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Hey ya'll. Long time no see. Yes, AI did use to be my #1 chillout zone but all I had to show for it was a Sprinter engine replacement. Eh... I didn't want to intrude upon the Miata/MazdaSpeed threads with this whole thing, so maybe a new thread is warranted! Here we have a shiny mid-west example of a 2005 Mazda6. Recently purchased by yours truly, it comes with 132k miles, a stiff-as-hell clutch, some rear wheel well rust, a slightly ominous "wom, wom, wom" noise at freeway speeds, a CEL, and a <1/4 tank-of-gas stuttering issue. Otherwise, it's the fastest car I've ever driven, with a 5-speed and V6. Zoom zoom indeed.     Oh man, that liftback...so cool. It's actually going to be my wife's car. Good for her. I know she won't make the most of it, per se, but in light of that, I'd like to sort out the issues I've mentioned. Clutch: I heard a bleed is a good first start? Anything difficult about this? Do I need to pull a million other parts to accomplish this? Do I just crack a fitting and pump it and add more fluid? I'm a novice when it comes to clutch servicing. For comparison, our Honda Fit clutch is insanely easier to actuate. I know it's a smaller setup, of course. But on the Mazda, I literally push my rear end back into the seat when I push the clutch down. I'm thinking that's kind of odd. Yet the clutch seems to engage very quickly when lifting your foot. And I can't get it to slip. I heard there is a rubber hose which can balloon and people replace it with a stainless variety, but I wouldn't think that would create this entire issue... Gas tank: I imagine there are two pickups in the tank. One for lower amount of fuel, and one for high? So maybe the low fuel pickup is kind of clogged. I haven't experienced it yet but the prior owner said it's basically a chugging effect, especially when cornering at low fuel levels. Does this vehicle likely have two separate pickups? I don't think I'm well equipped to drain the tank, drop it, and change the pump (or whatever it is). I did dump some seafoam in the tank because hey, why not? Rust: The easiest thing I think. I might just POR-15 it or something. Other thoughts? The prior owner got a quote which was around $1k to sort it all out on both left and right rear wheel wells. It's really not that bad, but I'd like to put a stop to it spreading. Oscillating noise: Maybe just an unbalanced wheel. Or maybe a wheel bearing about to peace out. It's just kind of a low pitch hum that pulses. CEL: I pulled codes P2177 and P2179. Could be an intake leak, O2, etc. It sounds like I don't need to worry about this. Engine temps are okay so I don't think it's messing up fueling and making it run super lean. I'm in Wisconsin, too, so they don't seem to smog cars (unlike when I lived in California...). But I'd like to fix it eventually. Thanks! French Canadian fucked around with this message at 20:12 on Sep 18, 2016 |
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Sep 18, 2016 17:21
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French Canadian posted:Rust: Wire wheel it. POR-15 it. If you don't care that the currently rusty bit is a different colour to the rest of the car. Once it spreads to the rear fender, you're gonna have a hard time covering it up. A $1k quote was likely to respray the area in factory colour, blend into the fender, etc. Nice car.
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Sep 18, 2016 17:35
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I love the hatch.
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Sep 19, 2016 06:47
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French Canadian posted:
Wow, how did I miss this? Do all 6's have this?
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Sep 19, 2016 12:03
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stevobob posted:Wow, how did I miss this? Do all 6's have this? No, just the hatchback model. The sedan sold a lot more. An easy way to spot them is they have a rear wiper on the hatch. I'm not sure if there was a hatch after the first-gen. There wasn't in North America.
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Sep 19, 2016 12:09
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CharlesM posted:No, just the hatchback model. The sedan sold a lot more. An easy way to spot them is they have a rear wiper on the hatch. I'm not sure if there was a hatch after the first-gen. There wasn't in North America. Shame. That cargo area entrance is YUUGE.
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Sep 19, 2016 12:16
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Yeah we thought our Fit was king of cargo but this is nearing full sheet of plywood territory.
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Sep 20, 2016 13:00
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Yea that seems like a pretty sweet score.
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Sep 20, 2016 13:50
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Nice! I really miss my '04 sedan 4-cyl. It was such a great car.
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Sep 21, 2016 01:53
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I've always liked the 6. I don't know much about them, but they're good looking cars. I do know that the manual liftbacks are damned rare. Good find.
