Edmunds dealer partner, Bayway Leasing, is now offering transparent lease deals via these forums. Click here to see the latest vehicles!
Popular New Cars
Popular Used Sedans
Popular Used SUVs
Popular Used Pickup Trucks
Popular Used Hatchbacks
Popular Used Minivans
Popular Used Coupes
Popular Used Wagons
Comments
I have seen this problem in two different forms. One on the Mazda where the nut would not turn. Another on the Toyota where the stud rotated in the knuckle. The solution is the same. Cut the nut off.
Make sure when you install the new tie rod end that you use a torque wrench to tighten the nut correctly to the proper torque.
thanks in advance.
Be ready to walk away from the job if aggravation levels get a bit high to think. This is a tedious time consuming job. I currently have a Toyota that the book does not show where all of the screws are located. A small mirror on an extension wand helps for this as well to look behind nooks and crannies inside the dash. Sometimes it helps to have a junk car to play with first to see where such screws are.
steve in oz.
Is there also other things needed when you tear into that part of the auto? (I seem to remember my mechanic mention something?)
Now the other quest. is a timing belt off ebay?
Good Idea or Bad Idea?
Goodyear GTK0149 Timing Belt Component Kit Mazda 323
Thanks Much~A
Dunno about buying the belt on ebay, tho' I buy lots of stuff there.
C.
I've noticed the temp gauge climbing, so I add water and it goes back down. The second time I added water, I saw it leaking from the pulley side of the engine. Does that point to the water pump needing replacement? Thanks!
Replace timing belt, crank, cam seals and water pump. If not replaced last time, also replace the timing belt tensioner. That will get you to the next 60K point. If you care for this car carefully, you should get to 240K easily!
Get your Chilton's repair manual and read up carefully before you pick up your wrenches. Be careful, this is an interference engine. If you wait too long and that timing belt breaks, you will ruin the engine.
While you have that cover off, everything should be dry and relatively claen. Oil soaked is not acceptable. If it all looks good, drive on to 120K as long as the water pump behaves! Just pull your weekly checks of fluids and if you do start losing coolant, suspect that water pump. The seals are getting old and that is what will fail more from age than anything else. I suggest you keep the car local service for now. That pump is located inside the timing cover area which can make it difficult to monitor.
I'll be around should you need to holler.
If everyone was an expert we would have no good info!
I'm going to check back with ebay & post as I noticed the below for about $40.
Timing Belt
Tensioner
Water Pump
But still not sure if they are crap, I will post link.
~A
OK gotchya on the120K service & really good to know the extreme nature of neglect in this area, with this engine.
"I suggest you keep the car local service for now".....about this statement. Are you saying I should not take the car on the road any distance before this is done?
Now the ebay thing, bottom line is there brands/parts to avoid? such as the Goodyear gatorback I always see?
Or who might you recommend as per parts supplier on a lower end budget?
Thanks a bunch oh I almost forgot why I was origionally here-
I have a rear end noise, perhaps a bit of a sticky emergency brake...whooo,,,whooo...whooo...whooo. Took off rear tire and seems to be a little sticky spot while turning manually. Any ideas?
Buy or AVOID, (looks kinda sketchy and not something I would buy without advice)
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1-6L-1-8L-MAZDA-323-MX3-PROTEGE-Timing-Belt-Water- -Pump_W0QQitemZ270187412477QQihZ017QQcategoryZ33625QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZ- ViewItem
Anyone let me know if its not cool to post this for any reason!
The reason for O'Reilly's being first is service. I need a part and it is in Alabama, a lot of the time it is here the next day. Wrong part, no problem. A lot of parts like new water pumps have a lifetime warranty: Keep a receipt file. Not a bad idea to keep copies as well. Our 323 has more warranty on it at 260K miles than it did brand new. For example, they have replaced the radiator twice now. No questions asked. Water pump once. They use to warrant hoses until they discovered people like me, yup I take the hoses back as well!
If I plan a major job on a car, like a clutch job someone just mentioned....I take care of any other problems I may have to deal with then or soon. Good example would be servicing struts, front wheel bearings and maybe replacing the front brake rotors. Yes, we have a 20 ton press here. They do not tell you in the repair manual, but the front wheel bearings last to about 150K. Some more, some less.
