Mazda MX6 2.5 V6 manual
Discussion
I enjoyed the short time I had with my MX-6, and would happily have another one as long as it was in good condition! I got mine for about £500 in the mid-2000's, and it was a bit of a ropey one, visually anyway:
As others have mentioned the rocker cover gaskets are a weak spot, and it was changing mine that led to the demise of the car. I was only able to change the front bank as I couldn't get the inlet manifold off (seized bolts IIRC) so I couldn't do the rear bank. When putting the front cover back on though I noticed I was missing a washer on one of the bolts. Unable to find it I found another in my bits box and reassembled it all. It was only upon starting the car up that I realised where that washer went - into the engine. Oops! Feeling it was a gonner I sold it as spares.
I rarely see them on the road now. I enjoyed its comfort and reasonable pace, and would love to have spent some money on tarting it up. I felt the same way about the Ford Probe I had afterwards, although that was just the four-pot version sadly.
As others have mentioned the rocker cover gaskets are a weak spot, and it was changing mine that led to the demise of the car. I was only able to change the front bank as I couldn't get the inlet manifold off (seized bolts IIRC) so I couldn't do the rear bank. When putting the front cover back on though I noticed I was missing a washer on one of the bolts. Unable to find it I found another in my bits box and reassembled it all. It was only upon starting the car up that I realised where that washer went - into the engine. Oops! Feeling it was a gonner I sold it as spares.
I rarely see them on the road now. I enjoyed its comfort and reasonable pace, and would love to have spent some money on tarting it up. I felt the same way about the Ford Probe I had afterwards, although that was just the four-pot version sadly.
That's a very nice picture of the MX6 there, I will get some decent ones of mine once it makes it out of the garage. That's an unfortunate demise, did the washer trash a valve or two then? I will heed the warning and be very careful if/when I attempt the cover gasket change! I've seen that the leaked oil can fill up the spark plug wells and cause issues.
The rarity of MX6's now was part of the appeal of getting this car as you just don't see them any more.
I agree it's a nice mix of comfort and performance, I've seen that reviews of the time say that it's was a good all rounder, though perhaps didn't excell in any one area. Kind of in the coupe middle ground between sports car and GT maybe...
The rarity of MX6's now was part of the appeal of getting this car as you just don't see them any more.
I agree it's a nice mix of comfort and performance, I've seen that reviews of the time say that it's was a good all rounder, though perhaps didn't excell in any one area. Kind of in the coupe middle ground between sports car and GT maybe...
mx-6 said:
That's a very nice picture of the MX6 there, I will get some decent ones of mine once it makes it out of the garage. That's an unfortunate demise, did the washer trash a valve or two then? I will heed the warning and be very careful if/when I attempt the cover gasket change!
I'm not sure of the damage, all I knew was upon startup the engine was making a loud grinding / rattling noise, and I put 2 + 2 together and figured the washer had fallen into the open rocker section as I was removing it. In hindsight I may have been able to recover the washer before it did any permanent damage, but at the time I figured it was game over and looked no further.Just came across this thread. I have an identical MX6 with approx 100K miles on that i purchased for £600 on ebay about a year ago. Never been any problem, apart from a similar issue with the battery. Just replaced the back box.n(replaced with stainless steel unit that sounds great over 4000 RPM. This has certainly inspired me to look at a few mods to mine. Any thoughts on replacement shocks? Will take some pictures.
Nice to hear from another current owner, please do post up some pictures here I'd certainly be interested in seeing those. I dabbled with the idea of an aftermarket 'zorst but didn't really find anything that was cost effective so went for an OEM spec system, where did you get your stainless backbox from? The KL-DE V6 in these sounds the business doesn't it.
I've been having a think about replacement springs and shock recently. Coilovers don't make sense to me as there's not much choice, and the ones that are on the market cost like twice what I paid for the car, plus in my opinion they aren't great on a road car the spring rates are too high. There's quite a few established brands doing -35mm lowering springs from about £100, there doesn't seem like much to choose between them so I will probably roll a dice to determine which ones I go for...
