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Hatchbacks Mazda 323 Mazda 323
419 messages, Last post on Nov 22, 2009 at 12:45 PM
You are in the Mazda 323 Forum. Your Host is pf_flyer
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Replying to: girlcarbuilder (May 17, 2008 4:34 pm) Apparently the "cotter pin" (?) on the crankshaft has never been right and has slowly shaved down until the point where the crankshaft has just been spinning which is why it lost power and then won't start. Since the previous owner was some kind of mechanic this new guy believes they rigged the pin to hold in place long enough to sell the car (welded?) He doesn't want to just replace the cotter pin though - he says the crankshaft is damaged now to the point where it won't hold the pin right so even if he managed to make it hold (via a weld?) that not old would it fail again, it could fail in a bad way where the engine would seize. What he wants to do is go to the junkyard and get a replacement "short block" (isn't that the whole engine???) for like $70 and then I think he said it would need replacement gaskets? (I think, may have that wrong) for $100 or so tops. He says he could just replace the crankshaft but those parts would actually be more than replacing the block which can be more easily found. I pointed out that the amount of labor he needs to do on this would be insane and something a non-mechanic would never pay for because it would be worth more than the car but he says it's worth the computer I had promised in trade and still wants to fix it regardless. I think this guy is being way too optimistic and I bet there are going to be other things along the way. He offered to buy the car instead at my asking price of $200 and insists it's worth saving. So what do you think I should do? I have a bad feeling about replacing the entire block (engine) and then other things always go wrong after that. ps. he says there was absolutely nothing wrong with the timing belt and the water pump seems like it's in good shape - those other mechanics would have just taken my money! |
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Replying to: needwheels2 (May 19, 2008 8:38 am) He wants to buy the car for $200.....he knows it is cheap on gas. You need to try to find a way to look at some parts and see what they look like new. Search the net and see what a woodruff key, crankshaft timing gear for a belt and the nose of the crankshaft looks like. Never a good idea to swap parts from one engine to another without doing the proper machine work needed. Oh, machine shops that do enigine work do have to rebuild crankshafts at times by adding metal by welding it on and re machine the whole thing again.
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Replying to: ahab_2001 (May 18, 2008 3:05 pm) Also, 120K is a major maintenace point. Read some of my earlier posts that cover this critical service time. This serice point will decide if you get to 180K miles or not. 150K or so is also serivce point for front wheel bearings! Surprise for those who thought they were not serviceable! Pay closer attention to your suspension components and steering rack. Problems begin to occur there as well. Still cheaper to keep her than replace with new car notes.
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Replying to: girlcarbuilder (May 19, 2008 9:09 am) I don't think he is trying to trick me or anything like that (I meant we are neighbors, not like he can hide anything from me, he shows me all the parts, etc). I need to get ahold of a camera somehow to take some pictures to show you. His dad actually did suggest they could just weld the pin/key/whatever back on and it would be a $2 part. They didn't hide that from me at all. They just told me the consequences of that part failing could be bad and make the engine seize? You think I should just insist they should just rig it anyway? He wants to buy the car because he knows he can work on it easily since it has no computers controlling all the timing etc. I really don't like the engine swap idea. He's so gung-ho, young kid and trying to impress his young wife-to-be with all his knowledge and skills and I easily suspect he's being way, way too optimistic about everything going smoothly. |
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Replying to: girlcarbuilder (May 19, 2008 9:26 am) Stewart |
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Replying to: needwheels2 (May 19, 2008 8:38 am) There is abetter fix that works without replacing the crank. You will need a good woodruff key and a good timing gear. I got mine from an old engine at the salvage yard. Then you need a new front seal and a tube of octite pressfit along with atube of loctite blue. Then go to http://www.miata.net/garage/hsue/LoctiteCrank1.html. Matter of fact just go there first. The timing belts on these can be changed without taking the crank bolt loose just a bit more work but worth it to not have to worry about this problem. THese cars are worth the repair they are known to get 300,000 miles when cared for properly. I have done it all welding and the loctite repair. The welding of the pully to the crank works for awhile but the loctite repair worked even better. THe weld will torch the seal and even when I used abottle of water onit the weld wound up breakiking after wearing a hole in the oil pump. I cut the weld out and done the miata repair just as described and got all the mileage still left in the engine. Hope Iam not to late I just saw your post.">
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Replying to: 323gtxrfreak (Jun 14, 2008 11:31 am) I figure it sat this long, I'll wait for the fall when it's cooler. Meanwhile I've turned my bike into an e-bike to get through the heat. This guy has resisted any kind of other fix than an engine replacement, so I am going to be curious how he reacts when I show him your information. Your way HAS to be easier.
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Replying to: needwheels2 (Jun 15, 2008 7:06 am) Further research on the different years of 323's at Advance Auto's website revealed that there were several different snout sizes used from year to year. Somewhat different topic about the crank, but may give you a bit more insight into what you are dealing with. Taking a break from the car during the summer is not a bad idea. It can give you time to go to the library and try to find some Mitchell manuals and read up on it. See if you can find any service bulletins about it as well. It also pays to try to pick the brains of a dealer parts person about it as well. They are more than happy to give info when they make sales also. On the other hand, they would like to see us bury our 323 and buy new! As for GTX's idea, I am not crazy about it, but I would be game to try it before pulling a motor for a overhaul. The worse that can happen is still the piston and the valve dance. Then at that point you could address a proper repair to the crankshaft again during a overhaul. Still cheaper than buying new. Couple it with a 5 speed, that car should pulll better than 40 mpg after an overhaul.. |
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My girlfriends dad just gave us his mazda which needed the crankshaft bolt. I went out and bought the $10 bolt then went to install it. Guess what i come across, Not only did the bolt snap but so did the end of the shaft. So now i am in quite the jam. How hard is it to pull the crankshaft out of the motor while it is still in the car? If anyone can help me solve this problem or even give me some pointers as to what i should do, please feel free to reply here or even email me at schofield469 yahoo.ca Every ones help is welcome. I really wanna get this car going by august the latest. Thanks everyone. Sean |
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| I've been following with interest all of the postings on engine troubleshooting. My 88 323 with the 1.6 liter engine would run perfectly when cold, but warmed up and started stalling out, cutting out, no power, etc. With 230K miles, I thought it might be the catalytic converter, but after changing it, no difference. I also changed out the coil, one spark plug wire, distributor cap and roter, new plugs, timing checked, but only finally fixed the problem by changing out the distributor. It cost $28 at the local U-Pull-It, and by playing around with the old distributer I found that one of the problems was the vaccuum advance. It's easy to check - just take the distributor cap off, connect a short hose to the vaccuum advance, and suck on it while watching the plate under the roter. The plate inside the distributor will rotate. There are two vaccuum lines to the vacuum advance - check them both. I also saw mention in this forum of the capacitor on the side of the distributor being a problem. My new distributor had the capacitor wire broken off (and the mounting screw frozen in place so it couldn't be changed) but the distributor worked anyway. So far I haven't seen any difference with or without the capacitor | |
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