Just picked up a p5 daily driver for the mazda racecar...

[scrapp]

Hey guys!
I'm just looking for a new home to join for all my p5 info. (hi)

Few months back I picked up a clean 140k '03 black/black/5spd from a close friend as a new daily driver. I've actually REALLY wanted a p5 since they came out, so it's kind of a big deal to have this car. My stable is complete. (nana)


Not worried about power, but I am concerned with suspension/driving upgrades. Engine mounts and shocks feel toast, was interested in recommendations. Want to do something about the shifter too. (I also have a constant rattle on my front passenger side?)
I have a CEL, but forgot what it was. I was told its one of two sensors, one is cheap to fix, another is a pain, and apparently the sensors are a common problem? Nothing seems affected by the CEL... No stutters or noises, avg about 28mpg, and has decent pickup...
Replaced the BLACK coolant with GREEN but the fans still constantly kick on. Not sure if this is normal. AFAIK it had a MAJOR tune up at 105k (Timing belt, plugs, wires, pads/rotors, tires...)

...Any common problems I should look out for?
Besides suspension upgrades and overhauls, I don't see myself modding the car, I blow enough money on the other mazda. Purpose of the p5 is to be the cheapest possible way to get to work, I just want to make sure it stays that way.


Hope to stick around and get to know yall!

 

[zackmac]

hey welcome to the forum!

as for your suspension and driving concerns you can go a few ways... you can get coilovers for around $800-1000, these are for the race car and are the most expensive option. a few good brands are bc, ground control and yellowspeed
the next route would be to upgrade your springs and struts. the most popular strut upgrade are tokico hp (tokico blues), but make sure they are not the mazdaspeed protege tokicos, they will not fit the p5 correctly and are not entirely HP models. for springs you will get a drop on any aftermarket type you choose, some more than others. the two most common are eibach pro kit and tein s techs. racing beat also makes springs with less of a drop. when you do your suspension, replace your pathetic front end links with 2002 ford esape (awd v6) end links by MOOG... only $10 each and they are beefier with a grease fitting. fronts only though. as far as the rear end of the car, you might want to upgrade your rear sway bar for handling. cheapest method would be to find a racing beat off of a mazdaspeed protege, it will fit fine, probably will need new endlinks. you can also consider progress or AWR for rear sway bars... thats suspension in a nut shell

engine mounts you can go with AWR as well, most people do the front and sides, the rear is supposed to be a PITA. i need to do this soon as well

for the shifter, i will tell you this is the first thing you should do and go buy a TWM short throw shifter with poly bushings... you will love this... makes shifting feel sportier and it is much faster and there is no play at all

my wagon rattles out of every corner, you get used to it after a while. i typically play music so it doesn't bother me too much.

for problems just check for rust. rust and more rust. fenders, hood, hatch are most common/earliest typically

do you plan on doing any exhaust?
good luck!

 

[pcb]

you should consider replacing your coil packs. they go bad in strange ways and it's really hard to diagnose. they've even been known to be bad right out of the box. there about 30 bucks a piece and take 20 minutes to install. keep your old ones in the trunk just in case.

 

[s4tt_rush]

hey scrapp,

I just got a pro5 today also for a really good price and has 132k kilometers (roughly 80k miles). What a car for its category!! cant get much more driver oriented for the price. It handles better than my 2001 s4 lol. To stay on topic I also have a cel and the previous owner told me it was a sensor of some sort and after a little research its porbably the egr valve (150$) which seem to go every 60k miles on these cars. It could also be something faulty with the evap system as this is common on our cars. Whatever it is it doesnt affect the driving and personally i'm not gonna spend more than $50 to get rid of a cel.

Cheers,
Dave

 

[scrapp]

Hey everyone!

zackmac - As far as coilovers go, that was a big no from the beginning. I have them on the other car and its fine for a weekend thing, but I love coming back to something kinda "squishy" when I get tired of riding on rocks. I'll def look into Tokicos and some kinda spring. I had no idea about the escort front end links. This is something new I'm putting on the list, thanks!!
I had no idea AWR made protege stuff... Looks like I'll be spending a chunk of money on engine mounts, and as for the TWM shifter, it was playing with that idea since I got the car... Ive been doing some research so it seems their bushings are the only thing out there, and really help...

Car is completely rust free, it lives down here in Texas.
As for exhaust, if I ever find a racing beat really REALLY cheap, Ill do it... but the $1500+ I'm about to spend in suspension/mounts is about as overkill as I want to go on this car... (For now. We will see what happens 5 years down the road, but im being honest its meant to just get me around town, and still give me my "zoom-zoom" satisfaction.)


pcb- dang, I had no idea... I guess I'm adding this to the list (On further retrospect, I THINK the P.O. actually replaced these a few miles back.... it sounds familiar)

s4tt_rush - I remember it being an evap code. I need to just stop being lazy and stop off at a parts store to get the code read, then work from there. Hope you're enjoying your p5!!