I did come across these the other day, I've not really heard of the brand much before but it's a set of German made FK uprated dampers and springs for £280, seems a cheap price that lot.
http://www.madmotors.co.uk/lowering-kits/mazda/maz...
I've seen on the MX6 forums that some report good results with the OEM spec KYB gas dampers, "Excel-G" matched with lowering springs, they are around £50 a corner.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/361516275645?_trksid=p20...
I found these super-cheap dampers as well, made by another German outfit called GH Parts. They are actually gas ones as well rather than just your standard oil filled, £56 for a pair of rears!
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/181870990495?_trksid=p20...
I've been having a think about replacement springs and shock recently. Coilovers don't make sense to me as there's not much choice, and the ones that are on the market cost like twice what I paid for the car, plus in my opinion they aren't great on a road car the spring rates are too high. There's quite a few established brands doing -35mm lowering springs from about £100, there doesn't seem like much to choose between them so I will probably roll a dice to determine which ones I go for...
I did come across these the other day, I've not really heard of the brand much before but it's a set of German made FK uprated dampers and springs for £280, seems a cheap price that lot.
http://www.madmotors.co.uk/lowering-kits/mazda/maz...
I've seen on the MX6 forums that some report good results with the OEM spec KYB gas dampers, "Excel-G" matched with lowering springs, they are around £50 a corner.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/361516275645?_trksid=p20...
I found these super-cheap dampers as well, made by another German outfit called GH Parts. They are actually gas ones as well rather than just your standard oil filled, £56 for a pair of rears!
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/181870990495?_trksid=p20...
Edited by mx-6 on Thursday 2nd March 13:27
Nice machine! That's a lovely engine in those. I had an MX3 with the K8 version. I had a decat pipe and a cat-back exhaust with twin AMG tips built by Longlife for around £400. Sounded lovely as the video shows. Keep going with it, it's great to see another 90's coupe being saved. https://youtu.be/i7CcEcWRdWI
R400TVR said:
Nice machine! That's a lovely engine in those. I had an MX3 with the K8 version. I had a decat pipe and a cat-back exhaust with twin AMG tips built by Longlife for around £400. Sounded lovely as the video shows. Keep going with it, it's great to see another 90's coupe being saved. https://youtu.be/i7CcEcWRdWI
Yes they are very nice engines aren't they. I watched the video sounds good with the aftermarket exhaust that's tempting me to get a non-standard backbox for mine, though I've not had a proper drive in it with the new OEM spec sytem yet so need to see how that is...Edited by mx-6 on Thursday 2nd March 14:13
helpneededplease said:
Thanks for the coilover / spring info will have a look at those.
My back box is from a longlife company in Watford did a top job and really comes into its own over 4K revs. Loves a Tunnel!
Must get those photos taken.
Yeah get those pic's taken, and get a tunnel video with sound if you can too!My back box is from a longlife company in Watford did a top job and really comes into its own over 4K revs. Loves a Tunnel!
Must get those photos taken.
Well a little update on what I was messing with this week. When I was driving the MX6 previous and assessing what needed sorting with it I noticed that the engine felt a bit hesitant at low revs but seemed to pull well at high revs. After having a check over things in the engine bay while I was in there I noticed that there was a problem with the VAF, the vane airflow meter that these things have. This differs from a modern MAF (mass airflow meter) in that instead for having a heated wire it is mechanical with a spring loaded vane that moves in and out according to the air flowing through the meter. This movement of the vane causes a change in the signal sent to the ECU to help it determine the correct fueling for the engine.
