What have you done to your Mazda5 today?

thinking of picking one of these up for a work vehicle since im seeing so many of them under the $5000 cdn mark now. gonna park my msp for a while and start working on it and cant really afford to buy/run a truck. Might be driving from the island out to fraser valley more often so the mileage of the 5 is pretty appealing while having room for all my paint tools/ladders ect if needed.
mosty looking at 2006/7 with manual trans cause they cheap, but id like to find one with a moonroof. found a nice 2012 with 6mt, moonroof ect but cant get over the front end lol. another 2010, but auto. I can almost assure ill modify it so trying to stay away from auto.
i think ideal find would be a 2008-2010 with that bumper style, moonroof, leather, and mt, but might be hard to find ha. ill prob have to settle for no moonroof at this rate.

so how compatible are they to the 3? basically anything that fits a 3 will go on? considering the possibility of an aftermarket turbo setup that would fit a 3 for a little more power.
 
My 5 will come available soon, in a month or so, 2009 stick without sunroof though. The 5 is pretty much a stretch 3 with another row of seats and sliding doors. Practically everything can interchange under the hood and at the corners. Some things are different like the size of the rear brakes, but the mounting points are the same. Shock specs are different, but physically they swap, and the stock shocks aren't heavy enough on the damping anyway. Engine-wise, any turbo setup that fits on the 3 (non-Mazdaspeed) should fit on the 5. ECU tuning may be a little different (not sure myself), but a good quality piggyback like the AEM FIC should work pretty well, as long as you don't change the guts of the engine to throw off the non-boost fuel requirements vs stock.

As far as your unicorn configuration, swap out the seats, and if you're adventurous, swap out the roof panels for your sunroof. Or hack it up and add an aftermarket one.
 
Ill see whats in my region. One of my mechanic friends kinda scared me off this a little bit mentioning how the motors skip timing easily and explode. One thing that has kept me into the bj platform
Is how cheap and easy to work on they are. Maybe another p5 is coming down the pipe heh. Owned like 7 now.
 
My 5 will come available soon, in a month or so, 2009 stick without sunroof though.

As far as your unicorn configuration, swap out the seats, and if you're adventurous, swap out the roof panels for your sunroof. Or hack it up and add an aftermarket one.
In canada you get the top level (with moonroof) and 6MT

In usa, our top level (GT) is AT only.
 
Ill see whats in my region. One of my mechanic friends kinda scared me off this a little bit mentioning how the motors skip timing easily and explode. One thing that has kept me into the bj platform
Is how cheap and easy to work on they are. Maybe another p5 is coming down the pipe heh. Owned like 7 now.

Honestly, other than a coil pack dying at 140k and having to replace the MAF sensor at 130k I've had no issues with the engine itself, and mine is sitting at 145k. Coil packs and MAFs dying after that kind of mileage actually isn't uncommon.

In canada you get the top level (with moonroof) and 6MT

In usa, our top level (GT) is AT only.
Ah, good to know. I think some of the pre-2008 models were available in stick higher than the Sport trim too, so a sunroof would have been available.
 
there are some options in my region with all the options im looking for. id like to get the newest one i can afford but that would be 2008-2010. i like that body style vs the big ass smiley face. though the interior of the newer ones is nice. its not a big deal. there are a few of them around here for $2500 ish that are fairly basic. i might just pick one of them up to see if this type of vehicle will work for me at all heh.
if it isnt my tools that fk it up, it will be my kid lol. still hasnt learned to keep her 7 year old damn feet off my msp seats..
 
Sadly rear clunk is back
Not as rattly as before
But definitely back

I drive around with no Rear shock = noise gone

So it's definitely that area

Can't figure it out
 
Well 3 months of clunk has finally been solved

Do not get rear bilstein for this car

I installed new rear shock mounts today
Clunk was there
I added washers clunk was there

I decided to swap the rear shocks out again and went KYB, Walah clunk gone

DO NOT BUY REAR BILSTEIN FOR 2012+ MAZDA5
 
Ordered some KYB Gas-a-just shocks, mounts, bellows, and moog sway bar bushings and new end links for the rear sway bar. Planning to install this weekend.
 
Replaced broken shock mount on driver side, this is the third time these mounts were replaced. The last time 3 years ago was done at the dealer while we were on a road trip. The dealer would not replaced only the broken one I had to replace both shocks and mounts, almost $1100 including new front sway bar bushing and an alignment.

This time, cost me $40 for 2 mounts. Took less than a 1 hour from start(getting the tools and jacking up the car) to finish(putting everything away) for one side. Will change the other side when weather is warmer. I don't have a garage, had to do the repair with the car parked on the street which still have ice and snow.

Ask around and show the broken part to a old timer machinist at work. He thinks the mount is made from some zinc alloy pot metal. Not good for exterior application because it will adsorb moisture and corrode. I guess it is especially bad with our long winter and salt.

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New member here, first post.

Been busy since I got this 2009 5 Sport w/110K a couple of weeks ago from my daughter. Had new ultra high performance all seasons installed, had the sliders and rear windows tinted dark, put on window/ wind guards.

Personally installed everything else: a Hidden Hitch and wiring, changed the plugs and air filter, blacked out all the emblems, and installed a backup camera.

The last 3 days I've been especially busy: I installed front sway bar end links, rear sway bar bushings and end links, front rotors and brakes, and the dreaded cabin filters. Also installed new serpentine belt and A/C belt. What do you think, not too bad for a septuagenarian?

Read all 212 pages of this thread, wish to thank the people here for all the good advice and how to's, especially Vasy and twintrbo! Local garage wanted over $500 just for the labor, thanks for the savings, paid for my tires.
 
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