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Comments
Is there some kind of preventative service that could be done to prevent these types of failure? For example, would annual cleaning of the throttle body help in this regard?
You could also put in fuel injector cleaner or some other fuel additive that adds detergents.
Have you used these in your vehicles? I've heard that they have a very limited cleaning effect.
I can't say that I really noticed much difference with the 323LX. I think using good-quality gas probably works better because it's always in your tank, unlike the additive products, which I didn't put in with every tankful. I think it works out to be cheaper too.
Many people just replace the gunked up EGR valve and wire brush the port opening. This is what I did. My valve was only $78 for the '95 Protege (Borg Warner) and replacement was quite easy.
You can also clean out the black carbon in the valve with carb cleaner. Many people do this, especially if the new valve is expensive.
You are also supposed to clean out carbon build-up in the ports that connect to the EGR valve. This probably varies by engine with regards to the susceptibility of port clogging. So far (160k-200K), my Protege seems to do fine with just the new EGR valve and no chemical port cleaning.
Here is one auto service company that advertises a chemical cleaning after removing the valve:
http://www.10mostwantedcarkillers.com/mostwanted/fuel-air.html
A Chevy dealer online lists EGR port cleaning at $180.00. Too steep for my old car!
Cleaning the carbon build-up off the throttle plate is good preventative maintenance. I try to do it with air filter changes. That said, I don't think doing this service will stop exhaust gas carbon build-up in the EGR system.
The original set did fine for 55K miles. The next two sets of mid to upper level Bridgestones (Turanza and BT-70s ) each lasted about 50-60K miles before some sort of failure (sidewall or very uneven wear). The treadwear warranties for the two sets were lifetime and 70K.
Being frustated with $70 tires not lasting nearly as long as promised, I went with the low end LeMans 40K tires two years (28K miles) ago. So I am in the shop today for a rotation and they tell me the back tires are not in that great of shape. They don't want to rotate and try to sell me some new tires. I passed on the new tires, drove the car home, and inspected the tires. Sure enough, the back two tires have uneven wear with more wear on the outside edge. This was never mentioned previously by the tire shop in the last 3 rotations.
I have done all the typical stuff like an alignment when the tires were put on and rotations every 5-7K miles. The car tracks straight and there are no tire vibration issues. Any ideas on uneven wear?
I do plan on dumping Bridgestone and going with some higher end Michelin or Goodyear tires in the next year. And even though I have a lifetime alignment agreement with this shop, I still plan on going elsewhere.
That does sound premature but you may still be able to get a couple of thousand more out of them.
each lasted about 50-60K miles
How long do the tires last on your Olds?
Personally, tires that last close to 100K km (60K miles) sound pretty good. Many in the Protege5 forum have complained abut tires that have not lasted half that long. Also, the rubber in tires degrades over time no matter whether they are driven or not. So keeping a tire for beyond five years may be risky. Did the sidewall failure you mention happen on an old tire?
Looking through my records, it seems the most I get out of a set of tires on the Protege is 3 years or 55-57K miles. The sidewall failure occurred at 3 years. They gave me credit for the tire because it had lifetime treadwear warranty, but of course, I had to replace in twos and no credit for the other. I now have little faith in treadwear warranties.
I know other aspects of independent suspensions can come into play with regards to uneven tire wear. Side to side play in struts was mentioned on one post I read. I previously assumed that a proper 4 wheel alignment and wheel balancing would be sufficient. Maybe this in not the case, at least with independent suspension vehicles.
I'm considering the Michelin Harmony tires as many people say they last a long time and work well. Maybe I need to rotate my own tires every 3K miles? I have the air tools, I only need a quick floor jack to speed things up. I'm just very frustated with tire shops that want to continually sell you new tires.
Joe
an 80K tire? I'd feel good getting 40-50K out of them.
FWIW: i have a used '02 accord with harmonys. i like them. i've put maybe 25K on them (don't know how many were on them to begin with). i think they're good for another 20-25K.
any suggestions would be appreciated.
I put new belts on according to specs., but I think that they stretch a bit and hence the ocassional slipping. I need to get back under there and recheck. Funny, I did not have this problem with the last set of belts which were Gates. My current set is some no-name brand.
As far as the A/C pulley, I think the A/C compressor clutch should allow it to freewheel when off and quickly engage when on. There should not be a burning rubber smell caused by belt slippage.
My A/C compressor clutch started to fail at 7 years/150K miles. The clutch started to make a squealing noise that was very noticable. The independent shop said that they could not get a new clutch by itself, so I go a new compressor and clutch combo. Around $550 for the new parts and labor.
I have to re-adjust my belt every fall/winter otherwise it begins to squeal. (In the rain/cold, and whenever I have 2 or more things on at once, like the defroster, wipers, heater or A/C, etc.) Once adjusted properly it lasts about a year or so.