Anyhow the issue with my VAF is that the cylindrical vane doesn't move freely so was stuck in the fully open position, so the spring wasn't forcing it back to it's starting position where it should be when the engine is off or idling. I removed the VAF from the intake piping and attempted to clean the vane with carb cleaner so that it moves freely, also tried WD40 and a light oil but this didn't improve matters. So I decided to dis-assemble the VAF so that I could remove the vane from it and sand it back to the point where it has a smooth surface and moves freely again. The plastic body of the VAF has three pieces glued together so I used a hacksaw to separate them! This was the only way I could get to the nut holding the vane in the body of the VAF. This is as far as I've got with it so far, I will hopefully complete the repair to it this weekend and get it nailed back together soon...
In other news I trial fitted the air filter and it's a good fit for the VAF intake.
Anyhow the issue with my VAF is that the cylindrical vane doesn't move freely so was stuck in the fully open position, so the spring wasn't forcing it back to it's starting position where it should be when the engine is off or idling. I removed the VAF from the intake piping and attempted to clean the vane with carb cleaner so that it moves freely, also tried WD40 and a light oil but this didn't improve matters. So I decided to dis-assemble the VAF so that I could remove the vane from it and sand it back to the point where it has a smooth surface and moves freely again. The plastic body of the VAF has three pieces glued together so I used a hacksaw to separate them! This was the only way I could get to the nut holding the vane in the body of the VAF. This is as far as I've got with it so far, I will hopefully complete the repair to it this weekend and get it nailed back together soon...
In other news I trial fitted the air filter and it's a good fit for the VAF intake.
Ha, I only just noticed that my MX6 was made Readers Car of the Week on the 24th of Feb!
http://www.pistonheads.com/news/ph-japanesecars/re...
Thanks PH and Nik Attard.
http://www.pistonheads.com/news/ph-japanesecars/re...
Thanks PH and Nik Attard.
No major progress but a few updates none the less.
After dismantling the VAF into three parts previously I was able to get around to fixing the issue with the vane. It is spring-load and supposed to move in with airflow with the spring returning it out, but it was very sticky and not moving freely. I guess after 20 years and many heat cycles the plastic had deformed and expanded. I basically just sanded it down to the point where it moved freely.
I've re-assembled the vane into the housing now, so the next thing is to get some suitable adhesive to stick the whole VAF assembly back together.
After dismantling the VAF into three parts previously I was able to get around to fixing the issue with the vane. It is spring-load and supposed to move in with airflow with the spring returning it out, but it was very sticky and not moving freely. I guess after 20 years and many heat cycles the plastic had deformed and expanded. I basically just sanded it down to the point where it moved freely.
I've re-assembled the vane into the housing now, so the next thing is to get some suitable adhesive to stick the whole VAF assembly back together.
I deleted off the aftermarket Cobra alarm system last night. I've only one key and no alarm fob so no way of using the system, I wanted to get rid to simplify things and vanquish a potential reliability issue waiting to happen. Plus I've saved some weight 
Took a little while to pull the wiring and find where it was spliced in. The starter still spun with it disconnected, I think it was hooked into the line that swtiches on the fuel pump.
Ominous black plastic lump.
The offending wiring.
I just twisted the wires to get it working but I'll solder and heat shrink them another evening.
Fully removed and crawling it's way towards the bin.
Took a little while to pull the wiring and find where it was spliced in. The starter still spun with it disconnected, I think it was hooked into the line that swtiches on the fuel pump.
Ominous black plastic lump.
The offending wiring.
I just twisted the wires to get it working but I'll solder and heat shrink them another evening.
Fully removed and crawling it's way towards the bin.
Edited by mx-6 on Wednesday 22 March 15:04
Okay, I finally got around to re-assembling this VAF (other miscellaneous projects have been taking up my time recently, you know how it is). Having sanded down the vane so that it moved freely I was able to put it back together again, I had chopped it into three pieces so these had to be glued back together again.
I bought a strong hard plastic glue for the purpose and squeezed this liberally onto the mating surfaces. I used some special support apparatus to hold the parts firmly toether whilst the glue cured.
