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Mazda Protege5 Maintenance and Repair

1418 messages,  Last post on Oct 22, 2012 at 5:40 PM

You are in the Mazda Protege Forum.

What is this discussion about? Mazda Protege5, Hatchback, Sedan

Messages Page 68 of 143

#667 of 1418 Valvetrain "rattle" normal?? by blitzboi

Feb 02, 2004 (10:22 pm)

Hi All,
 
I've got a 2003 Protege5 with only 3500km on it so far (got it October 1st). It ran on factory-installed oil until about 3200km, when it was switched to Mobil 1 synthetic.
 
A few weeks back the engine started producing a noticeable valvetrain-like noise upon start up. I only noticed this following several days of cold starts when it was -20C outside (a cold snap in Toronto).
 
It now still produces the noise when cold starting, but even with the engine warmed up sufficiently (i.e. in the middle of the temp guage), under moderate-throttle, the engine is producing this 'rattling' noise. Under heavy throttle, which I rarely do, the engine is so noisy anyway that I can't discern the valvetrain noise, but it's likely still there.
 
My moderate knowledge of engines suggests to me that this might be a faulty hydraulic lifter (or two).
 
I'm considering taking the car into my local Mazda dealer to see what they think of the situation, but I wanted to first know (a) if anyone has experienced this with their Protege5 or 2.0L Protege, and/or (b) Does my hypothesis sound reasonable?
 
Any help/suggestions/etc will be most appreciated.
 
Geoff.

#668 of 1418 HLAs. by mazdafun

Feb 03, 2004 (6:36 am)

Mazda engines haven't used hydraulic lash adjusters in years. They use fixed-thickness (except for thermal expansion) shims to adjust valve stroke. You may have (though not likely at 3500km) worn a couple down.
 
Might be a stuck intake valve (has happened to a few folk's Proteges) or PCV (clean it or replace it). These are easy to access, so shouldn't cost much to check and fix.
 
Check your oil pump. Also verify oil is being pumped to the valvetrain. There may be a clog somewhere.
 
You might also want to check the timing mechanism, though this is a bit more involved (and costly) as they have to remove quite a number of parts to access the timing belt. However, I doubt this is the cause as you didn't notice it when you got your P5 and a timing belt shouldn't stretch that much, even by the time it should be replaced. It still may be a cause, but I'd check other items first.

#669 of 1418 Geoff by dinu01

Feb 03, 2004 (6:31 pm)

Known issue - nothing major - a simple ECU reprogram will reduce the pinging.
 
Email me for the TSB
 
Dinu

#670 of 1418 Geoff/Sway Bar bushings by boggse

Feb 04, 2004 (1:06 pm)

My P5 is in the dealer right now for the same problem. I am going to call and ask them to check the TSBs for my model. It started doing it at 18k miles.
 
Also, my dealer noted that the bushings on my sway bars need replacing. This seems a little early for that sort of failure. Since they are back ordered, can I assume this isn't unusual? I was considering replacing the sway bars anyway; would now be a good time to go about it?
 
Ted

#671 of 1418 TSB by boggse

Feb 04, 2004 (4:17 pm)

I had the TSB PCM reprogramming done this afternoon on my P5. The tech claims he did a search on it this morning, but found nothing. I looked it up on autopedia and took the printout with me to the dealer. They agreed to perform the PCM reprogram with no hesitation. I will check tomorrow morning to see if the problem is gone. My new sway bar bushings will not be in until the 24th, so we will be making another trip back to the dealer then.
 
Ted

#672 of 1418 Gas Mileage by alacat

Feb 10, 2004 (11:25 am)

I have an '03 Protege5 with the Sport AT 4-speed automatic transmission and I'm not getting the gas mileage I feel I should. The car was rated 25 city and 30 highway. I usually end up getting around 22-23mpg with a combination of city and highway driving. I've gotten as low as 18.83 on all city driving and the best I've gotten in normal (see below) highway driving is 29.86. The traffic on the interstates here usually runs around 80mph and on highways between 60 and 75 and those are comfortable speeds for me. However, interstate/h'way driving is probably only about 15-20% of my driving. I participated in an automobile tour this weekend of some homes in the country and drove 175 miles (with some of those last miles being city driving) and got 29.61 mpg. Our speeds averaged about 45 mph though - slower than I care to go in normal highway driving. I have kept track of my mileage since the odometer was at 1811. So far, I have traveled a total of 6742.1 miles (total miles studied: 4931.1); used 213.703 gallons of regular gas for an overall average mpg of 23.07. I've noted a decline lately too. My first 13 tanks averaged 23.005 mpg and my last 9 have averaged 20.17 mpg.
 
