the gears, listen to the engine, exhaust and transmission etc. Ask for service records and so on.
I've only had two problems with my '99: MAS failed (covered under warranty, but this only applied to some 1.6L engines), and the head unit stopped playing CDs (replaced with aftermarket unit). I don't think there are any widespread problems with any Proteges (gen 1, 2 or 3). Some have complained of a stuttering clutch when cold.
-Larry
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Thank you folks for responding to my question on Fuel & Sludge-out Service questions.
"Government regulations require that all gasoline contain basically the same amount of additives to clean the injectors and valves. The only differences are the type to help create the different octane ratings. All gasoline burns at the same rate, it is the additives that create the different octane ratings for the different types of engines."
Read Chevron's well-written statement again too. According to them, their highest-grade and most-expensive gasoline "can clean up dirty carburetors, fuel injectors and intake valves even faster than the Regular or Plus grades." We'll assume that you, the caring Protege enthusiast, have been using high-quality gasolines like Chevron from the beginning, so chances are your fuel injectors and intake valves (no carburetor, sorry) aren't dirty to begin with. And if you've been using Chevron's (or a high-quality competitor's) "regular or plus grades" regularly, then note that Chevron itself admits that these grades of their gasoline ALSO "clean up dirty carburetors, fuel injectors and intake valves" -- just not as fast as the high-grade version. But if all you've been using is Chevron or some other high-quality gasoline, this constant cleaning should mean your engine has been clean since day one even using the lowest octane gas. See? You have no dirt to clean. Now, if you've been filling your Protege at Joe's Discount Gas and Bait Shop for 50,000 miles, I might agree with you that it's time for a few fillups with Chevron Ultimate. But under your circumstances, you shouldn't need it.
You, my friend, have been taken in by crafty marketing department writers who have convinced you, the Chevron Regular user, that somehow, spending 20 cents more per gallon for the premium gas is gonna "clean up" your already-clean engine!
Poor guy ... but since I work in the marketing field, I'll take it as a compliment to my profession!
Now, let me ask you a serious question. Do you also believe that Dow Bathroom Cleaner has "scrubbing bubbles"?
Meade
Ya gotta know we're obsessed with these cars if we remember their birthdays and assign humanlike characteristics to them.
And have you noticed that while other car discussions on Edmunds are going on and on about faulty ignition coils, recalls and identity crises, we Protege owners are busy quibbling over tire brands and gas additives?
Does that say something to you?
Meade
I'm glad we're not talking about coils, window clips, lemon laws, driving cars through dealership windows, etc.
I'd much rather discuss synthetic oil, tires, hello kitty, strut tower bars, southerners, spark plugs, crab dip, 1.8L vs. 2.0L, Meade vs. Paul, Target vs. Wal-Mart, disc vs. drum, auto vs. manual, wiper blades, auto-X, what Dale ate for dinner, how to run over a Rally Monkey, etc.
and
"Fun things to leave open in car washes"
Have a good weekend; time to zoom home!
Meade