Mazda MX6 2.5 V6 manual
Discussion
Patch1875 said:
I worked for Mazda when these were launched sure the MX-3 was out at the same time.
Sure the MX-3 had the smallest production V6?
I had a V6 MX-3, '92 vintage, and loved that car. Partly because it was my first car and partly due to that tiny V6 with a rev limiter over 8,000 rpm. It sounded fantastic and much more interesting than what others had at the time.Sure the MX-3 had the smallest production V6?
It wasn't the smallest production V6 around in the '90s however, I think Mitsubishi claimed that crown with a 1.6 lancer. Very rare though.
BrettMRC said:
To get to the rear bank its an inlet manifold off job, so be prepared with a whole new set of UIM gaskets etc!
Very nice cars though - a timeless shape IMO
I thought it was looking that way, a bit involved but I would like to tackle it at some point. I actually took a few pictures the other night of the areas where oil appears to be weeping out a bit...Very nice cars though - a timeless shape IMO
The MX6 does have that proper sports coupe shape with clean unfussy lines that still looks great to my eyes. I want to get the new wheels on, lower it about 35mm, get rid of that ugly front number plate holder and a few other bits, then it should look pretty much there...
Edited by mx-6 on Friday 27th January 15:14
So I had some time yesterday afternoon to do some work on the MX6. I finished cleaning up the electrical connections to the battery and starter so I'm hoping that this will resolve my sluggish starting issues.
Wire brush treatment.
Bought a new battery earth cable, couple of quid from ebay. The old one was a bit bodged up.
Wire brush treatment.
Bought a new battery earth cable, couple of quid from ebay. The old one was a bit bodged up.
Edited by mx-6 on Monday 13th February 13:02
Edited by mx-6 on Tuesday 14th February 14:17
I also got this new exhaust fitted. The backbox was quite a state, had several holes in it.
Just surface rust on the center section really but the pipe was cheap so decided to do both. The nuts were totally rusted so just chopped it in half.
Nice and new looking, shame about the very rusty heat shields, left them on for now but will drag them off at some point...
Just surface rust on the center section really but the pipe was cheap so decided to do both. The nuts were totally rusted so just chopped it in half.
Nice and new looking, shame about the very rusty heat shields, left them on for now but will drag them off at some point...
Edited by mx-6 on Tuesday 14th February 15:31
...while I have all the intake gubbins pulled off I decided to get an aftermarket cone type air filter to replace the standard airbox. Went for a foam one as opposed to cotton, should look and sound faster at least.
Found this one on ebay for £20 brand new. Even has a brandname on the side, though will probably position that downward so you can't see it...
The internal diameter of the airbox piping is about 70mm so bought a filter with that size opening.
Found this one on ebay for £20 brand new. Even has a brandname on the side, though will probably position that downward so you can't see it...
The internal diameter of the airbox piping is about 70mm so bought a filter with that size opening.
Edited by mx-6 on Wednesday 15th February 13:40
Ha, well why not get another Brett, I'm sure you've seen that they are pocket money to buy these days, they can't be any cheaper. As the youngest example will be 20 years old I imagine most will be like mine and need at least some degree of sorting out, but it seems easy to work on (apart for the somewhat cramped engine bay) and parts are pretty cheap...
Just a quick tip - try running a jumper cable from the battery earth to the engine block to check if you have an earthing problem - if the problem goes away, you know where to look!
I had the same issue with my old 205 16V GTI - turns out the bolt holding the earth strap to the gearbox had corroded in the ally housing causing high resistance when it got hot.
Taken out, regreased and cleaned up all my starter issues went away! Wish I'd tried that first before buying a starter motor and battery!
I had the same issue with my old 205 16V GTI - turns out the bolt holding the earth strap to the gearbox had corroded in the ally housing causing high resistance when it got hot.
Taken out, regreased and cleaned up all my starter issues went away! Wish I'd tried that first before buying a starter motor and battery!
Always liked these cars... but I would take the spoiler off...just IMO of course !
I have an E36 318iS that I bought a few years ago, first thing I did was to find another boot lid in the same colour as I have never liked spoilers !