 

[Nocturin]

I'll end up getting a RB exhaust to replace the dual tip I have on on mine, it'll be quieter and only about 400$.

You want Ford Escape AWD v6 endlinks, not escort .

After many a hour of reserach, because I'm only looking for a slightly stiffer suspension with little drop, I'm going with Racing Beat Springs (200$ for a new set and less than an 1" drop... keeps the handling profile while adding a little performance) and a set of Tokico HPs if I can afford it, if not I'll go with the KYB GR2s or the STAGG if I can find them. The RB springs and the KYB struts will match or exceed stock performance by slight.

I've got the entirety of the front suspension to replace over time, so I feel ya!

I'm going to end up up buying all the parts and doing both sides at the same time.

 

[zackmac]

yes it is ford escape end links***

 

[pcb]

Another big issue with our cars is the EGR valve. They love to get fouled and need repeated cleanings. There is a "Canadian" version for a replacement and comes with coolant lines and is way more reliable. Get the one with coolant lines to it if you replace yours,... it's more work to install but you will not have an EGR problem again.

Here's a pic of the one you want.

 

[s4tt_rush]

Another big issue with our cars is the EGR valve. They love to get fouled and need repeated cleanings. There is a "Canadian" version for a replacement and comes with coolant lines and is way more reliable. Get the one with coolant lines to it if you replace yours,... it's more work to install but you will not have an EGR problem again.

Here's a pic of the one you want.

hey pcb i checked rock auto .com but i couldnt find it, do u have the link to the webpage where i can order
thanks

 

[pcb]

It's at Rockauto but it's listed for the regular 2 liter Protege not the P5, so I posted a question on the forum asking if anyone had actually installed that version on a P5 and one mechanic wrote back saying he had installed them on a bunch of P5's and they have been working with no problems for years. I thought there might be some clearance issues trying to install them on a P5 but apparently they fit fine.

I sent an E-mail informing Rockauto that the EGR with coolant lines does fit the P5 and they said they would look into it but it never did show up under the P5 listing.

 

[Ice88]

No coilovers for race car?

Weird.

 

[scrapp]

It's at Rockauto but it's listed for the regular 2 liter Protege not the P5, so I posted a question on the forum asking if anyone had actually installed that version on a P5 and one mechanic wrote back saying he had installed them on a bunch of P5's and they have been working with no problems for years. I thought there might be some clearance issues trying to install them on a P5 but apparently they fit fine.

I sent an E-mail informing Rockauto that the EGR with coolant lines does fit the P5 and they said they would look into it but it never did show up under the P5 listing.

Interesting... Anyone have a writeup on how to install? Im not yet familiar with the p5 layout, so I dont know where this installs in general. Is custom fab work required, or do you just pull some nipples off of the TB?

No coilovers for race car?

Weird.

Cant tell if trolling...

This car is the daily driver- Coilovers do not last as long/need frequent rebuilds, and will never soak up the bumps that I don't care to avoid when "daily driving."
I just want to fix the sloppy engine/shifter feeling and replace worn out stock parts from a 150k mile car. (I know about p5 potential, applaud all of yall who mod your p5 to the extreme and I want to join in, but its not MY priority. Mine stays stock.)
(Also, if you really wanted to open the can of worms, unless your paying $10k for penske or ohlins type coilovers, 98% of your coilovers out there will NOT outperform a standard shock/spring upgrade.)

 

[pcb]

Interesting... Anyone have a write up on how to install? Im not yet familiar with the p5 layout, so I don't know where this installs in general. Is custom fab work required, or do you just pull some nipples off of the TB?

Here's a link to a thread of mine about the EGR,... it links to other threads that cover everything, including the specifics of installing the "Canadian" EGR. Apparently the EGR with coolant lines (the "Canadian" one) doesn't come with installation instructions but they are listed with pictures somewhere within the thread and it's associated links.

http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?123825952-EGR-question-MP5

 

[Nocturin]

pcb, awesome as always

 

[scrapp]

Here's a link to a thread of mine about the EGR,... it links to other threads that cover everything, including the specifics of installing the "Canadian" EGR. Apparently the EGR with coolant lines (the "Canadian" one) doesn't come with installation instructions but they are listed with pictures somewhere within the thread and it's associated links.

http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?123825952-EGR-question-MP5

soooo cool. Thank you pcb.
You must be the "Aaroncake" of the Protege world? lol

Time to go digging in some rabbit holes, brb.

 

[pcb]

Thanks guys.

I joined this site after buying my car and did nothing but read for over a year,... hundreds of hours. I focused on all the different problems the car can have in an effort to keep mine alive. I studied the FSM like a bible and I am now obsessed with knowing everything about my car.

So,... with that in mind,... if Anyone has the full wiring diagrams for the P5 or perhaps some sort of flow chart for the ECU, I would greatly appreciate the info. (I studied electronics in school)

I will, of course share the knowledge in an effort to keep all of our P5's happy and healthy.