Just bought a 03' Protege5, what should I do now.

Z

Zintoatree

Member
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03' Mazda Protege5
I just bought a 03' Protege5 yesterday and was wondering what I should check/change now. The car has 130k miles and is completely stock other than a CAI. I was planning on changing all the fluids, but what other things should I be checking?

Few things that are bothering me and will need some fixing:
Car shakes over 70mph - was going to get the tires balanced, hopefully fixing this.
Car kind of skips, sputters, coughs, or what ever you call it around 4000rpm - Not really sure here....clean the egr?
Car locks up tires at low speed - This one is me getting used to no abs :) stickier tires will help this I hope.
Car handles beautifully(way better than my 12' Maxima) but does have some body roll - stiffer springs and sway bars
Car's lights are very dim - will be replacing today.


I really like this car and will actually be autocrossing this weekend with it.
 
Some common maintenance items:

Clean EGR valve
Plugs, wires, ignition coils
Check the rubber intake hose, cracks develop in the accordion-like portion of it. Replacement hose is cheap.
MAF sensor cleaning
Seafoam

If you're autocrossing you may consider replacement motor mounts/inserts to get rid of some of the flex. This car has pretty soft rubber mounts that tend to crack with age. The hard mounts do lead to way more cabin vibration though.

Otherwise just drive it and fix things as they come up. Enjoy!
 
I really don't want to do any performance mods to the motor right now I want to focus on suspension.
From the little I have read I should get Eibach/Tokico Blues and a beefier rear sway. After that I was thinking new rubber and brakes.
Is there anything I am missing?
 
There are a few good threads about timing belt replacement:

http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?123826433-In-need-of-advice-for-a-Timing-Belt-Install


http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?123796676-How-To-Protege-Timing-Belt-Change


http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?123820915-Timing-Belt-Kits

Here's the RockAuto listings for the T-belt kit:
DNJ ENGINE COMPONENTS Part # TBK425 SET; Timing Belt Kit CAD$75.08

BECK/ARNLEY Part # 0291151 Contains Timing Belt, TB Tensioner, TB Idler Pulley. CAD$92.71

DAYCO Part # 84083 Camshaft Belt Tensioner, Camshaft Belt Idler, Tensioner Spring Interference Engine; w/o Belt CAD$95.70

GATES Part # TCK228 PowerGrip Premium OE Timing Belt Component Kit; 3 Components (1 Belt, 1 Tensioner, 1 Idler) CAD$103.95

DAYCO Part # 95228K1 Dayco Import Interference Engine; w/Belt CAD$108.08

ACDELCO Part # TCK228 {#88926884} 3 Components (1 Belt, 1 Tensioner, 1 Idler) BELT KIT,TMG CAD$120.46

GOODYEAR Part # GTK0228 Timing Belt Kit Without Water Pump; Interference Engine Application CAD$158.83

AIRTEX Part # AWK1238 INCLUDES WATER PUMP Interference Engine (Only 2 Remaining) CAD$121.49

Don't forget to get a Valve Cover Gasket (they can be re-used but they're only about $15) and you may as well replace your drive belts too,... they're only about ten bucks each.
You should definitely change your water pump and gasket while you're at it.

This is in the manual on Page 01–10B–8

The hardest part I found with the entire job was getting the crank pulley bolt off,... I ended up finding a small bolt to thread into the pulley (apparently the T-shaped bolt that holds down the jack in the back of the car fits) then I wedged a bar between the bolt and the center of the pulley to hold it still while reefing on the breaker bar. Air tools would help for that or maybe the "put the breaker bar on the bolt and crank the engine" trick would work but I didn't try that.
 
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Wow thanks for all the info. Yeah I probably will replace the water pump while I'm at it. Just want the engine to be tuned up and reliable.
 
Heads up on autoXing........these cars have been known to turn so good that it keeps the oil over to one side of the oil pan during hard long corners in one direction causing it to dryhole the rod and main bearings. also there was recall on intake shutter valves on VICS where screws come loose and fall into the cylinders causing all kinds of racket and badness from scratched cyl walls, ring/piston damage and broken smashed spark plugs. Not a good thing. Cure is red loctiting the screws if recall hasn't been done.
 
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Zintoatree said:
One more thing....is there anyway I can tell the timing belt has been changed?
Click to expand...

Well... if you had a receipt showing the vin# and that the work was done... I found that once in the glovebox of a used car... but yeah, highly unlikely.
 
Zintoatree said:
Car shakes over 70mph - was going to get the tires balanced, hopefully fixing this.
Click to expand...

I had this once ... it turned out to be worn lower control arm bushings in my case. Mechanic balanced the wheels 3 times to no avail, and didn't want to replace the bushing but I insisted based on some advice from other owners on forums, and sure enough, it was fixed.
 
i12drivemyMP5 said:
Heads up on autoXing........these cars have been known to turn so good that it keeps the oil over to one side of the oil pan during hard long corners in one direction causing it to dryhole the rod and main bearings. also there was recall on intake shutter valves on VICS where screws come loose and fall into the cylinders causing all kinds of racket and badness from scratched cyl walls, ring/piston damage and broken smashed spark plugs. Not a good thing. Cure is red loctiting the screws if recall hasn't been done.
Click to expand...

Def look into the VICS recall. That was a complete nightmare for me.
 
When I bought my car the guy said that he purchased it from the original owner and that she had the timing belt done as well as other things and she offered him the papers on everything she had done to the car but he didn't bother to take them (what a dumbass), so he couldn't show me the proof that it was done. I did get a list of previous owners with my purchasing package that comes with every used car purchase here in Ontario, so I tried to call the original owner a few times but never got an answer. I then went to Mazda and if the belt was changed by them they would have it in their central computer for all of Canada but there was no record of it being done. (they also looked up the VICS recall using the VIN to see if it was done but my car wasn't in the recall year and month).
So after worrying about it for a year or so and realizing that it was listed as an interference engine at all the parts stores (that means you can destroy your engine if it breaks), I decided to just do it. After getting my car apart I realized that it had been done (the belt looked new and the water pump had the wrong square grommet at the top of it and wasn't sealing up the timing belt area completely which wouldn't have been done at the factory. There was also a broken bolt on the valve cover which means it had been off).

It wasn't until I was done with the job and surfed around on this site quite a bit that it came to light that our car is definitely NOT an interference engine. I even posted a thread about it asking if anyone had ever damaged their engine from a snapped timing belt. Nobody said that it ever happened to them,... the just heard stories about how it happened to somebody else. A bunch of people said they snapped their belt and just replaced it with no problems.

So,.. with all that in mind, you could try to track down the previous owners but if your belt ever does fail there will be no harm to your engine,... just maybe a tow to your driveway or garage to replace the belt. If I would have known our car is not an interference engine, I would have trusted the second hand info I got and let it go a lot longer, but now I can rest easy knowing for sure it's been done.
 
It's a non interference interference engine. Just depends on your luck.

If you're locking up your tires that's driver error or worst tire ever. No need to hit the brakes that hard
 
tweety2300 said:
It's a non interference interference engine. Just depends on your luck.

If you're locking up your tires that's driver error or worst tire ever. No need to hit the brakes that hard
Click to expand...

I wasn't blaming blaming the car :)
Someone pulled out in front of me right after I bought it and I panicked a little. When you get the brakes just right it amazes me how well this thing stops. The tires are pretty meh too. Michelin tires will be on the way as soon I decide on which one. Thinking super sports.
 
Non abs cars will stop faster on dry pavement than one with abs. Just gotta learn how to control your foot
 
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