The dealership doesn't believe me in spite of my record-keeping. Does anyone out there think this is correct for this small,underpowered car (which, incidentally, I bought for its advertised high gas mileage and its good looks)? Or, are my expectations too high?
 
Alacat

#673 of 1418 MPG. by mazdafun

Feb 10, 2004 (2:28 pm)

My wife's P5 started at around 26mpg in mostly stop-n-go freeway travel. After about 1800 miles, its average mpg has gone up to a bit over 29mpg.
 
It should go up a little after the break-in period.
 
Also, both my wife's car and mine (a Protege sedan) drop in fuel economy over the winter due to many factors (less energy content in "winter" fuel, cold starts, cold oil, cold transmission fluid) by about 2mpg (my sedan gets about 29mpg in mostly local driving, but has been getting about 27mpg lately).
 
We (more like I, since I take care of that in my wife's car too) run our tires at 34psi (cold) and use synthetic motor oil. I also check to be sure our air filters are fairly clean (I check at every oil change, instead of waiting for the interval specified in the manual, since it's easy enough). After a full oil, filter and air filter change, I usually detect a bump-up in mpg (usually between 1-2mpg).
 
You might want to be sure your parking brakes aren't dragging. Some have stuck, leading to low mpg and premature wear of the rear brake pads.

#674 of 1418 Fuel Economy by boggse

Feb 11, 2004 (8:15 am)

I drive the hell out of my P5, and rarely get less than 26 mpg. On one trip over the holidays, I got 32 mpg while averaging 80 mph with the roof top cargo box! I would definitely have the dealer check your parking brake.
 
Ted

#675 of 1418 Clutch Clicking by jgetz

Mar 13, 2004 (6:04 pm)

Is anyone experiencing problems with their clutch clicking when pushing it in? I have a 2002 P5 and about a year or so ago, the clutch started to click. I've taken it to two different dealers, the first couldn't replicate the problem and the second replaced a worn clip, but the problem persists. My warranty is almost up, so I'm running out of time. Does anyone have any ideas?

#676 of 1418 clutch clicking by autohound1

Mar 18, 2004 (10:45 am)

I don't have this pblm with mine (2003), but check out post 322# on this forum to see if it applies. Or check this tsb to see if this might be it.....
 
MT000003848 - CLUTCH CHATTER DURING COLD TAKEOFF
 
Some vehicles may exhibit a clutch chatter or judder when releasing clutch during cold conditions. This may be caused by the flywheel and clutch cover surface materials creating a chatter or judder during clutch engagement.
 
The flywheel and clutch cover has been revised to correct this concern.
1. Verify customer concern.
2. Remove the manual transmission according to the following Workshop Manual procedure: * 5 Speed: MANUAL TRANSMISSION REMOVAL/INSTALLATION M25M-R (section 05-15A-3).
3. Remove clutch disc, clutch cover and flywheel according to the Workshop Manual procedure CLUTCH UNIT REMOVAL/INSTALLATION (section 05-10).
4. Install new clutch disc, clutch cover and flywheel according to the Workshop Manual procedure CLUTCH UNIT REMOVAL/INSTALLATION (section 05-10).
5. Reinstall the manual transmission according to the following Workshop Manual procedure: * 5 Speed: MANUAL TRANSMISSION REMOVAL/INSTALLATION M25M-R (section 05-15A-3).
6. Verify repair.
Part(s)Information: Part Number Description Qty Notes FP01-16-410A-9U Clutch Cover 1 1.8L FS05-16-410A Clutch Cover 1 2.0L FP49-11-500A Flywheel 1 1.8L FS01-11-500A Flywheel 1 2.0L B633-16-460A-9U Clutch Disc 1 1.8L FS06-16-460 Clutch Disc 1 2.0L Note: Make sure the dealer contacts DAG to specify order the above parts.

Messages Page 68 of 143

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