This VAF should be all sorted and working correctly now so I'm going to drop it back in the car shortly together with the new air filter, hoping it hangs together okay and doesn't soil the bed. I've also soldered up the wiring after ripping out the alarm now, so I can finally start it up and run it up and down the road to check everything is behaving itself...
I bought a strong hard plastic glue for the purpose and squeezed this liberally onto the mating surfaces. I used some special support apparatus to hold the parts firmly toether whilst the glue cured.
This VAF should be all sorted and working correctly now so I'm going to drop it back in the car shortly together with the new air filter, hoping it hangs together okay and doesn't soil the bed. I've also soldered up the wiring after ripping out the alarm now, so I can finally start it up and run it up and down the road to check everything is behaving itself...
Edited by mx-6 on Sunday 26th March 23:36
Another annoying fault on the car has is that the heater only worked on full, with the slider control on position four. Having had a read around online I discovered that this issue is caused by a failed blower motor resistor. The resistor element is mounted inside the blower so that it is cooled by the airflow.
I had to pull off the plastic panels under the passenger side of the dash to get at it. As there are a few different resistors with different parts numbers fitted to the MX6 I decided to pull the existing one out to check it before buying a new one, haven't found the correct one yet...
Not a particularly exciting last few posts but I'm getting there with seeing off the broken stuff, looking forward to get into some mod's and cosmetic improvements soon.
I had to pull off the plastic panels under the passenger side of the dash to get at it. As there are a few different resistors with different parts numbers fitted to the MX6 I decided to pull the existing one out to check it before buying a new one, haven't found the correct one yet...
Not a particularly exciting last few posts but I'm getting there with seeing off the broken stuff, looking forward to get into some mod's and cosmetic improvements soon.
The MX6 is now back together and it runs and drives again though still obviously a work in progress, I've had it out of the garage and on the street so please with that. I got the repaired VAF back in along with the new foam air filter last night and the engine seems to run better now at low rev's.
So to recap, the completed work done on the car so far:
new Ramair foam air filter
new cat-back OEM spec exhaust system
new RX7 16x8" wheels with 225/50R16 tyres
new wheel nuts and wheel centre badges
repaired VAF
adjusted clutch pedal
removed Cobra aftermarket alarm system
removed rear spoiler
removed front and rear badges
Jobs still in progress:
Heater resistor replacement
number plate replacement
refitment of interior trim planels
The MOT expired in February so it needs a new one, can't see they'll be any issues for that. I'm planning to book it in next month once I've finished buttoning down a few of the little outstanding bits and pieces.
Plans for what to do next:
Tidy up bodywork/paint/sort surface rust
Full service - engine oil change, plugs, etc.
fit lowering springs
Fit sporty looking black leather steering wheel in place of OEM plastic one
The ride height is too high and the standard spring rate feels a bit low. Needs a good clean, she's dusty from being sat in the garage...
So to recap, the completed work done on the car so far:
new Ramair foam air filter
new cat-back OEM spec exhaust system
new RX7 16x8" wheels with 225/50R16 tyres
new wheel nuts and wheel centre badges
repaired VAF
adjusted clutch pedal
removed Cobra aftermarket alarm system
removed rear spoiler
removed front and rear badges
Jobs still in progress:
Heater resistor replacement
number plate replacement
refitment of interior trim planels
The MOT expired in February so it needs a new one, can't see they'll be any issues for that. I'm planning to book it in next month once I've finished buttoning down a few of the little outstanding bits and pieces.
Plans for what to do next:
Tidy up bodywork/paint/sort surface rust
Full service - engine oil change, plugs, etc.
fit lowering springs
Fit sporty looking black leather steering wheel in place of OEM plastic one
The ride height is too high and the standard spring rate feels a bit low. Needs a good clean, she's dusty from being sat in the garage...
Edited by mx-6 on Friday 7th April 10:43
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