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Comments
The CEL, clutch, and oil leak are what worry me. Mirror, antenna (yes, you can replace with fixed), paint, etc. aren't anything to worry about. But, again, it really doesn't sound like a 79K mile car.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S
My clutch repair was $550. I would also replace the tranny fluid even though it is manual every 15K, 30K wi synthetic.
My problem is that it doesn't sound like it was taken care of too well.
Overheating can kill any transmission, not just the CD4E. There were some design issues with this tranny that made it more susceptible to overheating, which makes the auxiliary cooler a useful option.
Transgo makes a shift kit for the CD4E, to be installed during a rebuild. One of its functions is to regulate line pressure more closely - a useful tool, since runaway line pressure can kill this tranny in no time.
If the lights are still on, it's time for a trip to the shop.
So I'm joining the ranks of 626 owners. I'm sure I'll be aking you all more questions in the future, but hopefully not too often. If I can get a year or two out of it without sinking a lot of money into it, it will be worth it. Then I can get that new Maxima I've always wanted...
Thanks folks.
Dave
For antenna, I was able to found a Hirschmann unit at an electronics store (Fry's) several years ago for $60. It does fit with minor modification. If you don't care the appearance, a fixed one is easier.
The engine runs ok with 205K mi but the paint is shot and the Blue Book on the car is only $500.
Is this sled worth repairing? Being Sunday I can't call a mechanic to get a cost, but am wondering why spend anything on a car that may be on it's last legs.
I read a Miata site that mentioned problems with the front of the crank being weak in the '90-'91 models and am wondering if the 626 has the same problem.
Any help is appreciated
Good luck and let us know just what happened.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S
A standard pulley would just bolt to the front of the engine. What's this thing? And why the 1/4" gap? Is the rim like pressed onto the hub for different accessory configurations? I'm stumped and am not willing to pull the wheel, wheelwell, pulley hub, etc out for something that I'm thinking of trading in (selling for parts).
Thanks again
1. Replace transmission fluid. Since this a manual it's a simple drain and fill. My Mazda specialist recommends using ATF rather than fluid, and also uses Lubegard.
2. The MAF sensor should be cleaned.
3. Check CV boots Japanese cars don't have very good ones. They wear out around 75K.
4. O2 sensor is easy to replace.
5. About all a tuneup that is needed, is to replace the spark plugs.
I havea mazda 626 LX 5 spd. with 203,000 miles. I have a strange problem. A few days back my car started sputtering and would eventually die, but would restart after a lil while. My mechanic thought it might be the fuel filter, so we replaced that and it sort of went away.
But today I got my car out of work and drove down for half an hour and stopped at shoprite. I get back and the car wont start. It did not even crank, nothing !!. So I call AAA and when the tow guy shows up, I try starting the car and it starts right back up. But by this point I am too scared to go home in the car so I have it towed home.
DOes anyone have any idea what it miught be ?? I had the distributor replaced a year back. Thanks !!!
Sabir.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S
So I did the 1 hour commute to work and when I got here, I shut the car and tried to restart it, absolutely nothing. No crank no nothing. I think it might be the starter, and is $ 180.00 a reasonable amount for replacing the starter. Thanx again.
Sabir.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/dorothy.bradbury/probemx/p_p4.htm
AS for the electrical system specialist, should I go straight to the dealer for this one ?? AS for now I am not sure what I should do because atleast the car starts and drives everytime I go to work and come back home. AS for now I am hoping it is the starter and nothing else. Thanks.
Sabir.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S
I was thinking about Millenia, but NO. Thanks. No more Mazdas. In normal cars transmissions do not break this...
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S
The previous owner said he took it to an import mechanic, but they could find no problem. It should store a code, right?
The car seems to run just great, with the exception of a slightly low/ vibrating idle. Not too worried yet, at least the tranny seems to be just fine. ;-)
Dave
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S
http://www.batauto.com/mazda/
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S
I have an iceberg I need to get rid of...are you interested?
And anyway, Malfunction Indicator is more useful a description: "Check Engine" means - what? "Yep, there's an engine in there."