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Sep 21, 2016 02:05
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EVERYWHERE 
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No, no, no, I have the 4cyl 4spd automatic version of this. Get rid of this car before it eats your wallet alive. E: I also reccomend the largest rubber mallet you can get, you're gonna need it for the wheels.
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Sep 21, 2016 16:34
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Fermented Tinal posted:No, no, no, I have the 4cyl 4spd automatic version of this. Get rid of this car before it eats your wallet alive. Why, what's going to happen?
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Sep 21, 2016 23:46
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Well, first of all, nobody's ever used anti-sieze on any part of that car. Pretend all fasteners are actually made from vinyl and glued in place. You're also going to become intimate with the plastic skid plates. They like wine, long drives down dusty roads, and staying up until 2am. Chocolates don't hurt either. When you go to do a brake job on it you'll likely find that you'll have to literally crack the rotors to get them off. I just did this for my rear brakes, including replacing slider bolts on one of the rear calipers that was actually siezed closed for over a year. Don't even bother attempting to salvage or re-use the machine screws that hold the rotors to the hubs. Just drill them out if they're there, and let the wheels hold the rotors on like every other car that isn't an Audi. The rear wheel wells rot, it starts slow, but eventually you're going to have some pretty sweet new vents in front of your rear wheels. Replacing anything other than DRLs requires disassembling half the front-end. I've tried four different methods to attempt to get my headlamp lenses to clear up, nothing works.  Sexy clearcoat-free spoiler and wheel well rot. Mine has cancer where the spoiler mounts to the trunk too.  Plastic trim from your rocker panels hanging off yet like mine? E: You've got mags too. Steelies come off the hubs easy, but I was dead serious about the big mallet being a key tool to mag wheel removal on this car. EE: Car also eats blower motors and the resistor pack that controls it. You've got the v6, but on the 4cyl, the alternator likes getting rebuilt every 5-6 years as well. Oh, and there's the airbag recall, Mazda still hasn't figured out a fix. You're going to eat tires on the front too. They wear unevenly but overinflating by a few psi will help mitigate this. Fermented Tinal fucked around with this message at 00:57 on Sep 22, 2016 |
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Sep 22, 2016 00:42
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Hmm, ok. At the very least, the driver airbag was replaced and they're waiting on the passenger one. Good thing my wife and I don't road trip in it. That's what the Fit is for. And yes, I welcome my salt overlords with open arms. I'm sure they will reclaim this vehicle soon. Inshallah.
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Sep 22, 2016 01:09
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How are the displays on your dash holding up to the years? I have to press on the screen just to see the time and radio station I'm on and my gear counter says I have 1, 2, 3, and -| gears. The odo is the only one that actually remains completely functional. Let me know if you ever hear a sloshing sound after a hard rain, I still can't figure out where the hell it comes from.
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Sep 22, 2016 03:19
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Fermented Tinal posted:How are the displays on your dash holding up to the years? I have to press on the screen just to see the time and radio station I'm on and my gear counter says I have 1, 2, 3, and -| gears. The odo is the only one that actually remains completely functional. I think by and large your car has been beaten and abused. My 6 had a couple faults, but yours sounds like a festering pile of poo. OP, here is my old 6 for reference:  I owned it for about 3 years. Aside from routine maintenance, I replaced the following: - Pads all around, and rotors in the front - PCV valve. This was a pain in the rear end. I could not do it myself on the 4cyl. Paid $350ish for a reputable import shop to get it. - 1 daytime running light bulb (city light as it's commonly known) - 1 foglight bulb (also a minor pain in the rear end) I ran snow tires in the winter and it was WONDERFUL. Best car I've ever driven on snow. Also replaced the stock exhaust with OBX axle-back and had a hilariously aggressive RacingBeat rear sway bar on it. It was a lot of fun.
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Sep 22, 2016 03:31
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Other than the rust I have not heard of these issues with the 6.
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Sep 22, 2016 06:00
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angryhampster posted:- PCV valve. This was a pain in the rear end. I could not do it myself on the 4cyl. Paid $350ish for a reputable import shop to get it. So labor was $340 to replace a ten dollar part? Jesus.
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Sep 22, 2016 06:11
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angryhampster posted:I think by and large your car has been beaten and abused. My 6 had a couple faults, but yours sounds like a festering pile of poo. I'd heard the obx headers for the v6 were kinda lovely compared to the msds ones, so I assumed I'd be looking elsewhere for exhaust. How did it hold up over time? Also, outside of some random smoking on startup that I haven't bothered to look for the source of due to a lack of garage space and the po being a shithead who cut the amp and amp for the bose system out of the car, I'm enjoying my '04 6. leica posted:So labor was $340 to replace a ten dollar part? Jesus. I dunno about the 2.3, but on the 3.0 it requires removing the top half of the intake manifold and other assorted throttle body things.
