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Well 10 years now for me on a P5 with a quarter million miles and Illinois rust, I've found her replacement. A white 2015 Fiesta ST with 20K miles. I looked at a lot of used stuff and this one won out. Definitely in the spirit of a P5, plus no need to just ponder a turbo mod. Getting her...

I've got an oil leak near the A/C compressor (not the compressor tho). I thought it was just the V/C gasket (which I need too) but when I studied it you can see it's relatively dry above the head gasket, and wet below. It's leaked maybe a few months - small leak. Car runs great, so...

Well most probably already know, but when I was rotating the tires I also wanted to do an oil change. I usually run it up and ramps (and hope I don't overshoot) or jack it all up and use a creeper. But dummy me I realize that with the wheel off you can reach up in the slot above the tie rod...

New problem started in last couple days. Starts and idles down OK. Runs fine under very light load in all 5 gears. But get on it even a little, or go WOT, and it bucks constantly. Stock engine with 250K miles. No codes in ECU (yet). Much worse will be undrivable. Running Injen intake and...

I'm getting ready to change out the struts and a question appears. Basically, I used to think that front struts were anchored solid up top - i.e. no strut mount turntable - and the rod rotated in the strut housing bore. Then I learn about the mounts, with their bearings allowing the rotation...

I'm looking at a 2008 Speed3 to replace the P5. Well it's lowered on Corksport struts/shocks/springs. I'm wary of the drawbacks, tho will try it out. My question is, is there any easy cheap way to restore some ride height if desired? I was thinking some type of lift insert above each strut...

Remind me the deal here - I've got lots of slop. EBay has 2-bushing sets for like $20, while Corksport has a nice 4-piece bronze set for 40. Where are the extra 2 going? (I need to look at mine when warmer) Are there other alternatives, or is Corksport a slam dunk? (I didn't check dealer...

Basically it worked to open the car, then I drove and parked and it failed to lock it. No response at all. Range had been OK when it happened. The drivers door switch does still work OK. Where do I start? The battery is seated OK - I didn't hit or drop the fob right before this happened. I...

I hadn't heard other than some Mazdas have the bad Takata inflators.

Well that time again. In all the belts I've done, I've never done any of the seals. (Tho I do the pulleys and WP). So, any tips on the removal and installation of the crank and cam seals? Especially what is a good removal tool (improvised versus seal puller?) and how to get 'em in straight...

My passenger front window was always slow, then started cutting out. Figured motor. But I put silicone on the tracks and it was faster but still cut out. I remembered taking the passenger switch apart on a 2000 Protege and scraping the switch contacts. On the P5 the passenger switch worked...

I have 230K miles on my original alternator. I'm thinking the brushes are probably nearly gone. I think that's the main failure cause, the others being diodes (sudden) or bearings (probably a little warning noisiness). The question is whether one can replace brushes in these at home, or are...

Just pondering. 2014 might be it for my P5. Not a goner, just pretty long in the tooth. Replacements? Hmmm. I tend to buy like 3-5 year old used. I like the 5-door hatch layout. So, looking: Yaris Mazda2/Fiesta Mazda3 Matrix/Vibe Jetta Fit ? What are folks ideas here for cars and...

I saw complete TB kits (sans water pump) on eBay for $55 and up. The guy said they are made in Taiwan. Any advice/experience on these? http://www.ebay.com/itm/261310128770?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

I've been getting fairly often where the car almost dies - feels like ignition(?). ALWAYS only 30 seconds to a couple minutes after startup. It will almost die, unresponsive to throttle. Then in about 5 seconds runs fine again, for the rest of the trip. This can either be a stone-cold start...

My daughter's 2010 Mazdaspeed3 (yeah color me envious) has no temp gauge, just a red "hot" light. (I heard they added a blue "cold" light in 2011?) Major frowner. But anyway, when I looked into this people were also faulting basically all cars in the post mid-90s OBD2 era. Basically the...

Just wondering if there's any easy way, without scanning etc., to know you have entered closed loop operation. I guess it gets into what open loop defaults are. I was thinking e.g. if the idle comes down that you're there, but not sure.

There have been attempts to fake out the ECU for performance, e.g. the intake temp sensor "chips" out there. What if you moved the crank sensor so that its apparent TDC was actually like 3 degrees BTDC? Get MP3-like performance etc. What reasons are there why you can't do this? I realize the...

Looking for a known-good unit. Not sure which manual trans ones will interchange?

I'd like to keep them relatively dry, I think. There's a sheetmetal just inboard of the fogs just behind the bumper - convenient but wet? Or maybe I could extend the wires to the bulbs and mount the ballasts up high near the low beam ones. (That would be nice if you lost a low-beam ballast on...