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We're at 73K and planning on belt change...once money is available.
I was told by a mechanic I need a new Over Flow Tank for the radiator. I am wondering if you know of anywhere that I could buy one and have my mechanic put it in. He said they are easy and it shouldn't take long. I have found a overflow tank at a dealer and another at a autoparts store for $75. I also found a few that say they are good for 98-02 Mazda 626's for under $5. Any help trying to find the right part would be greatly appreciated. The part number I was given was KLG4-15-35-C. I was also given KLG4150H as a number from another place. Thanks again.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
If you want to save about 40% of Mazda list price and do not mind waiting about two weeks, you can buy it on line through albanymazda.com.
Forget the $5 universal overflow tanks. They do not have the required nipples to connect to all coolant tubes in your Mazda. Good luck.
You can replace the bottle easily by yourself. You'll need: a ten mm socket, extension , and ratchet. Small pliers to remove and reinstall the hose clamps. Fill the new tank with a 50/50 mixture of Mzda orange coolant and DISTILLED water.
To do this job, you need to rent a set of A/C gauges and a vacuum pump from Auto Zone ($ 300 deposit refundable upon undamaged return).
To remove and install the compressor you need to suck out the old refrigerant (unless already empty). You need to take it to an A/C place to have this done. To remove the compressor, you need to jack up the right front of the car, remove the right front wheel, and the right engine splash shield. Then loosen and remove the outer engine belt(alternator&A/C compressor pulley). You need a 10 mm socket with a long extension and a 17 mm open end wrench for this.
The compressor is held in place by four bolts. First, disconnect the clutch electrical connector. Loosen the compressor mount bolts, remove and drop the compressor slowly onto a wood block with the hoses still connected. You'll need a 13mm(?) socket and a ratchet without an extension for these. Then remove the hose fittings from the suction and discharge ports (10mm hex head bolts I believe).
When you replace the compressor, you'll also need a new accumulator. This one is mounted next to the firewall on the right side of the engine compartment (closer to right front wheel). You'll need an open 24 mm and 27 mm wrench to loosen the fittings. The accumulator is held in place with two 10 mm hex head bolts. Always replace the O-rings when breaking and reconnecting A/C line connections. Oil the fittings and O-rings liberally with the refrigerant oil. This enables you to tighten the fittings properly. You cannot squish the O-rings too much as the fittings will have metal to metal contact when the O-rings are compressed enough to create a good seal.
First start and tighten the accumulator fitting connections, then install and tighten the mounting bolts.
To install a new compressor, first bolt the compressor up loosely and then connect the hose fittings with new O-rings As before, lubricate the O-rings with refrigerant oil. Be very careful to start the fitting bolts in properly and do not over tighten them! Just tighten snugly, otherwise you may strip the aluminum threads.
Reconnect the compressor clutch connector, making sure the wire is secure and away from the rotating compressor pulley. Secure in place with a wire tie if necessary.
It is also a good idea to inspect and clean/or replace the orifice tube, which is located in the high pressure line near the right wheel upper strut mount. If the old compressor comes apart internally, pieces of debris will clog the tube, and the tube screens must be cleaned and the system flushed. This did not happen in my case, so I did not have to remove the tube. The access is not easy. A new orifice tube is about $ 14 from a Mazda dealer.
Note: if you get a new Mazda compressor, it already comes filled with the required amount of PAG refrigerant oil. If you use some other rebuilt compressor, it may not have any oil in it. You'll need to add about 240 ml of 100 viscosity PAG refrigerant oil (recommended for Sanden brand compressors).
Charging the system:
First connect the gauges to the high and low side ports. The gauges have quick release couplers. Close both valves and connect the vacuum pump to the middle yellow hose. Start the pump and slowly open both low and high side valves. Let the punmp run about 20 minutes. The desired vacuum is about 29.9 inches of Hg. After 20 minutes, slowly close both gauge valves with the pump STILL RUNNING. DO NOT turn the pump off with the gauge valves open, or you'll suck the vacuum pump oil into your system! Let the system stabilize for about 10 minutes and make sure the vacuum is still maintained.
The primary purpose of pulling vacuum on the system is to remove the moisture from the system. At high vacuum, the water boils at 10 degrees F!
After evacuating the system, if the vacuum holds and no leaks are found, screw the valve assembly onto the first refrigerant can and connect to the yellow hose. With the engine off, slowly turn the blue, low pressure side valve open to start charging the system. DO NOT OPEN THE HIGH PRESSURE SIDE VALVE! After the pressure of about 60 psi is reached, start the engine. The compressor should come on and cut out about every 5 seconds, This is normal. Continue charging the system. You'll need 750 grams of refrigerant. It will take slightly more than two cans of refrigerant (each can contains 340 grams). When properly charged, the low side pressure should be around 30-35 psi, and high side pressure at idle around 230 psi. High side pressure will hit about 300 psi at 2000 RPM. After the first can, you'll need to rev up the engine some to facilitate flow of refrigerant into the system. Do not turn the can upside down! You do not want to introduce liquid refrigerant into the system, or you can ruin the compressor, as liquids ARE NOT COMPRESSIBLE. The can will get very cold as the gas refrigerant flows out of it.
It is a good idea at this point to check the line connections with soap solution for any leaks. Even if you have no leaks when pulling vacuum on the system, leaks can demonstrate when the system is pressurized. Do not ask me how I know. If you have access to a special refrigerant sniffer, this is the best way. Make sure your low side pressure does not exceed 45 psi at idle. Anything over 45 psi means the system is overcharged and cooling efficiency is reduced. Low side pressures below 25 psi mean the system is undercharged. The compressor will also cycle frequently if this is the case.