Just cleans up that shape, which on yours is quite sleek.
Really like those wheels you bought, that and the lowered suspension should look great.
Like the thread by the way.
I have an E36 318iS that I bought a few years ago, first thing I did was to find another boot lid in the same colour as I have never liked spoilers !
Just cleans up that shape, which on yours is quite sleek.
Really like those wheels you bought, that and the lowered suspension should look great.
Like the thread by the way.
shalmaneser said:
Just a quick tip - try running a jumper cable from the battery earth to the engine block to check if you have an earthing problem - if the problem goes away, you know where to look!
I had the same issue with my old 205 16V GTI - turns out the bolt holding the earth strap to the gearbox had corroded in the ally housing causing high resistance when it got hot.
Taken out, regreased and cleaned up all my starter issues went away! Wish I'd tried that first before buying a starter motor and battery!
Thanks for the tip I will try that if my issues haven't been cured by what I've done so far. That's exactly the problem I've had, doesn't want to start when it's hot. I should have saved the money I spent on buying a new battery too as that's clearly not my problem, I'll have a decent spare now at least...I had the same issue with my old 205 16V GTI - turns out the bolt holding the earth strap to the gearbox had corroded in the ally housing causing high resistance when it got hot.
Taken out, regreased and cleaned up all my starter issues went away! Wish I'd tried that first before buying a starter motor and battery!
Edited by mx-6 on Wednesday 15th February 13:42
Paul S4 said:
Always liked these cars... but I would take the spoiler off...just IMO of course !
I have an E36 318iS that I bought a few years ago, first thing I did was to find another boot lid in the same colour as I have never liked spoilers !
Just cleans up that shape, which on yours is quite sleek.
Really like those wheels you bought, that and the lowered suspension should look great.
Like the thread by the way.
Ha, funny that you say that Paul but I've already deleted the spoiler! I really like the cleaner look, I've seen a few MX6's without it and they look great. I was initially in two minds as I kind of think it's part of the character of the car, but I do like it better with it off.I have an E36 318iS that I bought a few years ago, first thing I did was to find another boot lid in the same colour as I have never liked spoilers !
Just cleans up that shape, which on yours is quite sleek.
Really like those wheels you bought, that and the lowered suspension should look great.
Like the thread by the way.
Here's one I've seen. I'm not into some of the mod's like the painted bonnet/boot, yellow headlamps, etc. but really like the silhouette of the shape and the lowered stance of this.
I've debadged the boot lid too, I haven't taken any pic's yet though. I need to grind a bit of surface rust off the bottom edge of the lid plus fill the holes (for the spoiler and badges), then blow some paint on. I'll just DIY it for now but may have some proper paint down the line if I think I can justify it.
tricky1962 said:
Looks nice!
As to your starting problem, it sounds like it could be a bad connection - an earth, lead to the solenoid or battery - that is high resistance. When you are running it's getting hot and the resistance is going up further, hence the slow starter motor. Just a thought
Certainly sounds like this, I'd try a jump lead between the engine block and battery negative as a quick test.As to your starting problem, it sounds like it could be a bad connection - an earth, lead to the solenoid or battery - that is high resistance. When you are running it's getting hot and the resistance is going up further, hence the slow starter motor. Just a thought
chryslerben said:
tricky1962 said:
Looks nice!
As to your starting problem, it sounds like it could be a bad connection - an earth, lead to the solenoid or battery - that is high resistance. When you are running it's getting hot and the resistance is going up further, hence the slow starter motor. Just a thought
Certainly sounds like this, I'd try a jump lead between the engine block and battery negative as a quick test.As to your starting problem, it sounds like it could be a bad connection - an earth, lead to the solenoid or battery - that is high resistance. When you are running it's getting hot and the resistance is going up further, hence the slow starter motor. Just a thought
Edited by mx-6 on Wednesday 15th February 13:45
I did a bit more work this weekend, got the new rims on. Not a big deal you may think but the car came with security wheel nuts and I had no key for them anywhere in the car. I had a look at what would fit onto them, 19mm didn't grip well so I bought a bi-hex 18mm socket which would be a slight interference fit over them (just a regular 18mm hex socket pictured here).
