Hello Everyone,


I'm New To The Forum. Here's The Info About My MX-3:


1994 MAZDA MX-3 GS 1.8L DOHC V6: VIN# JM1EC4366R0305326 Manual 5-Speed Transmission


My Son Has Had This Car Since H.S. Now About To Graduate College & So Now I'm Getting The Car Back Since He's Moving To NYC. I Really Want To Keep The Car (Maybe Sentimental??? LOL) But I Luv It!

Current Problems:


1) Can NOT Shift Into 3rd Gear While Driving (Makes Very Audible Grinding Sound & Will NOT Stay In Gear (Slips Out). It Will Go Into 3rd Gear If Standing Still & It Will Pull Forward In 3rd Gear From Dead Stop. I'm Not Sure If I Can Use The Shift Linkage Rods From A Used Car (See: Below FYI Info) Or Maybe It's Transmission???


2) There Is An Electrical By-Pass Placed On The Light Switch...So When I Turn The Headlights On...They ALL Come On No Matter What Position The Switch Is Set To...So I Can't Just Use My Park Lights. I've Considered Replacing The Steering Column Or The Dimmer Switch Assembly?


3) All (4) Struts Are Rusted, Broken (Found A Broken Piece Of One Spring On The Ground) & Need To Be Replaced. I've Been Researching 'Quick Struts' But I Don't Think They're Available For My Car's Year? Really Confused About What I Need To Completely Overhaul? Any Particular Brand?Where's The Best Place To Have It Repaired?


4) I'm Losing Oil Somewhere, Not Seeing It On The Ground...But It's Going Somewhere (I Believe It's The Rear Manifold Or Head Gasket Maybe???) I Use Havoline 20/50 & Add Lucas Oil Stop Leak Once A Month.


5) Considering Replacing The Radiator (Mainly Because It's Slightly Bent & The Color Of The Fluid Appears So Dark) Or Maybe It Just Needs A Major Flush (Which I've Done But It Still Appears Rusty Colored To Me)? I'm Presently Using Preston Anti-Freeze. I'm In Fluctuating Weather Being From Midwest But Go In & Out Of Warm Climates As A Truck Driver.


6) Would Like To Replace The Front Bumper, Repair Passenger Side Fender & Replace Tire Well Covers & Have Other Body Work Done In Time?


**FYI: There's A 1994 Mazda MX-3 Manual Transmission VIN # JM1EC4358R0305089 @ Pull-A-Part 2505 Producers Lane (Row 402) Right Now...For Parts???


Anywho! That's Just Some Of The Fun Stuff I'm Working On?!


Struts Are The Immediate Issue To Me?!


Thanks For Your Help!

 

hi sorry to bother you ,im in Ireland and have a 1992 mx3 automatic 1.5L ,do you know about these as i need someone that knows about them, it seems to be slow to accelerate and kind of stumbles and is heavyer on gas to,any help please ,
cheers ,
danny

 

IrishDanny

I'm No Mechanic But...Thru Research, Trial & Error I'm Learning Alot About This Gr8 Car.

The 1st Thing I'd Check Is The Type Of Fuel Your Using? If It Has Water Or Something In It That May Clog It Up?

A Really Cool Fix (Next Time You Fill Up) Is Put In Super Unleaded Fuel (Since It Takes Reg Unleaded-At Least In US) Add A Container Of Automatic Transmission Fluid...It Will Clean Out Any Gunk Running Thru The Fuel System...Should Only Have To Do This Once. It Really Worked For Me; I Went To An Off Brand Filling Station & My Car Started Sputtering & Smoking...Called My BFF Who Works On His Own Vehicles (Including Semi Truck) & He Told Me To Try It?! I Hope This Helps?!

I Would Also Definitely Look At Fuel System Related Posts & Diagrams For Things You May Be Able To DIY...And Hopefully There's Someone Here That Can Help Us With More Expertise?

 

Honestly, it sounds really bad.
If you love it, SET IT FREE!
Tranny sounds shot, synchromesh units gone, needs rebuilding, possibly clutch too.
With that thick oil in engine, it scares me. Compression test engine first to see if viable to do or scrap.
Best place for suspension is the aftermarket. See if you can find a performance shop in your area----those guys are always changing stuff like that, and a better price than the dealer.

 

Thank You UseYourNoggin For Your Gr8 Response:

I Appreciate Your Comment To Just Let It Go, But...I Will Follow Your Other Advise To Have Compression Test Done & Checkout Some Performance Guys Since My Plan Is To 'Pimp My Ride' ?!

I Know The Gear Issue Is Transmission? But Could It Be Just The Shifter Linkage & Rods? & Can They Be Used Off Salvage Car? Can I Use The Trans? I'm Willing To Have It Rebuilt...Just Wondering If I Have Other Options? The Hardest Thing Is Pick'n The Place To Have It Rebuilt.


I Know Several Peeps With Older Cars That Swear By 20/50 Oil??? I'm Told It Doesn't Break Down As Fast? I Have Noticed It's Not Losing Oil As Fast?

 

Irishdanny. Start a new thread with specific question or better, look through older threads. You have the 1.5L engine which is also found in the 323 or protege.