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S
I had no idea what it was, so to be on the safe side once I saw it I pulled off into a gas station and shut the car off. I had to look in the manual to figure out exactly what the light meant. I was a little worried it might be teh "oil" light - the symbol kind of looks like that "Alladin" oil-lamp international symbol.
Thanks for the link. Since I don't have a code reading tool, I'll have to take it in to my mechanic to get it diagnosed. Looks like there's quite a list of things it could be, and I don't really want to start throwing parts at it. If I had to guess I'd say it was the o2 sensor though.
Dave
http://home.golden.net/~trinity/malf/malfcode.htm
or:
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/dorothy.bradbury/ probemx/p_m19.htm
(there's a space that needs to be removed from the link before 'probemx' to get it to work...
G.
Dave
I have a 1993 Mazda 626 LX 4 cyl, 5 spd.with 203k miles. I posted here before when I had the cranking problem. It turns out I was'nt pressing the clutch while starting and hence the problem. Pretty stupid, considering I have had the car for so long.
Anywayz all this happened because of another problem I 've been having. Its like this :
Whenever I drive for a long period of time(maybe 45 minutes or more) and shut the car, and try to start immediately afterwards, the car sputters and eventually dies. If I hang around for awhile (maybe 20 minutes or more), it does start. DOes anyone have a clue about this ??
Sorry about the previous post, and thanks for all the replies.
Sabir.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S
This week, after the battery was replaced, it didn't seem to have much juice, and still had problems starting. It had been timed just last January. The mechanic checked the Distribuor assembly. In my 1991, it has some springs and other mechanisms that advance the speed rather than the usual vacuum. You vehicle is a similar year. They cleaned up the distributor assembly and the car starts easily and has its original pep. They cleaned it up because it is an expensive part to replace.
Hope this helps.
Only problem is, I can't figure out how to fill it. I've located what I believe is the drain plug, but I can't figure out where I'd fill it. The owner's manual only shows the automatic version and makes no mention of how to check the level or change the 5 speed fluid, though it does give a fluid recommendation and capacity.
Can anybody here help me out? I'm in the process of checking out a Haynes service manual form the local library system, but it won't be in for a few days.
After a couple of weeks, it's still running and the AC works well. I keep finding little problems with it though. One of the bolts holding the sway bar to a link is broken, it needs new struts, the check engine light comes on once in a while, and the trunk and passenger door key locks are buggered and don't work. The driver's door one still works, but it's loose and I kind of worry about that one breaking too and being locked out. Any words of wisdom for those as well?
Dave
CV joint boots, both sides
Valve cover gaskets
cruise control vacuum line
Throttle body and intake cleaning
Interestingly enough, the brakes, which I thought would be needing replaced by now, are still fine, allowing me to pass the state safety inspection.
Hopefully, I have another 70k miles left in the vehicle without too many major expenses. It's still quick and the V-6 loves to rev!!
I've done it in the past, but I always seem to end up tripping the "check engine" light. Basically, what I did was disconnect the air intake from the throttle body, disconnect the wiring harness from the intake tube (is that a mass airflow sensor?), then plug all disconnected vacuum lines.
Next, I used a Gumout throttle body cleaner and a toothbrush to clean everything I could reach, with and without the engine running.
The dealer used a BG system, including a product that goes into the tank to clean fuel injectors, etc. I'm not sure how effective the whole thing was; only time will tell.
Total bill was 1259.00!!!! Ouch!!! The timing belt notwithstanding, this is the only money I've spent on this car apart from tires, so I'm not unhappy. Now, if ten more things break in the next year, I will have to think about a replacement vehicle!!
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/dorothy.bradbury/probemx/index.htm
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/dorothy.bradbury/probemx/p_m10.htm
This site is invaluable if you don't want to spend the $100+ on the factory service manual. I've found it to be very accurate for regular maintenance procedures. The first URL (the site's home page) has some information about halfway down on selecting the proper tranny oil, and the second URL contains the procedure for doing the change.