The cost of parts:
If you buy the parts from albanymazda.com, you can get a new OEM compressor with clutch, accumulator, orifice tube, and O-rings for about $ 470 plus shipping. Your local Mazda dealer retail price would be about $ 630 plus sales tax for these parts. Refrigerant cost from Auto Zone for three cans is about $ 21. So if you do this job yourself, you'll save about $ 500. A Mazda dealer will charge you about $ 1,000 to install a new compressor and accumulator& orifice tube, and recharge the system.
This job is not that hard, but you must pay attention to details. I strongly recommend staying away from rebuilt A/C compressors. Auto Zone wanted $ 330 for a rebuilt compressor, which will probably last less than a year. Most rebuilt A/C compressors from discount auto parts stores are absolute junk. For comparison, a new Sanden OEM compressor from albanymazda.com is about $ 365.
About the transmission: You probably have a defective solenoid in the transmission. If your engine check light is on, get the code pulled for free by Auto Zone to see what the problem is. Do not replace unnecessary parts at random. NEW PLUGS, WIRES, DISTRIBUTOR ETC, will not fix your problem if they are not causing the problem.
P0421 WARM UP CATALYST EFFICIENCY BELOW TRESHOLD BANK 1
P1131 UNKNOWN TROUBLE CODE
P0300 RANDOM /MULTIPLE CYLINDER MISFIRE DETECTED
P0171 SYSTEM TOO LEAN BANK 1
IS THERE ANYTHING I MIGHT BE ABLE TO FIX ON MY OWN ON THESE CODES??.IS THIS SOMETHING THAT A TUNE UP MIGHT FIX?......ANY IDEAS WHAT CODE P1131 IS FOR?....COULD IT BE RELATED TO THE TRANSMISION JERKING LIKE THAT?.....
THANKS FOR THE HELP....REALLY APPRECIATED.
JKAFKA
When you replaced the plugs, is there a chance that you may have cracked one or more ceramic insulators? this happens more offten than you think. Happened to a coworker of mine, happened to me some years back. Take out tthe plugs and carefully check them and carefully reinstall. One or more misfiring plugs can cause all kinds of codes to me thrown. Transmission malfun ction may be related to engine misfiring.
What is the compression in the cylinders? Also recommend a cylinder leakdown test.
You could pour a bottle of chevron Techron fuel injector cleaner into your gas tank with about 8 gallons of gas and run it through.
JAMES
ALL MY TRANSMISSION JERKING PROBLEMS DISSAPPEREAD!!!!!MY CAR RUNS BETTER THAN EVER...I JUST CANNOT BELIEVE IT....
IT HAS POWER, IT TAKES OFF...THE TRANSMISSION SHIFTS LIKE IT IS SUPPOSED TO.NO MORE JERKING...NO MORE FIDLING WITH THE GAS PEDAL TRYING TO MAKE IT SHIFT.......NOW ALL I HAVE TO TRACK DOWN IS WHY MY ENGINE LIGHT IS ON ...I'LL BE CHECKING MY SPARK PLUGS INSULATORS TOMORROW AND SEE IF THEY ARE CRACKED (SOMEBODY IS GOING TO LOAN ME THE SPARK PLUG WRENCH)......I HOPE THIS INFO IS OF HELP TO YOU COOKLIO...AND THANKS TO P100 AGAIN FOR THE DIRECCION.....
JAMES
JAMES
james
I would remove the belt and the tensioner pulley. Spin the tensioner pulley by hand. it the bearing rattles or binds, you need a new one.
i had to change the water pump on my '96 626 and, as you all know, you have to take alot of engine parts off to get to it. well in the process, i figured i would change the timing belt as well, since i am told its best to do it when ur changing out a water pump on this car. now i have a small amount of knowhow when it comes to this, and as long as it took to do all of that, i managed to get it all done and the car started with no problem. its only when i go down the road, the car runs rough and the engine start surging when i come to a stop of any kind. after warm up it gets worse. i dont think my timing is off because i checked everything by marking everything before i took it apart and making sure everything lined back up as far as timing goes. is there something im supposed to do after i had put a new timing belt on? does something need to be reset? i would appreciate any help i can get without having to go the a shop cause my mistake is gonna probrably cost me more than it would have to have it all done at the shop in the first place.
p.s.: the check engine light came on but goes away after i disconnect the battery for an amount of time. just thought i would throw that in.
i was wondering if you had ever fixed the problem with your mazda. im having that same trouble now, and the idle air control valve that i was told would fix the problem is 500 dollars. since it didnt fix your problem, i was thinking maybe it wont fix mine either. im sure you dont have the car anymore, but if you could remember anything, i would greatly appreciate it.
thanks for responding back. unfortunately, my problem is still there. i changed the 400 dollar IAC valve and still doing the same thing, with the surging and idling rough. i do appreciate you taking the time to respond. i just hope my problem doesnt get any worse than it already is.
thanks.
I am new here. I bought a 2000 Mazda 626 ES V6 (66K miles)last month. I found its engine idle speed increases from 800 rpm to 1,000 rpm for 2~3 seconds and then goes back to 800 rpm from time to time when I turn on the air conditioner or when the wind blows to the windshield. I am wondering if anyone here have the same experience. Could it be a big problem? Thanks.