Ladycabdvr:
You have laundry list of issues. So you have to be careful about your expenses.
Struts: Monroe makes quick struts for the most popular cars. Yours is not that common. You may go to the parts store or RockAuto.com and buy the things you need to build the quick struts. Strut mounts, springs and struts. You need a spring compressor tool to assemble the struts, then they are easily exchanged. But this will be expensive.
These cars are very similar to the 323 and protege in terms of the struts but they are not the same! So you could Mickey-mouse this repair with used struts from the pull-a-part. Compare order numbers for your vehicle and those of alternative vehicle. If they match you are good, if they don't you need some luck that the mounting holes match. The spring rates and damping rates will be softer, but it will still be better than the broken struts.
Transmission and clutch: I believe your biggest problem is the clutch. It does not completely separate. If it is a hydraulic clutch you need to look if there is enough brake fluid in the reservoir. the foremost chamber is for the clutch. you need to check the master cylinder and the slave cylinder for leaks and internal leaks. Pump the clutch a few times before you shift and see if it still makes a noise when you put it in gear. If it is a cable operated clutch you need to adjust the cable.
Maybe the shift rods are o.k but the bushings are worn out.
The antifreeze makes me worry. Prestone is green and it gets brown almost immediately. It could be rust if there are iron parts involved. The radiator is likely made of aluminum, not iron. The water pump may be of iron. On some cars there are steel pipes in the cooling system and to and form the heater. you need to find out if it is rust or maybe a stain from oil. If it is oil you would have an answer to your oil consumption question. It could be the head gasket, but then you would have over heating problems, sputtering, white smoke from the muffler and such issues.
Noggin just posted while I was typing. He makes good point. Really you need to estimate the cost for all the repairs before you do anything. Indeed you can learn a lot with this car but you pay tuition of sorts. Your son may have done it in.

My answer is getting long. I suggest, before you take on a specific task look for YouTubes on the subject and how to diagnose the problem. Diagnose the problems correctly so you are not simply throwing parts at it.

 

Using oil is not a good sign----expensive maybe. Thick oil may give false reading with compression test.

 

1. Check that linkage. There's the shifter bar with bolts and bushings at each end (shifter and on the shift 'thingie' on the transmission) and a shift stabilizer bar that is integrated into the shifter housing and mounts to a stud on the transmission with a bushing, sleeve, washer, and nut.
Recently, I lost 2nd gear in my 93 mx3 gs and found the shift stabilizer bar was no longer mounted to the transmission, the stud had fallen out. I replaced it with my own 'rigging' and 2nd gear works again.
Maybe you'll be lucky and that's all it is.
Though I lost 2nd for a while, I suspect a similar situation could affect a different gear, depending on the condition of the engine/tranny mounts.

2. Sounds like it could be a short in the combination switch on the steering column. Is that what you mean by dimmer switch assembly? I always thought of the dimmer as the little '****' for adjusting the gauges, lol

3. Have you looked at all your car's springs to verify the piece of spring you found did come off one of your springs?
I've never seen 'quick struts', just components: struts, springs, upper strut mounts, isolators, boots, etc., that are bought separately then have to be assembled. And that's quite a list, and having recently purchased these to upgrade my suspension, I can tell ya its pricey.

4. The most likely spot for oil leakage is the valve cover gaskets. And a lot of it gets burned off so you don't always see a lot of dripping. Pull your spark plug wires from the valve covers, if there's oil on any of them, valve cover gaskets need replaced.
Bad news: if it is this, you'll also have to replace the upper intake manifold gaskets, since intake manifold has to be removed to change the rear valve cover gasket. Cost roughly 80-90 for all the gaskets. I bought them for mine, but haven't changed them yet.
20/50 is heavy, thick oil for the import. In most of the US 10/30 is fine. I'd suggest switching to it, but only after valve cover gaskets are replaced. Switch before, and you'll have increased leakage due to thinner oil having an easier time leaking than the thicker 20/50. the reverse of that is why 20/50 doesn't seem to leak as much, and is part of why a lot of people run 20/50.

5. If it's not leaking or overheating, the radiator itself should be ok. If that brand is prone to turning dark real fast, switch to another brand and see if it still changes in the same time period/miles driven.

6. May be able to get those parts off the car you mentioned at the pull-a-part...

Actually, you could get anything off that car for your car: shifter, tranny (if you need it), struts (may be better than what you currently have), steering column for the switch... Everything should match up, unless some aftermarket stuff was added to either car at any time.

I'm definitely on your side regarding letting it go. I've heard a saying similar to what UseYourNoggin said, but what I heard went further: "If you love something, set if free. If it comes back, it's yours. If it doesn't, it never was." A car doesn't apply there. I've had so many people comment on my vehicles, and I stubbornly stand my ground.

atx fluid in the gas for cleaning fuel system... think I've heard about that before somewhere...May have to try it myself.

tanprotege< all mx3's have hydraulic clutch systems.
"tuition of sorts" - good way to put it! I've paid mine, and still seem to be making 'payments' lol

BTW: Struts, the Ford zx2 uses almost identical struts and springs. As mentioned earlier in thread, the spring rates are slightly different, but, I can assure you, they work. I'm replacing a set of zx2 springs and struts I've had on my car 4 years, used them on my rs for almost a year, and I'd bought them used off ebay...