But in a car where you have to dismantle so much to fix one thing, it makes no sense to cut corners. Take the major job slowly over a few weeks and be done with it all at one time. End result is you have a car that lasts a whole lot longer.
Yup, I may drop a grand in parts on something major. On the other hand, I have dealt with all of the trouble makers coming at me down the road. If it is a front wheel drive with a belt driven over head cam set up, they are built nicely, but when all hell breaks loose from neglect the dollars go flying if you try to pay a pro to keep it. Best to dot your i's and cross your t's the first time.
So for buying parts off the net, that is my last resort. Down time is key here. Does not matter if the car is 1 year or 25! Nothing I hate worse than someone telling they can not get a part for a two year old car! Now you know why I drive older ones! The last car we bought was a 86 Toyota which got a serious driveline overhaul shortly after wards. $5K's dollars later. 2 years of service already. 15K miles later. I could not have bought a nerw car for that! Guess what, next year she gets a new a/c! Found a place in San Antiono for that. Put one in the 89 323 for $780 plus. So, unless you can not get a part locally, only then would you want to consider web or mail. Comes down to service and down time.
I always suggest to people to take a good overall assessment of a vehicle before going into a major rebuild investment. Look it over very carefully. If the car is suitable to do what you want it to do long term, then by all means work it over to keep. Forget about resell value, because you can not get your money out of it that way. But when you compare to cost of buying a new car, you will win every time the longer you operate it. In fact we even stock extra parts for ours as well!
The number of tranny's I pulled in the past, I deftly go into one and have it out in a couple of hours. You will need to plan at least a weekend just for a first time tear down. Best to have someone with some knowledge near by. If you choose to consult with me, it will take more time and I suggest you get the same book as I. Ours is a 89, not the same as yours. But I could review the books out there and suggest the best one for you. That way I can direct to a certain page or picture. The 92 is closely related to our 89. I most likely myself could tear it down without reading the first word from a book. Experience has taught me that it is always best to have info handy.
Now for the entire scope of the job you should consider. Front wheel bearings are good for about 150K miles. Replace them this service point. Too much trouble to go after later. You will need experience and have a hydraulic press for this. I bought that also from Harbor Freight. Front struts should also be considered along with all of the proper rubber dust boots, upper mounts and bumpers. Ball joints, replace. Inspect and replace if needed, sway bar bushings. Half shafts should be carefully inspected as well. Also inspect the tie rods and steering rack. Plans on a front wheel alignment after the job. O'Reilly's has lifetime warranty on many of these parts. I recommend them. They fixing to eat all of these parts for the first time nowon our 89 that we have logged over 100K since the last time I did this major job.
As for the clutch itself. Replace clutch disc, pressure plate, throw out bearing and the pilot bearing. Most of this comes in a clutch kit. Always use a good bearing brand like BCA, Bowers or Timekin. Stay away from brands made in China. The metal hardness is too soft. I would also replace the rear main engine seal as well. It will fail otherwise in a short period of time causing the engine to burn up from lack of oil. There is a trick to removing that seal without removing the seal holder and oil pan. I will tell it to you later if you need it. Price that seal around. I found O'Reilly's to be high on seals and Advance more reasonable. O'Reilly's will match prices on parts. Here they know I will come in with a bunch of stuff printed out from websites with prices. I have been known to shave hundreds of dollars off of several major jobs here! Then again it gets even bettter if the part has a life time warranty! See ya all in another 20 years! I tell them!
Speaking of which, Hubby home and hungry. Guess I better go feed him.
The supply house could not get the front wheel bearings for our 89, so I had to go to a bearing supply house like Motion Industries. Auto Suppliers have realized regular mechanics who cut down time search for parts. Therefore in recent years, they have gotten onto the web very nicely. Here are the companies I use here locally. They may have a location near you. http://www.advanceautoparts.com/ and http://www.autozone.com/home.htm and http://www.oreillyauto.com/EW3/HomePage.do . You may wish to read an earlier e-mail about parts houses I posted.
Ah, younger son. He will be most valuable. Not the same as a front wheel drive, but if he remains open minded and keeps a open link to me for questions no matter how smart or stupid it may seem to him, I think you could pull this job off. Use those websites to price parts and print them out for future refrence. Take your time on this job and you will be fine. Over all, you should spend a lot less money than a newer car. Also what you learn here, transfers to other cars as well. Oh, pay close attention to torques specs given for nuts and bolts. Buy a good torque wrench. On foreign cars, you screw up on torque amount, you get screwed in the end.