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Sep 22, 2016 06:13
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angryhampster posted:I think by and large your car has been beaten and abused. My 6 had a couple faults, but yours sounds like a festering pile of poo. My mileage isn't that far off from the OP (212,000km or 131,000mi) and I know my car's complete history, it's just always been like this. Engine rebuilt at 130,000km, ran without oil and the ECU didn't notice anything was wrong until it bent a rod. Neither did the PO. Throttle body cleaned twice since the rebuild to deal with low-idle surging. Works for about two years then the surging returns. No vacuum leak has ever been found. Exhaust seal that never lasts more than a few months between the cat and the pipe leading to the manifold. I don't even bother replacing it anymore. CEL that pops up every couple months: "temperature sensor detecting that the coolant temperature is too low for stable operation of the engine." I will agree with you though, great car in the snow. Hell, she even gets a little off-roading in sometimes; once took a trip to Ardbeg with a canoe strapped on the roof. Fermented Tinal fucked around with this message at 08:10 on Sep 22, 2016 |
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Sep 22, 2016 08:04
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My sister in law has a 2005 4 cylinder manual which must have close to 200k km by now and it's been flawless for the past 3 years.
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Sep 22, 2016 08:41
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Fermented Tinal posted:My mileage isn't that far off from the OP (212,000km or 131,000mi) and I know my car's complete history, it's just always been like this. UMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
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Sep 22, 2016 08:47
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CharlesM posted:UMMMMMMMMMMMMMM There is a reason I paid exactly $1 for this car.
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Sep 22, 2016 08:58
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leica posted:So labor was $340 to replace a ten dollar part? Jesus. Yep. You have to remove the intake manifold to get to it. To remove the intake manifold, you have to remove 8 bolts, 3 of which you cannot see from the top or bottom of the engine bay.
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Sep 22, 2016 11:21
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OP this is a cool car and I will add my anecdotal evidence that the first gen Mazda6 is actually a great car. I have had three different first gens: My first was a black on black 2005 6S GT. It was loaded, had a 6AT which had a hilariously short first gear. It was plenty of fun and had some nice zip at freeway speeds. I traded that in at about 133K miles with no mechanical issues but a shot suspension on the red 06 MS6 sport in the above photo. The MS6 I bought was a bit of a basketcase and I admit full well that I bought the wrong car. I bought it from a dealership at night and totally missed a lot of obvious flaws and did not drive it hard enough during the test drive which would have told me it was the wrong car. I had rose colored glasses and was convinced this was what I wanted. I had it for a few years and enjoyed the car but not nearly as much if I had taken more time to find another example. The silver grey car is my wifes '05 6i sport with a 4AT. She bought it at about 27K miles and ~2 or 3 years. The previous life was a rental car  but it has actually held up very well all things aside. It is now relegated to my daily/infrequent driver when I feel like not putting miles on my M3. It has eaten a few alternators but I can now swap them out in less than an hour. There was a leak that was happening from the body seam sealer on the passenger front side between the firewall. I just sealed that up with some silicone sealer and now it is all good. The radio display has started to lose pixels. The headliner recently started to sag and the fabric on the rear most part has come undone from the backing. It has 137K miles on it and it just keeps spinning like a top. Air con works, the mileage is still a consistent 27 mpg which is primarily city driving, very rarely is it on the freeway since my commute is short. The suspension is still comfortable and the fabric seats show little to no wear. They offer nice bolstering and a comfortable firm feel. I prefer the fabric seats to the leather that were in my 6S GT which must have been made for a 6'4" 300 pound person. There is no cancerous rust and I don't see it on many other Mazdas in my region unless they have had accident repair work. Usually I see door skins that are cancerous on the bottom. I have been very happy with all of our Mazdas and I fail to see why people even bother buying boring cars like Toyotas and Hondas when there are cheap and good looking Mazdas around.
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Sep 22, 2016 16:23
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Somewhat Heroic posted:OP this is a cool car and I will add my anecdotal evidence that the first gen Mazda6 is actually a great car. Agreed. I've been driving a 2006 MS6 for going on seven years now, and it has had relatively few problems.
