New Protoege5 owner probably looking for some assistance in the near future.

hey guys, My fiance's uncle gifted us a new (to us) Mazda Protoege5 as a wedding gift in exchange for my Netflix password. it has been run to the ground.

little back story from what i can tell by looking at it.
the oil was never changed (not for a long time) and always jsut topped up since the pan bolt was rusted shut and took 10 mins of fighting with it to get it off, when it came out only 1L drained and it was as black as black can be.
it has almost 250k KM (155-ish thousand miles)
very little maintenance was done to keep this thing happy. bumper clips are missing, rust everywhere, ALL the lights (engine, gas, oil, windshild fluid, abs) were on.
inside, although being discussing, is in good shape.

I have run a check on the engine and came up with these errors

P1250 Pressure Regulator Control Solenoid
P030 cylunder 3 misfire
0660 secondsry shutter valve (ssv) open

they seem to have solved themselves after changing the oil, oil filter, sparkplugs, fresh gas (with seafoam to get things moving) and cleaned the airfilter (came with a K&N filter WIN)
that or i accedently cleared the codes, they are still stored in my reader though.

i haven't looked into the ABS just yet, that happens this week.

front passenger side quarter panel needs replacing and so does the rocker panels. going to pull them off of some cars in a near by scrap yard (Kenny-U-Pull) for like 60 bucks







i myself am pretty google at general to intermediate maintenance and being 21 also fully qualifies me to google how to do everything i don't know how to do. I did learn a sh!tton when i joined a forum for my motorcycle and hope to do the same with this car. i dont want it to be a beater that lasts me not even 2 years. i want to restore this to its former glory and take it even further and hope to pick a few things here. enjoy the photos and feel free to mention other things i should be aware of for this car. you can also see that i polished the headlights fromt he differences in the top photos and the bottom one. they are now the nicest part of the car.

my fiance is also helping. its her job to clean the inside LOL

Welcome to the forum.

Mechanically these cars are great, its the rust that kills their glory. Also, these cars are not very fast in a straight, but are surprising in a turn.

Check under your car (floors and rails) to make sure they aren't rotted.

I also have my money on your engine mounts being torn. Wheel bearings are common problems as well. Ignition coils seem to be a hit or miss.

im going to pull parts off a couple cars. going to try to get the quarter pannel off of this guy (assuming the other side looks as good as the drivers side)


and it seems like this one already had its rocker pannels replaced so pulling these will be a lot easier than fabricating new ones for mine

the facebook page says 2003 protoege on this photo but it does look slightly different.

is any one able to tell me (in general, i know how these things work) what parts are direct bolt up swaps for a 2002 protoege5? im assuming cars withing that generation (02-03) and related protoeges' (4 door vs hatchback)

Taking it to a shop in the next few weeks to get it looked at by a pro and see what else i have missed.

2002 had very light cosmetic differences from 2003.

2003 had black headlights, flip-up cup holders, side markers on front bumper, and carbon trim on the door switches.

Everything is bolt on between all P5s, Sedans anything from the rear seats forward is bolt onto any P5.

thats good to know. there about 20 P5's and Sedans at the scrap yard about 10 mins away from me.

Take a deep breath and add up the total estimated cost to get this car 'decent'.

Consider selling it for another car. The worst of the abuse is obviously evident, but what else (all else) was neglected?

I would assume no coolant change=rusted coolant passages and heater core
I would assume struts are bad (perhaps not)
I would assume rust inside the gas tank (from not running so long)...
I would assume brakes are seized and rust inside the lines...
I would assume a lot of stuff will start leaking once started from seals dry-rotted (i.e. power steering)...

Not to be Debby-Downer, but to help you clearly assess and avoid a money-pit situation.

