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What is this discussion about? Mazda 323, Hatchback

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#307 of 419 Re: my 323 might come back from the dead... [girlcarbuilder] by needwheels2 May 19, 2008 (9:26 am)
Replying to: girlcarbuilder (May 19, 2008 9:09 am) Well it's possible he used the wrong terminology, remember he's not a pro-mechanic (but apparently his dad was and was supervising his work over the weekend). The pin/key apparently attaches to the way bottom of where the timing belt was and attached some kind of pulley to the crankshaft? Apparently it sheered down to the point where it didn't do it's function of holding the cog/pulley/whatever in place and just let it spin.   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.
#308 of 419 Re: Air filter location on Mazda 323 [girlcarbuilder] by ahab_2001 May 19, 2008 (11:34 am)
Replying to: girlcarbuilder (May 19, 2008 9:26 am) Thanks, GCB -- much appreciated!   Stewart
#309 of 419 Re: my 323 might come back from the dead... [needwheels2] by 323gtxrfreak Jun 14, 2008 (11:31 am)
Replying to: needwheels2 (May 19, 2008 8:38 am) These crankshafts have a known design flaw being a short crank snout. Mazda later redesigned it. When the timing belt is changed if one is not paying attention the woodruff key can be put in backwards if this is done it will wallow the keyway out along with destroying the key. yes they can be welded in but then you risk burning up the front seal which will leak and i mean bad not to mention if you use the old timing gear and it is not properly lined up it will rub a hole in the oil pump.           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."> Replies to this message: needwheels2 (Jun 15, 2008 7:06 am) girlcarbuilder (Jun 15, 2008 5:00 pm)
#310 of 419 Re: my 323 might come back from the dead... [323gtxrfreak] by needwheels2 Jun 15, 2008 (7:06 am)
Replying to: 323gtxrfreak (Jun 14, 2008 11:31 am) I appreciate the time you took to post that! Not too late, I've parked it for the summer as even if I could fix it for a couple hundred I wouldn't have the money for insurance+registration+gas anyway.   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. Replies to this message: girlcarbuilder (Jun 15, 2008 5:00 pm)
#311 of 419 Re: my 323 might come back from the dead... [needwheels2] by girlcarbuilder Jun 15, 2008 (5:00 pm)
Replying to: needwheels2 (Jun 15, 2008 7:06 am) Personally I am not familiar with this design problem, but I am aware of a history of the 89 having the snout of the crankshaft break off. That happened on the original engine in ours. When I found that out, we dropped a crate engine in it from the dealer for 2 grand. When the first timing belt change came up, the crate engine uses a larger seal from a Miata on the crank. It was a ah ha moment that something was corrected.   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..
#312 of 419 1988 Mazda 323 Crankshaft by sschofield69 Jun 24, 2008 (8:54 pm)
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 schofield469yahoo.ca Every ones help is welcome. I really wanna get this car going by august the latest. Thanks everyone.   Sean
#313 of 419 88 Mazda 323 1.6 liter stalls by eagle0199 Jul 28, 2008 (6:09 am)
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
#314 of 419 Transmission~1989 323 auto by thevine Aug 07, 2008 (9:54 am)
Seems to be a hesitance when auto trans shifts, also a little clunk between gears. A mechanic told me I should do a whole list of stuff which added to excess $$ & much was blah, blah and costly. Unfortunatly attention should have paid to individual items, one being brown trans fluid said to be burnt & need changing.   The problem has become more obvious and my question is: have I done damage to the tranny? or will a new filter/fluid change turn back the clock to smooth shifting of the past?   Also posting for others to pay attention to trans fluid condition if I indeed greatly reduced future life of trans, still under 100,000 =)   I have had 1 problem with car stalling, no spark and oil in distributor. Changed cap & rotor only to have the problem resurface in another 20 miles.   Ignitor was the problem.   Thanks in advance for any feedback on the tranny,   ~Art Replies to this message: kujhac (Aug 07, 2008 1:27 pm) girlcarbuilder (Aug 07, 2008 1:46 pm)
#315 of 419 Re: Transmission~1989 323 auto [thevine] by kujhac Aug 07, 2008 (1:27 pm)
Replying to: thevine (Aug 07, 2008 9:54 am) I would think it will ultimately wind up as to the condition of the clutches. I would first do a standard fluid change and filter change and put in some Lucas transmission treatment. If that doesn't work, then it'd be a tranny rebuild.   I have a project 1980 Grand Marquis that wouldn't shift out of first gear until 45 MPH. Drained the tranny pan fluid and put in a new filter and it shifts perfectly. Of course, it's not electronically controlled like newer models.   I don't take a garage's diagnosis on face value without researching and knowing what's the real situation. Many garages will take advantage of you if you let them.
#316 of 419 Re: Transmission~1989 323 auto [thevine] by girlcarbuilder Aug 07, 2008 (1:46 pm)
Replying to: thevine (Aug 07, 2008 9:54 am) Been out of the loop a lot. Okay, smell the fluid. If it smells burned, bad news. Dirty/Brown is also not good news. That means a lot of clutch material has been used up. In an automatic transmission, the clutches hold drums from turning while certain gears rotate. Sometimes as someone else earlier stated, you can get by with a fluid change. You will be rebuilding sometime soon. Cheap compared to car notes.   I recommend when you rebuild to have a good cooler installed and also an inline filter installed. Transmission supply houses carry them, not the regular parts houses. Many fleets use in line transmission filters and change them every 10K miles to keep from having to do trannny rebuilds. Lots of discussion as to whether you install before or after your coolers. Always still use the cooler in the radiator in addition to the heavy duty cooler you add on. Same story, discussion on the pros and cons on how to hook it up. Find a good transmission man by word of mouth and the BBB.

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