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Sep 22, 2016 21:02
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No man all Mazda6s are terrible no good pieces of poo poo, I know this because the one I bought that had been run literally until it died by the PO was a giant turd moneypit and that means literally all of them are forever.  I have a friend that has owned a 6 since it was new in 2006 and has never had any major issues he didn't cause himself
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Sep 22, 2016 21:11
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Terrible Robot posted:No man all Mazda6s are terrible no good pieces of poo poo, I know this because the one I bought that had been run literally until it died by the PO was a giant turd moneypit and that means literally all of them are forever. I was in the car when it developed the knock. The root cause of engine failure was the bolt holding the oil pump gear on loosening just enough for the pump to stop pumping oil combined with a free Jiffy Lube Oil Leak (tm). The previous owners never missed an oil change and the transmission got a going over when the engine was rebuilt, ps it doesn't like to shift into 4th gear on really cold days. Before the engine rebuild the alternator had been serviced twice, the blower motor replaced, and the blower motor resistor replaced. I have done all of these things since the rebuild and will probably have to replace the blower motor again soon. 18L/100km lifetime average fuel economy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WFvrpKDpMI Cracking the rotors on an '05 to get them off. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XyeC_Vbuk_k Drilling out the screws that hold the rotors on. Google results for "2005 mazda 6 front tire wear" https://www.google.ca/webhp?ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-b&gfe_rd=cr&ei=lD7kV4y9MerE8gfdn5bwBg#safe=off&q=2005+mazda+6+front+tire+wear "2005 mazda 6 stuck wheels" https://www.google.ca/webhp?ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-b&gfe_rd=cr&ei=lD7kV4y9MerE8gfdn5bwBg#safe=off&q=2005+mazda+6+stuck+wheels
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Sep 22, 2016 21:36
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My wife had a 2003 that we bought new and sold last Spring to make way for our 2016. V6 with the automatic. All in all it was a good car but had a few issues in the 13 years we had it: The rear wheel well rust. We had it fixed cheap twice but it just kept coming back. The inside lower seam of the front side passenger door was getting pretty brown toward the end, too. The seat heater in the driver side had to be replaced a couple years ago. The oddest thing was that it was very hard on batteries. It seems like a battery would last a couple years and that was about it. So far we're pretty impressed with the 2016. I was afraid going from the V6 to the I4 it would be a slug, but it's quicker than I anticipated. Plus it gets 27MPG in the city.
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Sep 22, 2016 21:46
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WescottF1 posted:So far we're pretty impressed with the 2016. I was afraid going from the V6 to the I4 it would be a slug, but it's quicker than I anticipated. Plus it gets 27MPG in the city. I will admit, as much as my ownership of one of these has been a painful experience, I've never had a problem with the get up and go my 4cyl has. I don't normally speed but I've had it up to 180km/h before and it took no time to get there. Despite the early failure and dirty throttle body I've found the engine to be the only actually reliable part of the whole works.
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Sep 22, 2016 21:59
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Fermented Tinal posted:How are the displays on your dash holding up to the years? I have to press on the screen just to see the time and radio station I'm on and my gear counter says I have 1, 2, 3, and -| gears. The odo is the only one that actually remains completely functional. No sloshing. But yes some of the radio pixels are dead. It's still usable. I did take it to the dealer today for a quick once-over. Will likely switch to an indie mechanic for future things. Oddly, they didn't try to upsell me on anything including what I consider a stiff clutch. Maybe midwest dealers are nicer than SoCal dealers? Seems that way from our Honda dealer too. Mazda dealer found a crack on the underside of a plastic section of intake. So that got replaced and it seems to have solved the CEL lean code. Thankful it wasn't O2 sensor related. But I'm sure that will happen eventually... But yeah...that clutch is still really stiff I think. I dunno. And as for the low fuel surging. Haven't actually experienced it myself and the dealer said these cars don't have a low fuel pickup which I thought caused the issue. Any thoughts on why <1/4 tank will cause surging?
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Sep 23, 2016 04:09
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The radio pixels aren't actually dead, you can fix it with a soldering iron, but it involves taking apart the dash. I've run the tank low enough for the light to come on a few times and never had a low fuel surging issue. I have a low idle surging issue that pops up every couple of years and cleaning the throttle body corrects it. As for your clutch, go test drive a sports car with a standard. If it feels like that, you just have a heavy clutch and maybe a lighter one exists.
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Sep 24, 2016 01:55
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