Pulled my intake manifold off, couldn't believe what I saw...
- Thread starter brentmc79
- Start date
VICS right? I had that work done, after I removed the VTCS completely. Luckily this is NOT warranty issue, but a recall. So if your car is out of warranty, or you've messed with it, they'll still do it.
If you're on your own, I'd at a minimum put some loctite on the threads, or try rivets.
If you're on your own, I'd at a minimum put some loctite on the threads, or try rivets.
I just ended up totally removing all four plates. Once the ecu reset itself, it seemed to run perfectly fine without them.
hopefullysoon
Member
Nasty
- :
- -- 03 P5 / 23 CX-5 --
Get some fresh butterflies & screws & Red loctite the hell out of the VICS screws. Take the VTCS butterflies out & leave them out. Just hook the solenoid back up like they're still there & let the ecu think all is well. I did this for awhile until getting a 2nd manifold & doing the complete vtcs removal/p&p to it. All that s*** is for is for cold starts for less than a minute after startup. Useless bulls*** if you aren't below 0 all the time.
To the OP, you are lucky as hell that all the screws were still in place & it was just the butterflies that came off.
Mine got the recall performed on it on a different trip to the dealer when they noticed the recall hadn't been performed. Sucked because I had to do my own p&p/vtcs removal again but so what. I happen to have the post recall intake in the attic undisturbed & BTW, for TheMan, mine were not riveted, they were still screws.
- :
- -- 03 P5 / 23 CX-5 --
FS section, just get someone's spare or one they've already done the vtcs removal on. Probably cheaper than trying to get parts from dealer & not thinkin they'd part up the manifold anyway. Lemme check my attic & see if the only one I have is the recall one they put in. I know I have that one untouched but not really wanting to part with it. There should be another one too IIRC. Won't be able to check it until after work tho.
spotthedogg
Member
- :
- 2002 Mazda Pro5
So can a person take all the butterflies out and be OK? VICS & VTCS
Awesome! Ya, I've posted a WTB thread. Checked the local pull and pays today... no proteges. A few 626 though, so tomorrow morning I'm putting on my work clothes and gettin dirty to see if there is a 626 mani I can use out there. But if you do find some screws (2), you'll be my hero.
Yes. VTCS is something you want to remove. VICS can also be removed without any "problem", but it's there to help your powerband. Can you run without it... yes. Do you want to? I'm asking myself that question right now lol. I'm trying to save it, but I need my car back on the road asap.
I'm not sure how lucky I was, considering that the butterfly somehow managed to break into two pieces, one of which ended up in the cylinder. Now the engine occasionally smokes at startup, which it never did before.
I mean, it's still runs, but it burns oil like a mother now. The valvetrain makes more noise than my 4yo son, and I feel like its just a matter of time before some other problem shows up.
- :
- -- 03 P5 / 23 CX-5 --
Take out the VTCS right near the head yes but the VICS ones towards middle on manifold are there for good reason. Depending on rpms, those valves route the air thru the intake to the motor via short route for low rpms & longer route for higher rpms. This affects the torque so you really don't wanna go without it if NA. If turbo then the single route non VICS intake would help flow & not really affect torque but it matters for NA. Best bet is to red loctite the s*** out of the VICS screws & tighten them really good without destroying the brass slots (they are soft metal) & remove the VTCS butterflies or remove all VTCS parts & do light p&p on manifold to smooth out ridges where VTCS was & fill runner holes from stalk with high temp quicksteel & seal off outside hole by threading a bolt into the hole. I actually cut the stalk off flush with first runner & left the VTCS actuator in place where it looks like nothing has been done & the computer is still happy vs. it just dangling around somewhere under the hood.
- :
- -- 03 P5 / 23 CX-5 --
That is not very lucky at all & yes, it does sound like it is just a matter of time based on your splanation.
marcs_sp20
Member
- :
- 02 Mazda 323 Astina SP20 (P5)
I had this happen 18mths ago, vics screws came loose, left half of the butterfly no.4 in the head and the other half in the bore 
. My car is an April 02 build, and cost $3300 to fix, the dealership nor mazda australia would not have a bar of it...
Anyways here is the link relating to my failure..
http://www.astina gt.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5441
Cheers
Marc
. My car is an April 02 build, and cost $3300 to fix, the dealership nor mazda australia would not have a bar of it...Anyways here is the link relating to my failure..
http://www.astina gt.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5441
Cheers
Marc
^ April, 2002? The recall is for 2003's, so us 2002 owners are actually suseptible to this too? My car was built 10/01...
My car has run like poo since I got it. Maybe that has been the problem all along. It smokes (burning oil) too like the OP state, though mine just does it at start-up.
How hard was it to remove and check? Scale of 1-10?
My car has run like poo since I got it. Maybe that has been the problem all along. It smokes (burning oil) too like the OP state, though mine just does it at start-up.
How hard was it to remove and check? Scale of 1-10?
marcs_sp20
Member
- :
- 02 Mazda 323 Astina SP20 (P5)
Yep, april 02 model, I know of BJ 323's as old as 1999 models being struck down with VICS, yet Mazda wil not come to the party... The biggest let down was because I did ( and still do!) my own servicing. Have since I bought the car with 74,000kms on the clock. Happened at 132,000kms, which kind of sucks which was then a 5 year old car!
I know of one bloke on AGT that took his out, took something like 4hrs or so, and he took all butterflies out. Prolly 7/10 on the scale maybe?
Oh and Im running with no Butterflies at all, car drives as good or even better then it use to
Cheers
Marc
Yeah, it pretty much only smokes at start-up. Removing and checking the intake manifold isn't all that hard, but you just need to make sure you keep track of where all the vacuum lines go for when you put it back together. I think it took me about 4 or 5 hours total with no major issues.
If the car doesn't qualify for the recall, I recommend changing it yourself. I had the stealership do it about 3 months ago after a screw infiltrated the cylinder. I didn't fall within the recall range, and it cost me $1,440! BS. And I had to listen to them try to sell me a half dozen other things.
I wonder if I should call that attorney that tried to get Nissan to buy back my Titan...
In the end I got a $4000 check for my troubles, I sold the truck a week later.
If its the same issue for ALL of the engines, why would Mazda only cover a certain set? Seems ridiculous. I'd love to get a new free motor, then I'd keep it...
In the end I got a $4000 check for my troubles, I sold the truck a week later.
If its the same issue for ALL of the engines, why would Mazda only cover a certain set? Seems ridiculous. I'd love to get a new free motor, then I'd keep it...
I had 6 screws sucked in and pulverized, early November.
2003.5 w/90,000mi
Immediately pulled over on the street, looked up and was literally at the local dealer. For days a tech completely took it apart, checked everything, replaced as necessary. (not much damage as I pulled over right away)
All on Mazda, no questions. I wasnt even a customer.
University Mazda - America’s oldest Mazda dealer.
2003.5 w/90,000mi
Immediately pulled over on the street, looked up and was literally at the local dealer. For days a tech completely took it apart, checked everything, replaced as necessary. (not much damage as I pulled over right away)
All on Mazda, no questions. I wasnt even a customer.
University Mazda - America’s oldest Mazda dealer.