The first ones removed were loose and basically fell straight out, the third was a little tight and I had to hammer the socket on. The last one tackled was on very tight, and on trying to remove it the socket started to slip on the nut without loosening it. I was getting scared of rounding it off at this stage. Next thing was to whack on hard a regular hex 18mm socket and soak in plenty of penetrating oil, the nut was very tight for some reason but it came out and I breathed a sigh of relief...
Bought some ebay £12.99 zinc plated wheel nuts to replace the lumps of rust on the car. The old wheels had a tunnel in the casting for the nuts so they are obscured, but they are more exposed on the RX7 wheel so wanted them to look decent...
The first ones removed were loose and basically fell straight out, the third was a little tight and I had to hammer the socket on. The last one tackled was on very tight, and on trying to remove it the socket started to slip on the nut without loosening it. I was getting scared of rounding it off at this stage. Next thing was to whack on hard a regular hex 18mm socket and soak in plenty of penetrating oil, the nut was very tight for some reason but it came out and I breathed a sigh of relief...
Bought some ebay £12.99 zinc plated wheel nuts to replace the lumps of rust on the car. The old wheels had a tunnel in the casting for the nuts so they are obscured, but they are more exposed on the RX7 wheel so wanted them to look decent...
Edited by mx-6 on Monday 20th February 12:40
I needed some new wheel centers as they didn't come with any. Measured the wheel and found the hole was 62mm so got some badgeless generic £4.99 ebay ones. May stick some Mazda logo badges on these, not sure yet.
As the RX7 wheels are 16x8" and an inch wider than the standard wheels I needed to fit a small spacer so that they would clear the rear struts by a few mm's. Had a set of 5mm ones already so dug them out and put them on, clearnace is okay with those.
I'm pleased with the wheels, I think they look great. The dark grey suits the dark blue on the car I think. I will take some better pic's once the '6 leaves the garage.
As the RX7 wheels are 16x8" and an inch wider than the standard wheels I needed to fit a small spacer so that they would clear the rear struts by a few mm's. Had a set of 5mm ones already so dug them out and put them on, clearnace is okay with those.
I'm pleased with the wheels, I think they look great. The dark grey suits the dark blue on the car I think. I will take some better pic's once the '6 leaves the garage.
Edited by mx-6 on Monday 20th February 12:41
I also adjusted the clutch pedal as they was an annoying amount of play on it. I've got a hand on the pedal to take with the slack here so you can see the gap between the green end stop and hex bolt head. Wound it out with a spanner, access wasn't the best...
I still need to adjust the throttle cable as well...
I still need to adjust the throttle cable as well...
These Mazdas are good looking cars - they're quite underrated really. I think they're interesting things with the V6 motor. The RX7 alloys add a degree of muscularity. They look good on them, particularly with a mild lowering.
I was sad to see the end came for your manual '40. It was such a rare car but the way they can rust there does come a point when you have to really want to keep it, since repairing them is such an expensive business.
I was sad to see the end came for your manual '40. It was such a rare car but the way they can rust there does come a point when you have to really want to keep it, since repairing them is such an expensive business.
Thanks for the comments David. The MX6 is enjoyable to drive, it doesn't weigh too much for a V6 car really at around 1.25 tons so is quite light on its feet. I'm looking forward to putting in some lowering springs and hopefully fresh dampers too in the next month, I think that will tighten up the handling nicely and be a definite improvement in appearance.
Yes it was a shame with XJ40, the reality was that the condition had detoriorated too much really. Unfortunately I wan't able to garage it so it was suffering badly from rust and ageing, and with 174k on the clock various end-of-life issues. I enjoyed owning it and keep it going for a few years and tried to keep it looking okay, but it was used and abused and was never a good example like yours is.
Yes it was a shame with XJ40, the reality was that the condition had detoriorated too much really. Unfortunately I wan't able to garage it so it was suffering badly from rust and ageing, and with 174k on the clock various end-of-life issues. I enjoyed owning it and keep it going for a few years and tried to keep it looking okay, but it was used and abused and was never a good example like yours is.
Edited by mx-6 on Wednesday 22 February 11:38
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