My First Mazda :D

[neroxix]

Hey guys/gals, I just purchased my first Mazda a couple days ago and fell in love with it. I got a 3yr or 50k mile warranty on it, so I couldn't pass it up.
I love the car. It is extremely fun to drive and it has quite a bit of pep for a stock 4 cylinder, however I have noticed a couple of the usual MSP problems and wanted to get a little bit of the pros input on this. Keep in mind this is my first Mazda and also my first turboed car so excuse some of the dumb questions that I may have.
1. I bought the car with a CEL code of p2009, I have read on here from previous posters that it is a VICS solenoid, the white one on the intake manifold. My question is, is there a symptom that follows this other than a check engine light and horrible fuel smell?
2. I had a cylinder 4 misfire pending code the first day i took it home. I then cleared the code and it has never came back since. (about 5 days) Could this be due to the p2009 code earlier?
3. Like many others I am experiencing the fuel cut issue. I have a boost guage installed in the car from the previous owner and from what im seeing is I am only getting 4-5psi tops. Its not a huge deal if it's supposed to be at 7psi but just wanted to make sure all the info is right. The fuel cut seems to happen mostly in 2nd gear when around 2500-3500 rpm and i am also getting hesitation when half throttle making my way into boost. (usually at 10vac) I have read that the waste gate actuator could be causing this? Also the ECU not being flashed correctly (not sure if it has been done) Any other ideas with the fuel cut issue? Other than the standard tune up which will be done soon.
4. I have noticed there is a hairline crack in the callaway exhaust manifold however I don't believe this would be causing a 3-4psi cut. Correct me if I'm wrong.
I know about the routine tune up, however I am short on funds at the moment. Hopefully sometime next week I will get the solenoid along with some plugs. Any plug recommendations and optimum gap info would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time.

 

[hornsfan10609]

You are likely not actually hitting fuel cut just the normal hesitation from the stock tune running too rich. I don't recommend the reflash as it doesn't actually cure the hesitation, you have to get an SSAFC or standalone EMS to get the car to run properly. NGK ZFR6F plugs are what you need, gap them to .028". VICS solenoid will not likely cause a misfire but grab one from a junkyard to replace it or find one here, they are about $100 new. I would be concerned about the fuel smell

 

[neroxix]

Thanks for the reply hornsfan10609, I do have the hesitation and my car will buck and drop out of boost almost as if i were killing the engine. Enough where if I were to push it, i'd be scared of tearing up my transmission. I have heard about the SSAFC but know nothing about it. I will be on a budget for a little while so I will most likely proceed with the tune up after the solenoid and save up here and there for the SSAFC.
I read somewhere (google) that you could swap the VTCS and VICS solenoids as they are the same. From what I was reading, it seemed like VICS is more important, should I give that a try until I get the replacement or is that a big no no?

 

[tweety2300]

Vic's is p0660 and will not make the cel come on. Iirc 2009 is for VTCS which is for cold start emissions

Smelling gas sounds like its leaking from the fuel pump which is under the back seat

Considering it has a warranty these things should have been fixed before you bought it. They should also be covered under warranty either way.

 

[neroxix]

So the VICS is p0660 and that is the white plug? or green?
I have to wait 30 days for the powertrain warranty. Unfortunately I had to pay a little extra and it will not cover sensors and the regular maintenance work. :/
I dont have any noticeable gas leak, maybe could just be fumes from somewhere else?
Maybe the reason for the misfire on cylinder 4 was related to the fuel smell? Iirc it was a pretty bad odor at the time.
Thanks for the quick replies guys.

 

[neroxix]

Sorry for the double post, just thought id share my findings =)
So I checked all the plugs, none of them were fouled. Cleaned them off real well and put them back in.
Checked my wga and didnt seem to have any vac leak of any sort.
Cleaned the maf however it looked almost spotless.
Checked all of my vacuum hoses that I could see at 11p.m (crazy) all seemed to check fine.
So last but not least I swapped the 2 solenoids since I was only pulling one error code, and just got done running it. The awful fuel smell is gone. Now there is just a slight odor from where the exhaust has come unwelded but not too bad where it would hurt your eyes to drive. The jerking issue is still there but seems to not do it when you ease into boost. I will be picking up the solenoid on payday.