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Mazda Protege Basic Maintenance Questions
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Comments
"Start the car up with the drain plug out for about a minute, this will get everything out."
An engine with no coolant can be a dangerous thing... your temp gauge will not show the correct engine temp without coolant in there. Also without coolant, heat will not dissipate from the cylinder walls and the head so I would reccomend no more than 20 seconds of that method. Dealers and repair shops have flushing machines that do a much better job so if you are bent on getting every nook and cranny, I would suggest that. Of course, a simple drain and refill of the engine would be fine for a 30k. The intention is just to get the lost additives back in the coolant.
As a side note:
According to Mazda the 30k involves an oil change, replace spark plugs and air filter. That's it!
http://www.robinair.com/products/coolant.pdf
Any good shop would have a power flush like the above. Otherwise you are begging for a trapped air bubble in the cylinder head.
BTW, the 2001 Pro manual says coolant should be changed at 45k then every 30k thereafter.
Translated, that statement means: We look for things that are broken or showing signs of wear and then give you a laundry list of items that we think you need repaired. If you are the slightest bit mechanically inclined you can handle these items yourself.
Typically, a dealer will add items to their 30k service that are not suggested by the factory. Granted, preventative maintenance is usually not a bad thing but a few more bucks that you may not need to spend.
I have seen cases where air bubbles have stayed in there with the cap off(not Honda). I just look for the highest hose into the cyl head, loosen the clamp and squeeze it a few times. That usually does the trick.
I guess this would be a good time to state that my posts are based on my opinion and not those of my sposorer(employer).
So for now, I'm all ears. I probably won't be able to do half the things covered in this manual, but being able to do the other half(or so) will easily offset the $105 it cost. And at the minimum make me a much more informed owner when dealer service is needed.
You can tell you have one if your temp gauge doesn't go up to normal yet you hear the radiator fan running. The owners manual suggests the Todd(newcar31) method(see above) with the addition of a few revs to move the coolant a little faster. This should work ok, just make sure the temp gauge returns to normal.
Uh oh, wife is calling, time to go.....
or is it only my problem...dealer adjusted the idle speeds...is better than before...but still gives a nice jolt if I had the a/c on for about 1 hour or so on a long drive and am waiting at a gas station with the A/c on at idle speeds?
Does it jolt the whole car forward or just cause the idle speed to decrease? If the idles speed just changes, that is no big deal unless it's a big change.
The A/C clutch will cycle on and off as the system pressure changes. This is normal for all cars, but the smaller engines feel it the most.
I'll probably try Strip-It, hope it will help.
Thank you, guys!
very happy to see the main message board eclipsing the 1000 message mark
H
If you use a non-abrasive wax or cleaner polish you can give your head, signal, and tail lights a light coat of wax. Just buff these areas real good and you will be in good shape.
Two schools of thought on the exterior black plastic trim. 1# Leave the trim alone, because if you start treating them, you will always need to treat them to prevent drying and cracking. 2# Go to AutoZone, Pep Boys, Wall Mart etc. and find a nice product designed to treat, shine and maintain the black plastic exterior trim. I prefer #2, but then I'm a little fussy about detailing my Protege, hehe.
Respectfully;
Larry
Hank
Even though the factory manual is ~$100, the amount of insight you gain is awesome. Most of the procedures, even though they require special tools, were written for untrained monkeys.
I'd be happy to point it out, but I don't want you to do something that may cause problems down the road.
(guess I'll have to tune it out with some tunes)
Dave
KarenS
Host
Owner's Clubs
I actually used to work a lot of mainte. things on my bike before....but that was a carb and idle setting was easier to locate on that.
so if you could help me... I'd appreciate it.
Looking from the front of your car into the engine compartment, it is to the left of the battery. Follow the black rubber tube from the air filter box/airflow sensor back to the aluminum throttle body. There are two adjustable screws on the TB. One changes the idle by letting additional air through a passage and one adjusts the throttle plate opening(DON'T TOUCH that one). The one to use is in a recess as the plate adjustment is exposed.
I would not like to do anything while still under warranty.
have a nice day.
(I appreciate your not giving tech. advise left&right...shows that you care)
I followed the 2" rubber tube from the airfilter box to the aluminium body. Oh the top is a coil of some sort.
I did not find any screws on the upper visible side.
What kind of screws are these? slot or philips or star? any identification marks on those screws?
Thanks in advance
I'll try to get a picture later today, but I need to know engine size.
Anyone have a opinion on this technique? Any other way? I don't want to peel off any paint and don't want to bugger it up trying to clean it with chemicals like lighter fluid or tar removers.
If it was tastful I'd just leave it, but this dealer's logo is downright garish and looks very out of place.
Respectfully;
Larry
-Larry
It's still too cold here to wash and wax. I wanna wash and wax. Weekdays have been nice, weekends are rainy or cold or both.
If you live somewhere where it's at least 75 deg. this time of year, send me roundtrip airfare and I'll wash and wax your Pro'.
Have fun in Dallas!
-Larry