Just keep a close eye on your coolant. Just a quick hood open in the morning and check the resoivor and a once the week pull the radiator cap should be good enough. If you find coolant lower in radiator that means there is no vacuum to pull back from the resiovor. That is caused by a leak in the system. Any loss would be a cause of concern with regards to that pump. O'Reilly's and NAPA are excellent parts suppliers. Bottom line you get what you pay for. In terms of brand names, Gates, Goodyear, Borg Warner, Wix filters. A timing belt with nytrl is what you want. Costs a bit more, but worth it.
Now for the Halloween noise. Good idea to pull the wheel off and turn the hub. I strongly suspect from what you told me that that brake drum is warped. That is rare, but does happen if someone brakes hard all of the time. Like I tell people, the more you drive like grandma, the longer the parts last.
Someone's clutch job in earlier posts I mentioned earlier at 120K. I said a bit early! Well hubby had to have one around 138K when I put the new engine in. I retaught him how to drive. When we changed the 4 speed out for a five speed, his new driving lessons showed no wear on that second clutch after 100K more of service. We reinstalled that same clutch into the 5 speed gear box back then.
Back to rear brakes. before you even take off the hub nut, be aware that you need a torque wrench to set the bearing clearance I think on this car. Check the manual to be sure. I mix my models up sometimes after a while. I do know for sure that the lock nut is a special one that is available but hard to find at times. The dealer should still be able to get one for you as a last resort. Motormite brand has them also at O'Reilly's. You will have to have them. I think there are right and left hand threads on this model as well. Be aware of that possibilty. Dealer can lay a hand on the right part the first time, O'reilly's will need an old one to match up/order.
Bottom line on noise, plan on a brake drum, brake shoes and wheel bearings and seals. Give yourself more distance behind someone else while driving and you should be able to make those brakes last a lot longer. Take your time shifting as well. That will increase life of transmsiion as well. Hard shifting is an indicator of a missing nylon bushing in the linkage.
As per driving-I was in a bit of a fun phase when first purchasing this car as opposed to my usual motto "creep to the green instead of racing to the red".
Oh yes, the trans. is an auto, only car I owned which I would opt for manual.
On the search for parts & BTW I really drive very little, 100 miles monthly in cold months.
Many thanks,
~A
All parts & labor around $400. Runs & drives like new @ 90,000 being a 20 yr old car.
The noise was the wheel bearings, I had it in my head it was something else.
Reason for posting is mainly-listen to those who know more than you, especially if you know nothing, be flexible & have an open mind.
I could have figured out the problem via simple process which would have come around with more thought.
I putzed around the shop & watched how easy some of these things would have been to do myself. Although my bottom line was cheap, I found quality parts for REALLY cheap spending time on the web & researching the quality from the crapola. Although nobody to back them, and as girlcarbuilder pointed out, this is a big plus.
thanx all!
Interesting note for you here. Back in 2000, we bought a new crate engine from Mazda for our 89 after the crank broke on the original engine. Complete from oil pan to valve cover, timing belt cover to rear main seal! All we had to do was bolt on manifolds and a bunch of other small stuff. Price was $2K. That was 7 years ago. We having that thought of rebuilding again when the time comes. If it works well now, why part with it? Especially if you have the know how to keep it working well.
The establish service intervals we have for rear wheel bearings is 50K miles and 150K for the front ones. Set your service record markers for that. I do not recommend reusing the front ones after 150K of service. The rear, re-pack and reinstall for another 50K. Trash after 100K of total service.
Last note, I learned a lot of my mechanics from reading, talking, success and messing things up! After almost 50 years, you have a lot down pat. Like Banshees coming out of the rear wheel. We thought it was brakes at first, but remember I am here depending on your ears. I feel pretty good I got you in the right area on the car considering how far away I am! I have ever amazed friends diagnosising a valve job by e-mail. No, not genius, just a bunch of carefully asked and hopefully carefully answered questions and guidance. Hashes out a lot of problems, if as you pointed out, someone listens carefully.
It's doing strange things I believe tied into the electrical system.
It has 38K original miles.
It was making a belt squealing sound that has stopped since driving home 200 miles.
Not sure what was causing the belt squeal.
The temperature gauge fluctuates between off the charts HOT back down to cold and vice versa.