My $.02 worth only.

i apreciate it. im looking deeper and deeeper into the car. got it on Saturday. going to tackle ABS light (and further look into the brakes) in a couple days when it warms up. might rain today. the overall frame looks alright when i was under the car yesterday, most of the rust seems like its from the car being damaged and not repaired/ replaced. i checked the coolant and it seemed alright, but its going to be flushed agian in the near future. might take it around the block to see how it goes now that i got it running. (doesn't have plates so i cant go far)

CubbyNINJA said:

thats good to know. there about 20 P5's and Sedans at the scrap yard about 10 mins away from me.

Click to expand...

I gotta travel 20 minutes to get a scrapyard, and I get lucky if I find a Mazda of the same year! Much less a P5.

well, i was looking at my brakes and when i was pumping up the car to take off the wheel. thought i had it on a nice firm spot on the frame. . . and as more weight got added to that one spot. i started to hear crunching. -.-
turns out from what i can tell there is a bit of rust on the underside and most the car still has the black coating to prevent rust. BUT it looks like the rust has worked its way through that one spot and started to crawl underneith the protection rotting from the inside out. . .
this really sucks im going to try and take it into a shop where they can lift it up off all four wheels and have them look at it before i put any more money into it. see what the mechanic thinks it needs to pass safety.
i may be smart and im pretty sure i know what it needs. but the frame of the car is beyond me.

It looks like every part of this vehicle needs more than just a little TLC. I personally wouldn't invest anything into this car even if it was free.

Car is in the shop now as we speek. Mechanic is going to look over the body far better than i ever will be able to and provide a list of everything that needs to be done.
heres hoping its not too bad. . .

CubbyNINJA said:

hey guys, My fiance's uncle gifted us a new (to us) Mazda Protoege5 as a wedding gift

Click to expand...

It may be possible that your fiance's uncle doesn't approve of you upcoming marriage so he gifted you two with a rust turd... (just sayin..)

He's probably sitting in his comfy chair watching Netflix and laughing his ass off... lol

See the green and white connectors right below the red strut tower bar? Kinda center-passenger side?


The white one is the solenoid that controls the secondary intake shutter valve. It's also called an EGR vacuum solenoid. The green one is the exact same solenoid, but it controls something else. Same part tho, if you're in the junkyard searching around either one will work.

If you want a new one, they're semi cheap and you can replace it yourself in 5 min with no tools.
http://www.carid.com/dorman/egr-vac...oyJdBobXXLmwh0aTBNcvLgEUvwIq8aBSTwaAlhk8P8HAQ

Natey said:

If you want a new one, they're semi cheap and you can replace it yourself in 5 min with no tools.
http://www.carid.com/dorman/egr-vac...oyJdBobXXLmwh0aTBNcvLgEUvwIq8aBSTwaAlhk8P8HAQ

Click to expand...

thanks, i was hoping to go to the scrap yard tomorrow depending on if i head back from the mechanic

well the car was free, if you can do most of the mechanical services yourself it might be ok to keep till it dies.

check the tires for cracks. check all belt and hoses, and change all fluid, that include Power steering and brakes. change the oil again after a 500-1000 miles. this way you can be sure all the old oil is gone.

check your tranny fluid. get new plugs if needed

see if you can find a same color protege with no rust and replace the fenders and hood. - i mean i think is only worth it if you can find all these item for cheap


i would limit myself at 600-800 max, hoping to get 50k out of the car before calling it quit

s***. I should haven given you ny black one lol. body much better dispit rusty rear fenders. Engine work/swap easy and swapping fenders easy but the rust to the bottom ledge there would be brutal tofix..good luck with it is all I can say. Fiberglass/bondo would work just dunno how long.

Welcome CubbyNinja

thnanks guys. i have plugs waiting to be put in (going to return them if things turn for teh worst) i only really need to keep this car running for 8 months minimum 1-2 years ideally any longer is bonus. i have put in about 380 bucks (after the cost of the shop today) and hopefully it doesn't need much more than another 500 to finish up. ill find out today :S

Good luck - let us know what you find out!

with that being said. i might be parting out a '02 Mazda protoege5 in the near future. 800 dolors OBO, you tow it its yours. XD