The hard part is obtaining the proper oil. None of the local or national auto parts stores in my area carried a decent GL-4 oil of the proper weight. I ended up ordering some Redline MT-90 online, and although it's quite expensive, it was well worth the money. My 626 is only a 2000, with 22K miles, and the tranny was already starting to get "notchy" and difficult to downshift at high speeds (especially in winter). Once I put the synthetic Redline in, and took it out for a spin, I noticed a HUGE improvement right at the first 1-2 shift.
I don't know if your '94 is the same as my '00, but my fill plug is about 1/3 of the way up on the front of the case, and it's 23mm just like the drain plug. Follow the abovementioned site's instructions exactly, and you should have the job done in minutes. The only thing I would add is don't bother with the turkey baster because it takes forever to pump 4 qts. of fluid in with one. I've got one of those flexible fluid fill tubes from Pep Boys that has a valve on top, and it worked beautifully pouring the oil into it from up where you remove the air box. Furthermore, don't bother with the regular hardware stores to find a 23mm socket for the drain/fill plugs. I had to go to a Napa auto parts store to find one, because it's a fairly odd size that isn't commonly used
Hope this helps, good luck...
flexor attached to 130 ponies.We have about 28.5K
on her and she has been a trouble free Zoom/Zoom
since it read 7 on the odometer!!
leakage from the water pump, the radiator seems
not clogged, new thermostat. But I can feel both
the lower and upper rubber coolant hoses are very
stiff when overheating, seems very high pressure
is in the hoses. Can anyone imaging what could
be the problem? The water pump is broken or is
clogged, or other reasons? Any advice will be
appreciate.
Radiator shops can clean out the junk.
I started drainng out the fluid Friday night after work. I got the drain plug out (mine is a 14 mm) and then tried to remove the big fill plug...and couldn't. "Ensure the fill-plug can be removed before removing the drain plug." Sure sounds obvious now... I used a crescent wrench because I didn't have a wrench or socket big enough. My wife was out with the other car, so I couldn't run out to get a wrench, and my neighbor didn't have one big enough either. So I put the car out on the street overnight.
The next morning I pulled it back in the garage and put the crescent back on the fill plug, so I could take it with me to Sears to get a wrench the right size. Ended up buying a 24 mm, and a can of Liquid Wrench for good measure. Of course it's a 23mm, not 24. So I took the wrench back and bought a nice set of big metric sockets and a 1/2" drive breaker bar for good measure. What a difference having the proper tool makes. It came right off then.
Sounds like I used the wrong fluid though. The owner's manual calls for GL-4/5, which I assumed meant either 4 or 5 would work, and I used GL-5. According to the links above, sounds like I need 4.
Dave
the hoses because I'm thinking it's big and should
not be clogged. If the rediator is clogged, why
both upper and lower hoses are in the same stiffness?
I though the lower hose should be soft while the
upper one is stiff, if the rediator is clogged and
the pump works fine.
In addition, I was told that if the pump was worn,
the coolant could be leaked out from the holes on
the pump. But I did not see any coolant. That's
why I am not sure if it's the pump's problem and
did not replace it.
Any comments? Thanks.
You should definitely change out that GL-5 fluid ASAP, unless you can verify with the manufacturer that it does not contain (sulphuric) additives that will corrode the syncros in the 626 tranny. Otherwise, you may end up greatly shortening it's life.
If you need an alternative oil, and don't want to spend the extra $$$ on Redline and wait for the UPS man to arrive with it, I've heard that both Ford and GM offer MT oils that are safe for brass/bronze syncros. You'd have to verify this with your local dealers.
As for the manual specifying GL-5, well it may not becompletely wrong. I've done some research on the subject, and it seems there are some GL-5 oils which may be safe for brass/bronze syncros, but it depends on the manufacturer. It may not be easy to verify, because I've found a couple manufacturers on the web who make that claim, then go on to say that they use sulphuric additives. Seems the picture is not all that clear. That's why I opted for a GL-4 oil which I know is safe. Redline specifically states that their additive chemistry is non-corrosive. Many of the other manufacturers I researched seem to be very vague on the subject.
Every 3 years I go to a Radiator specialty shop and they remove and clean the radiator up. I started this when a dirty radiator caused overheating.
And of course the thermostat could be in need of replacement.