This corresponds with the car shifting back and forth between overdrive and 3rd.
Within normal ranges or "hot", it will stay in overdrive.
When it goes back down to "cold" on the temperature gauge, it downshifts back into 3rd gear.
Also, the front blinkers don't work and neither radiator nor condenser fans kick on.
I've thoroughly cleaned the battery posts and clamps and cleaned what appears to be one negative ground connected to the transmission dipstick mount.
There appears to be another ground on a brace on the opposite side of the engine which I have not cleaned yet.
Anyone have any idea where to look first?
Look on top of the thermostat housing, the fan thermo electric switch is there that controls the fans. Is it broken or the wire is not connected? I assume that this is an automatic trans? If you unplug this wire, it should turn the cooling fan on. If it comes on, then the rest of the cooling fan system is okay. In order to operate safely, you must verify the engine is cooling properly. There is a possibility as well from long term storage, the fluids have absorbed some water from the air creating extra heat in the transmission. Remote and unlikely. High fluid level on anything including brakes is an excellent indicator of that. Best to change all fluids down later on. The shifting business could well be why the transmission is doing what it does. Question previous owner again on this.
Check the turn signal bulbs? Think simple here first. It is possible to bring one back from long term storage, but it takes patience. I mean keep a close eye on that coolant, before you start it each time until that pump and timing stuff has been changed out. That water pump seal fails and your out of an engine if you do not catch it quickly.
You have several problems here, the biggest concern is the age of rubber parts. Second is the cooling problem/transmission problem. If you can, question the original owner to see why it was parked. You want to see if this problem was back then or from storage.
Bear with me, dealing with some medical stuff. So responses are a bit slow. It is a slow process sometimes putting a long term stored vehicle back on the road.
The factory manual I have is for an 87. The shift is controlled by a vacuum diaphragm. Checking with the parts house online also shows one for the 4 speed speed. The hose to it must fit snug on the part and the part must not even leak a little bit or you will have a problem. No pinholes allowed. Given the age of the car, I would check there first. Transmission shops have been caught by me in the past skipping such simple things.
I don't see one mentioned in the book, so I wonder if this unit has a throttle valve cable. They have also been known for this kind of fun on some makes and models. This part is located in the front of the transmission down near the oil pan. It will have a vacuum hose attached to it and it screws into the transmission. When you remove it to replace or test, be ready just in case the fluid starts to come out with a new one or some way to plug the hole. If you go to buy one, make sure you get the one for the 4 speed. Total parts cost should be less than $20.
My daughter has a 93 mazda 323 with the 1.6 litre motor and 238,000 kms (150k miles). I did a head gasket on it about a month ago and then two weeks after that the car would not shift from 2nd to third gear. The linkage is moving ok and the accelerator cables appear to be working ok. What would cause this ? Is it something that I can fix or is it a sign that the transmission will have to be replaced.
She can drive it but it is at about 4000 rpms at 100km/h (60 mph).
I did notice she has a slight tranny fluid leak but she keeps it topped up (she checks it every time she puts gas in the car). I just drained and refilled the transmission fluid today. I do not believe it will help too much but it can not hurt.
Any insight you can provide would be greatly appreciated.
The car also has a wiper problem. When you turn off the wipers they stay where they are (in whatever position they are in when you turn them off). If you use squirters the wipers also stay in whatever position they are in. Can you tell me where i can find the part that is doing this so i can get one from the wreckers ?
Wiper, seems to be a failure in the electrical parking system usually located in with the wiper motor. Rather than replace it, I would time my turning it off to just before the swipe is returning to the low end. By the time your reflexes it it it should be low enough to view the windshield well enough. LKQ junk yards on the net. Many dealers should be able to get it for you or parts houses. Check with O'Reilly's who has many lifetime warranties on parts they sell. Keep a folder and copies of those receipts. Many of my 100K-200K cars have more warranty than a new car at O'Reilly's! People like me are killing the lifetime warranty idea.
If you put a new overhauled tranny in, best to go with a lifetime warranty deal. It hurts, but is cheaper than car notes in the long run. Next car you should plan on at least a four speed automatic or a 5 speed tranny to get better gas mileage. Remember that cooler and add on filter will extend you tranny's life making it cheaper for you in the log run. Cheap to run is what I like.Let me pull manual for 89 here to see if any more on 2-3 upshift problem. Will add more later if it has anything.
