new Mazda owner

[red323]

Hi from Australia, i recently bought my wife an auto 1999 Mazda 323 Protege 1.6L sedan and whilst its a beautiful car, i have a couple queries and a concern.

So being new to the small car scene, i have no idea about these cars and hope i can get some good info about it, cheers

We cant afford a workshop manual yet so i have a couple q's & a concern.

1. Its auto, what rpm's is it supposed to idle in Park, Neutral etc?
2. Common issues associated with this model i should look out for?
3. The auto shifts are very firm, not sure if thats a good or bad thing?

One concern is a rattle that can be heard in the engine bay when stationary, moreso under the engine bay at low revs, particulary when put in drive @ 450-500rpms, but when put in park the revs go to 550-650rpms and the noise is barely noticable.

It might be the exhaust causing the rattling, but the car also shudders when put into reverse with the foot on the brake which im guessing might be a faulty engine mount. How hard is it to change these mounts? I see in the US on ebay its only $60 each but i fear the price our Oz dealers will come up with...

Pic of the car

http://img79.imageshack.us/img79/2748/231000154yu6.jpg

[red323]

Did i post this in the wrong section.... or forum? :(

[red323]

51 views and not a single reply, bit of advice, or even just a theory from owners of these great cars.

Must say, im a little disappointed guys by the lack of enthusiasm....

For what its worth & others may find this useful if they encounter the same problem, the rattle turned out to be a collapsed cat converter, and has been fixed.

Cheers

[_ERIC]

many people do have problems with there motor mounts. i am just starting to at 53k on mine. im only going to do insterts but if you want to go all the way you can buy a compleat motor mount.

[red323]

are "inserts" a temporary fix & cheaper i assume?

Or good enough to neagte the need for new mounts?

btw thanks for the reply !!

[i12drivemyMP5]

Yo, welcome in mate. I'm gonna guess the lack of response is due to less 1.6s? Anyway, mine is P5 2.0 sport auto so can't really speak to the rpms for 1.6, mine idles at 750 & always has. Firm shifts good unless clunking or other iffy noises. Not really sure of issues with your ride otherwise. Mountwise not sure if same mounts for yours. I have FSDE motor, if you have ZM then the manual is here..............http://www.floptical.net/mazda/

The rattle on mine was VTCS in the intake, again not sure if you have that. Could also be a heat shield or maybe rock between the heat shield and body up under the car. I had one that drove me nuts until I finally found it doing something else. Yeah, these cars notorious for weak mounts. Everyone with manual tears them & they aren't that much better for autos either. There's several alternatives if ours are same. Stock with inserts is easier on dash vibrations when in gear stopped with AC running for daily driver. Solid mounts are better for track cars IMO. World of info in here if you dig around in the right spots. Search will yield tons of info, it's all been covered at some point. Lack of response also could just be time of day being 12 hrs different than yours. Good luck with it, sorry not more specific help.

[_ERIC]

are "inserts" a temporary fix & cheaper i assume?

Or good enough to neagte the need for new mounts?

btw thanks for the reply !!

from what i found they are a permament fix. the problem with the stock units is what the insert replaces which is the inside rubber. it goes bad and the motor moves too much.

[red323]

ahh yes ive read a bit on this site of a recall which involved loose screws holding the butterfly valves in the manifold. Will dig around, but anyone know specific cars which were affected?

and awesome link!!, My engine number starts with "ZM" and look to have same specs such as spark plugs filters etc. in that link as the ZM motor