ive had my 03.5msp since 2006. the car was originally purchased for me by my parents, but i bought it from them in early 2008. before the money changed hands my dad sent it in to the local mazda dealer for a tuneup. i dont know exactly what work was done, but it was about $1000 worth of it. shortly after i experienced stumble for the first time. it happened very rarely up until recently. now i havent really given the car gas past about 3000 rpms in about a year due to the turbo intake manifold being cracked, i wasnt sure if this could hurt the car, but i took it easy anyway. i just had the manifold replaced with the steedspeed one a little over a month ago and since then the stumble has been back with a vengeance. it has gotten progressively worse over the last few weeks until i started noticing a slight hesitation today in second gear around 2000 rpms. i was driving like a grandma too and usually i dont notice it if i am driving this way.
i understand that the stumble is caused by an overly rich condition in the engine which is normally attributed to poor tuning from mazda. the thing that i dont understand is how it wasnt an issue at all when i first got the car and it has been slowly getting worse. i know this is a common problem with these cars, but i am about to sell mine and i feel really uncomfortable putting it on the market with this issue.
i guess my real question is this: what exactly are the contributing factors that cause the stumble/hesitation? i mean if the car started out working correctly, there shouldnt be any reason why it shouldnt be able to work correctly again without adding parts that werent previously installed (such as a unichip or ssafc,) right? so would things like, replacing the spark plugs (stronger ignition = more fuel burnt?), the air filter (mine is ready to be changed anyway) have any effect? im not really looking fix the problem so much as find a band aid solution that will lessen the effect the stumble has.
i understand that the stumble is caused by an overly rich condition in the engine which is normally attributed to poor tuning from mazda. the thing that i dont understand is how it wasnt an issue at all when i first got the car and it has been slowly getting worse. i know this is a common problem with these cars, but i am about to sell mine and i feel really uncomfortable putting it on the market with this issue.
i guess my real question is this: what exactly are the contributing factors that cause the stumble/hesitation? i mean if the car started out working correctly, there shouldnt be any reason why it shouldnt be able to work correctly again without adding parts that werent previously installed (such as a unichip or ssafc,) right? so would things like, replacing the spark plugs (stronger ignition = more fuel burnt?), the air filter (mine is ready to be changed anyway) have any effect? im not really looking fix the problem so much as find a band aid solution that will lessen the effect the stumble has.