The right turn signal is acting weird - sometimes it works fine, and sometimes it clicks twice as fast as usual with no blinking from the lights. The bulbs seem fine, and the problem comes and goes. Anyone else have this issue? Thanks in advance.
It'd be best if you gave more detail as to exactly what is happening.
Would not hurt to do a fuel pressure check to make sure it is running like it should.
1987; 323 -- How much torque on the locknut that holds the rear drum in place?
Thank you,
Henry
Thank you for your reply. I'm not even re packing the bearings. I wanted to look at the condition of the rear brakes. So for now I only need to put the drums back on. Looking at the spindle nuts, they look like they have been reused a few times. For sure I will try and locate new ones. So do you think a preload of about 19ft. lbs. would be about just right for my situation?
Thanks,
Henry
On the Mazda, those wheel nuts were also available and I have been getting mine from the dealer for about $5 each. They are about $3 at the parts store if you can get them. Not worth the $4 searching for them at times I feel.
Today they started on it, checked my fuel pump replacement which they said I did a good job. They they went through the distributor and timing, which there was a great deal of confusion over the wiring as there seems to be two different configurations but in the end I think they figured it out and it has spark. They also agree that it still has compression. So spark and fuel are tested good.
But here's the interesting part. They took off the cover to the timing belt and they insist the belt seems brand spanking new. (I only put on like 5k miles after the last owner). So they are going to check later this week if it's the tensioner?
Anyway it seems like it's in capable hands now so it might come back from the dead and wanted to let you know. They want me to buy the book for it so I might have to cough up the local price instead of getting it off ebay cheaper so they can keep the momentum they have now.
I have noticed the parts supply has improved even for my 22 year old Toyota. Though our Mazda is currently down waiting on the steering rack to come back for repairs from A! Cardone. It failed after 50K of service. I bet they will be suprised to see how clean it still is! Love those warranty parts on an old car!
My question is, where is the air filter? I have the Chilton's manual for this car, and the setup in my engine compartment (at least where the air filter is concerned) looks nothing like what's in the manual, which shows a box with a clip-on housing that holds the flat air filter. Instead, what I'm seeing is in the two pics linked below:
www.specksynder.com/airflow.jpg
www.specksynder.com/airflow_detail.jpg
Is the air filter element actually *beneath* the airflow meter -- that is, do I need to physically remove the AFM to get to the filter? That seems hard to believe for something as routine as changing the air filter. Anyway, any information that anyone on this forum might have would be much appreciated.
Thanks,
Stewart
Apparently the "cotter pin" (?) on the crankshaft has never been right and has slowly shaved down until the point where the crankshaft has just been spinning which is why it lost power and then won't start. Since the previous owner was some kind of mechanic this new guy believes they rigged the pin to hold in place long enough to sell the car (welded?)
He doesn't want to just replace the cotter pin though - he says the crankshaft is damaged now to the point where it won't hold the pin right so even if he managed to make it hold (via a weld?) that not old would it fail again, it could fail in a bad way where the engine would seize.
What he wants to do is go to the junkyard and get a replacement "short block" (isn't that the whole engine???) for like $70 and then I think he said it would need replacement gaskets? (I think, may have that wrong) for $100 or so tops. He says he could just replace the crankshaft but those parts would actually be more than replacing the block which can be more easily found.
I pointed out that the amount of labor he needs to do on this would be insane and something a non-mechanic would never pay for because it would be worth more than the car but he says it's worth the computer I had promised in trade and still wants to fix it regardless.
I think this guy is being way too optimistic and I bet there are going to be other things along the way. He offered to buy the car instead at my asking price of $200 and insists it's worth saving.
So what do you think I should do? I have a bad feeling about replacing the entire block (engine) and then other things always go wrong after that.
ps. he says there was absolutely nothing wrong with the timing belt and the water pump seems like it's in good shape - those other mechanics would have just taken my money!
He wants to buy the car for $200.....he knows it is cheap on gas. You need to try to find a way to look at some parts and see what they look like new. Search the net and see what a woodruff key, crankshaft timing gear for a belt and the nose of the crankshaft looks like.
Never a good idea to swap parts from one engine to another without doing the proper machine work needed. Oh, machine shops that do enigine work do have to rebuild crankshafts at times by adding metal by welding it on and re machine the whole thing again.