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Mazda 626 Troubles

2544 messages,  Last post on Apr 15, 2013 at 8:56 AM

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What is this discussion about? Mazda 626, Sedan




Messages Page 158 of 255

#1571 of 2544 Issues with my 1993 Mazda 626 by ece3446

Aug 03, 2003 (8:52 pm)

Hi all,
I have a 5spd. Mazda 626 (2.0L), about 240,000 miles, with an annoying problem. Recently I had the timing belt changed and when I left the mechanic the acceleration felt funny. It would not accelerate quickly and merging was downright dangerous. When I started going uphill, the car started losing speed and when I floored it the check engine light came on and the car just stopped accelerating.
 
Anyway I took it back to my mechanic who thought it was the timing. He adjusted it but the problem persisted. He redid the timing belt and the problem improved but it is still definitely there. At this point he thought it was the catalytic convertor, so I had that checked out. It was'nt.
 
I am not sure what to do now because my mechanic has'nt a clue. Gas mileage pretty much sucks down from 450 miles a tank to 350. Anyone got any ideas at all.
 
Thanks.

#1572 of 2544 by maxx4me

Aug 04, 2003 (12:48 pm)

sorry to be flippant, but I wish I had your problems. You got 10 years out of a lousy 626, and oodles of miles to boot? I think you should simply smile and move on. You hit the jackpot with this car and got your money out of it. People like me with a much newer 626 and a lot less miles certainly didn't hit the jackpot, but are about to hit the bottle for making such a poor choice in cars. Congrats ece: you should be very happy indeed. Don't throw money after bad. It is time to retire that pony, and find a new race horse.

#1573 of 2544 ece3446 by p100

Aug 04, 2003 (6:06 pm)

When you brought the car back to the mechanic after the timing belt change, "he thought it was the timing". What timing? Ignition timing or the valve timing which would result from incorrect installation of the timing belt?
 
My hunch is that he installed the timing belt incorrectly. You said that he corrected the "timing" when you brought the car back, which means that he would have to reposition the timing belt if he meant the valve timing.
 
If you install a timing belt correctly, both your valve timing and ignition timing will be the same as they were before the old belt was removed. I changed the timing belt on my 92 Protege LX (1.8 l DOHC engine) at 65 K miles. I did the work myself. The ignition base timing did not change at all and the engine ran perfect for another 60K miles when I sold the car.
 
So once again, I think you need to have the timing belt rechecked and also check the base ignition timing. Your mechanic may have tried to compensate for wrong valve timing by advancing the base ignition timing.

#1574 of 2544 by maxx4me

Aug 05, 2003 (10:24 am)

2 mazdas p100??? Shame on you!! He, he, he

#1575 of 2544 maxx4me by p100

Aug 05, 2003 (3:47 pm)

The first one was a great car. Powerful and responsive 1.8 l DOHC engine and I have done almost nothing to it in 7 years/125K miles. Ironically, this is the reason why I bought the 626. The Protege was just too small for my needs. However, the Protege with 125K miles was a better car than this 626 with no miles. In fact, just few months ago some kid was driving my old Protege and passed me. Except for a few dings the old car still looks good and evidently runs good. I figure it has about 200K miles on it now. I should have kept the car. I was in mint condition when I sold it.

#1576 of 2544 by maxx4me

Aug 05, 2003 (5:41 pm)

I hear the current protoge is every bit as good. They are coming out with a new version next year I believe.

#1577 of 2544 maxx4me by p100

Aug 05, 2003 (6:53 pm)

I read quite a few complaints about the new Protege manual transmission whine which is evidently a design flaw within the transmission itself. Why cant' they leave good things alone? My Protege manual transmission was quiet and troublefree.

#1578 of 2544 by maxx4me

Aug 06, 2003 (6:08 am)

that is a shame. I thought it was a trouble free car. Despite my service manager (who ownes all Chevys and is helping to steer me towards the Maxx) stating that the 6 is the best car he has ever driven, you won't ever see me in a Mazda showroom again

#1579 of 2544 Bits here and there by wongpres

Aug 06, 2003 (8:08 am)

I rarely post here but lurk here all the time as I currently share a 626 with my parents. The vehicle is a '98 626 V6 auto.
 
Fortunately, our 626 has been pretty good reliability-wise. We've had no problems during the warranty period and just two out of warranty repairs in years 4 & 5 which totalled about $400cdn, not too bad at all.
 
p100: Yeah, our stock rear disc pads are wearing faster than the front ones too. Last check was 40% front and 10% rear, so there will be new rear pads going in before winter.
 
maxx4me: IMO, and also illustrated with p100's Mazda's, Japanese assembled Mazda's are very good and significantly better than US assembled Mazda's. In fact, I'm getting a Mazda3 (the Protege replacement) in Apr '04.

#1580 of 2544 Thanks for the advice by ece3446

Aug 07, 2003 (8:25 am)

Thanks for all that great advice but p100, I dont think my mechanic would have a clue what to do next. I really want to repair this car and was wondering what kind of bill I was looking at to get this car fixed at a dealer or anywhere else.
 
Maxx4me, your advice is well taken but I love this damn car. Even though I am buying a 2001 IS300 (gonna miss the stick) I want to keep this car because no one's gonna give me what I want for it

Messages Page 158 of 255

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