It has been the coming on on 3 years and its time for a HVAC cleaning. And because the wife is blaming it on my feet instead of the AC evaporator

These kits are inexpensive and work very well. Simple to use with any vehicle and on the MAZDA under the dash on the passenger side. does not require any tools.

 

It took 2 hours only because i did a more complete cleaning, other wise I am sure it could have been done normally in ably 30 minutes.
The blower motor was really to my surprise very dirty? I am not sure why because I am on the spot to service the cabin filter every month at least once and sometimes twice???
































All clean and smelly fresh like new again!

 

Well after much thought and really a lot more procrastinating , I ordered my new Alternator for my Mazda today.

Here is the highlights about what it is:

250A High Output Alternator for Mazda 3, 2017 - 2018 2.5L L4 (152c.i.)

Direct Fit | Bolt-On | Plug & Play- This is an exact-fit high output alternator designed specifically for your Mazda 3. No modifications are necessary! Our unit mounts the same as your factory Mazda 3 alternator and utilizes the same electrical connections. 125AMPs @ Idle and Full Output Available at a Low 1200RPM

 

UPDATE:
I just filled up and did some figures. So after a week of driving almost exactly the way, i.e. work and home and shopping I filled the tank and did some math!

This fill up only gained roughly .70 increase in mpg. I was hoping for more but this is as I said the first tankful and to do a real assessment I should calculate it over a month of driving.
There was the AC service which I had the engine idling off and on while servicing it for about 30 minutes which can reduce MPG,

Here is things I noted, I do want to say that here in CA where I live the average ambient for last week were in the low 100F's.
IAT were about 20F higher then ambient, timing actually increased surprisingly higher then what I thought the Mazda ECU programing was set for. In other words in the 3 years I have owned and monitored the timing I have never seen the numbers as high? Because I used the AC more often then normal the radiated heat soak was higher but the the bottle with the 50/50 mix was notably cooler. That would be expected because of the properties of methanol when it is vaporized. Although it may be my "butt" Dyno the engine felt like it had crisper throttle response. I know it arguable at this point. hahaha! I will say but I did not pay attention to but will in the future but the last couple days I started to watch my throttle % use, and I noticed I have been using less then normal but attaining the same MPH. I did not check the spark plugs because I seemed to have mis-placed my Mazda supply of them in my garage, so that will come later.

All in all the project went fine and I am so far happy that at least it seems like there is some improvements. When I scope the engine again at the next engine oil service and spark plug change I will know if the main reason for this project was to clean the intake valves and combustion chambers?

 

Thanks for the update - this is encouraging news for sure !

 

Curious how often (how many miles) were you needing to refill / top-off the water bottle?

 

Well I can't really for a few reason. Because it is a manual valve I have had to play around with the setting to get it just right. If I adjust to much flow the engine starts to idle rough similar to the short video I posted. This system does not run like a conventional water or water methanol set up which is forced pressure sprayed in to the intake manifold. This relies on engine vacuum. So if I am throttling there is less vacuum in the intake and therefore less vapor . This is great for highway cruzing where I think my design will really work well? And around the town when it does have good vacuum produced will keep the intake system theoretically cleaner?

 

Well... shoot... you all have trouble with Mazda warranty things, it would seem so do I. After I did my AC vent service cleaning I found a lot of debris that was not normal AC ventilation contamination. If you look at the picture there is copper flakes and an oil film that floats on the surface of the water. I never at any point and not that it would have mattered anyway submerged the blower motor. I only cleaned the fans and behind it with water and alcohol. I kept sample of the dirty fluid removed from the fan and had my freind who is a Chemist at the EPA run up an analysis for me of what it was. Copper, aluminum, plastic, rubber , some un identified organic material and processed petroleum oil .

What this means is my Blower Motor WILL fail not maybe but will. So I thought ok.... it would be a warrantied item. Guess what, Mazda Corp says yes if it fails and my Mazda is still under warranty they will replace it. But until it actually fails they are not obliged to replace a part that may fail. Auh Ok then!!
Needless to say I am not going to wait for it to fail. They are inexpensive enough and only takes 5 minutes to change it. So ordered one up!

Oh well no big deal... just sharing the adventure....






TYC 700296 Replacement Blower Assembly for MAZDA.
The warranty they offered is lifetime but not transferable

 

Look what FedEx delivered

 

Setting up for the oil/filter and spark plug changes I will be doing early before it get hot. The temperatures lately have been in the 100-108F. I really need to install that AC I bought a few years ago for the garage. One of those projects I will get around to. Maybe this winter. HA!
Mazda Oil Filter

New Drain plug washer

Red Line 5w30

Castrol Transmax

New Transmission drain plug washer

WD-40

$ Champion 991/REA8MCX spark plugs

And DWD2 System Metal Conditioner

This was given to me by the manufacturing distribution rep for the company to do a 5,000 mile use and have analyzed by Black Stone oil Labs And then do a write up about. Don't worry I have a freind that is a SAE who prof reads all my publications.