I have a 2000SE 1.6L, with 500K kms, and have only replaced the belts twice ( every 3 years).
There are 2 bolts. First loosen the bolt on the alternator.
Then, there is an adjusting bolt, about 3 inches long.
After you adjusted that bolt, re-tighten the alternator bolt.
It's trial and error,so you may have to try a few times before you get it right.
Thank you :sick: :confuse:
Hesistation can also be caused by one or more spark plug wires being bad. This is very common on the Protege. You can check the wire resistance with a voltmeter to see if one is bad before buying a new set. I went with Bosch plug wires with a lifetime warranty. Also check and/or replace the distributor cap and rotor when doing plug wires.
The Haynes Repair Manual is pretty good for the Protege and libraries often have it.
I looked at the replacement A/C compressor (still good after 4 1/2 years) and noticed that it is a Sanden TRS090 Scroll (model #4953). Too bad it not a regular piston compressor, because Sanden makes a lot of replacement parts for this type.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
I checked further into my LeMans tires after I noticed wheel spin from takeoff on just a slightly wet incline. The tread isn't down to the indicator yet, so I was surprised about the spin on 2 year old rubber. It turns out the tires were retail new but technically 2 years old when put on my car based on the DOT marking on the sidewall. So the rubber is actually 4 years old, and hence the spin. Also, they were made in Argentina. I don't know much about the quality control standards there, but I will assume the worst.
Now I really question whether or not this shop has ever properly done the alignments they said they did under the lifetime agreement. NOT GOING BACK.
By the way, we just put Goodyear Assurance Triple Treads on our Olds Minivan and this is a great tire. Very quiet ride and good handling and braking (for a minivan). Too bad they don't make them for the 13 inch Protege wheel.
Anyway if any of that information leads you any conclusion that you think might be helpful, let me know.
Thanks,
Noah
I recently brought my 2000 Mazda Protege into Jiffy Lube for an oil change. They also cleared my fuel filter. However, now my car has problems when idling. When I come to stop signs or lights with the car in drive, it idles very slowly, almost to the point of stalling. (The same thing happens when I turn my car on after it's been sitting for only a few minutes. So, it also does this in park when the car is warm.) I've kept it in drive with this slow idle for a couple of minutes just to see if it will stall out and it hasn't. It drives fine whenever I'm applying gas and there are no other problems. Any ideas on what could be causing this? My initial guess is that perhaps Jiffy Lube obstructed the fuel line in some way?
Thanks!
http://www.protegefaq.net/tsb/
I know it did on my car.
The squeeking noise could be if your car is an automatic check the power steering fluid.
This could squeal as well.
However, to my surprise, I discovered that 18" and 20" Trico Winter Blades are almost exactly the same length as the Protege OEM 19" and 21" summer blades!
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I have a 2002 P5, and last winter (in Maryland), during a standard fill up sometime in December '05, I could only pump about half of a gallon of gas at a time before it would back-fill and overflow. Between each half gallon, I had to wait about 10-15 seconds to let that gallon settle. It wasn't a full tank issue, because I could keep doing this up to the full 10-11 gallons I was down.
This problem continued every single fillup until I drove the car to Florida on a trip for the holidays. In southern Virginia the thermistat broke and stuck close. I limped the car to a mechanic who repaired that problem and the gas fillup problem disappeared as well, though the mechanic said he didn't touch anything else other than the coolant system.
It remained gone for about 2 weeks upon return to Maryland, then it dumped snow one day and the problem came back. This time it didn't go away until late March when it warmed back up again.
During this time, I took it to 2 different mechanics I trust, one who disassembled the entire fuel tank and filler components and didn't find a problem. Everything was lubricated fine and free from damage or defect. The second mechanic put a camera down the filler tube, trying to see if there was any issue that way, and could not detect anything wrong.
Now I have moved to Rhode Island, and it first snowed up here yesterday, and today the problem returned. Half a tank at a time.
This is really frustrating me, and wouldn't be so bad if it only happened in warm weather. The cold and the moisture HAVE to have something to do with it (freezing something in place?), but I can't figure out what or why, or how to fix it.
Any help anyone can give is much appreciated.
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I then got this post in response:
"Sounds like the charcoal evaporator canister. I remember my old Saab had that problem. Gets fuel soaked. I’m assuming your mechanics have checked that."
But still looking for further information, as well as anyone with experience dealing with repair/replacement/drainage for the carbon cannister.
It came loose a couple of times, so I now use a nylon cable tie to hold it in place. I haven't had a problem with it since.
Does any one has an idea if there is any link between the timing belt and the working of the automatic transmission.
Any reply is greatly appreciated.
Thanks.