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Comments
For the first time in two decades, I have an actual garage; I don't know if it will contribute anything to vehicle longevity, but not standing outside at 6:30 am with an ice scraper will certainly contribute to mine.
.......unless you live in a less than desireable area, then it will be bye-bye car......
As for lubrication, I haven't yet looked at my shifter and don't know exactly what is producing the noise so I can't make a specific recommendation. Some shifters have pivots that can simply be greased, and some actually have a reservoir containing oil that can be changed (I've seen Miata discussions indicating that they have that type, but I don't know if the 626 does).
On another topic, my rear suspension is clunking again. To whoever just posted about their rear suspension bushings (too lazy to look for the post), you're not alone. This is the second time for my car, first time was less than a year ago when the dealer replaced the rear sway bar links and bushings under warranty. Looks like I'll be back there soon trying to get them to repeat last year's work for no charge.
The engine runs excellent and there is no knocking at any speed, except very faint knock at idle. I never use lower octane fuel than midgrade 89 in this car.
And as we all know, it takes a while for the 626 to start producing mass quantities of heat. (It's a decent climate-control system otherwise - one of the benefits of domestic manufacture, I suppose - but warming up is something it does on its own sweet time.)
emptied our trunk except spare tire and lid and
ocassionaly it could be heard.To fliipin' cold now
to empty it completely...she has 40+K.
Concerning the rear suspension clunk, I never noticed it in this car. Could it be that V6 models have different struts or sway bars?
Also, I have not heard any squealing or squeaking noises coming from the shifter when shifting into any gear, so I cannot comment on that one.
Consumer Reports once complained about the climate control taking a while, but that was on the four-cylinder model, I think. I don't know if the heater cores are different; the radiators are, I believe, the same, but the V6 probably holds a tad more coolant, if only because there's a greater area where the stuff has to run.
There's a TSB on a rear clunk on '98 through '00, but it doesn't involve any suspension parts; it's the valve that controls the evap canister from the fuel system.
I've seen the TSB you refer to, windophobe6. I've actually had that problem, but it sounds different. More like a rattling sound, only heard when starting out in the morning, and not nearly as loud. I'm betting that my current problem is with the sway link bushings again, as it really only makes noise when the rear end experiences side to side movement. It has been between -15 and 10 degrees most mornings in my area for almost three weeks, so that could be partially responsible for whatever has malfunctioned back there. I'm not sure what suspension differences there are if any, between the V6 and I4 equipped models p100. I suppose it's possible that some changes were made from '99 to '00 as well.
Things do clunk more when they're cold.
On Monday it cut out on my way to work. The engine just died, the tach went to 0 even though I was still moving and the engine was turning. I coasted to the side of the road, and it started right back up. Hmm, I thought, that was strange.
Tonight I was on my from work to my chiropractor and it died again. On a 4 lane highway. 3 degrees F. And it wouldn't start back up, though it would crank fine. Luckily I was able to walk about 1/2 mile to my chiropractor without getting run over, called my wife, and got my adjustment.
The receptionist recommended a shop just down the street, so we went over and luckily they were still open. Had it towed in and they will look at it tomorrow. (Can you believe my wife didn't want to try pulling it over with our minivan? :-))
I'm guessing it's something electrical, or the fuel pump. If it had been warmer out I would have gone home for some tools to pull a plug to check for spark. When it was cranking it sounded normal, like it has compression, so I don't think it's the timing belt. I'll post once I know anything if anyone is interested.
Dave
STILL less than a new car payment (I keep telling myself...) I figure I've spent about $60/month on repairs so far, including this one. This is the first time it has left me walking. After tax time, I might just be prowling the new (or used) car lots...
Dave
The fix is indeed to replace the distributor. (Mitsubishi, if I remember correctly, was the supplier of the offending component.)
The part has a 1 year/12,000 mile warranty. The car ran fine on my way into work this morning. It started right up, even though it's -12 F. Brr.
Dave
Thanks
1. Look at the obvious -loose spare tire and tools in the trunk - the spare must be tighly screwed down and properly centered in the spare wheel well. The spare wheel well cover should be properly installed as well. Look for any loose tools that could be on the bottom of the hweel well.
2. Inspect the car on a lift and check the exhaust hangers, muffler and exhaust pipes and shake them hard enough to see if any components hit the car bottom when shaken
3. Check the fuel tank straps to see if any are loose
4. Perform similar inspections on various underbody car components. I discovered a torn driveshaft center support bearing bushing on my 95 Nissan pickup by conducting such an inspection. Replacing the bearing/bushing cured an annoying driveshaft vibration which could not be solved by wheel balancing. Then I found out that the driveshaft support bearing bushing failure is common on these trucks. so it would not be a bad idea to go to your Mazda dealer and find out what are common problems concerning suspension and underbody components on Mazda 626 cars.
Note: the Allen screw is only on the rear calipers and you retract the piston by turning the screw, not pushing on the piston with a C clamp, as you do on the front calipers.
Several months ago I read some complaints about Mazda RX8 brake pads rattle.
thanks again
People who used it had pretty good results with it...you can get it on line form their web page...
http://www.auto-rx.com/index.html
The brake shop did not have one of the clips that keep the calipers snug.
Thanks
'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
Still, there are vastly more complaints about That Other Tranny.
Zoom/Zoom
1. slow leak from my 2nd rack and pinion ($900)
2. weak engine mounts ($400)
3. burning very small amount of oil (priceless)
4. failing tie rod boots ($250)
I'm guessing it would take about $1500 to fix all the nitnoid things on this car. That still leaves me with my 3rd Ford transmission lurking underneath. Who knows how long that will last.
Sight unseen question: will the torn tie rod boots cause some kind of catestrophic failure which will require repair, or if I simply stay out of potholes and stop splashing in water puddles will I be able to get this car to September when I can see the new Accord hybrid engine? I really don't want to spend a dime on the 626; my Malibu Maxx is sitting there waiting to be bought the second this car fails, but I sure would like to see if I'll be able to change the oil in the new Accord before I buy the Maxx. Thanks in advance.
However - when I grabbed the rear sway bar, I could move the sway bar to the right and left wheels by about 3". Is this indicative that the sway bar bushing is worn? The ball joints look good.
Any suggestions on the noise would be greatly appreciated - it's driving me nuts!
They're ordering the part for next week so I have the car back, but they must have done something to tighten things up a bit, because it doesn't clunk as much as it did before yesterday.
This is the second time getting the problem corrected on my car, first time was in May last year under the B2B warranty. Fortunately, this time is also a freebie as I'm still under the 12mo/12Kmi parts/labor warranty from the first repair job.
One of the lights behind the green gauge backlighting has burned out (so now part of the speedo is really dark at night).
So my question is can this be a do-it-yourself job to replace the lightbulb? If so, what needs to be done to reach the lights behind the gauges? Or, do I need to get a dealership to do this?
The vehicle is a '98 Mazda 626 V6 AT
Thanks.