Giving my car as a blessing, needs repairs, local mechanic - advice.

[tangierc]

I couldn't figure out how to sum it up in the title, but I intend to give my 2000 Mazda Protege to a family (with kids) at my church who is struggling and without a car in Los Angeles. It would truly be a blessing to them.They don't know this yet. I still need some repairs before I think it's ready to give it to them, but it's very expensive at a Mazda dealer and some mechanics. Perhaps you can recommend a mechanic in the Los Angels area. The car is in pretty good shape; the engine is good and there's cosmetic things that don't need to be fixed. Hopefully there's some folks out there who have advice on getting the pertinent stuff done inexpensively. My old mechanic stopped his business a few years ago.

Recently repaired/replaced:

1. A new clutch
2. Timing belt changed
3. Oil change
4. Radiator hose

Pertinent repairs I still need fixed:

1. Engine & transmission mounts (one is totally bad, the other 3 need replacing)
2. A new catalytic converter
3. P0171 Mazda Lean Air/Fuel message
4. Brakes, (new ones needed in about three months); the ones I have squeal like crazy; brake dust.

Cosmetic stuff (not really needed to be fixed for car use):

1. Clear coat finally breaking down in different spots on car
2. Cracked driver side interior door panel (http://tangierclarke.com/protege-cracked-door.jpg)
3. OEM CD player doesn't work.
4. Automatic door lock not working for one door, sometimes two.

Thanks folks.

 

[MaxPower]

Nice of you to donate the car, especially after fixing it up.

You can buy cheap used or new parts online or at a junkyard and take them to a mechanic. You might want to post in the California section of this forum to see if an experienced forum member will help you fix things up. For new parts, rockauto.com and amazon.com will have cheap prices. For used parts, forum member ScratchNSniff will probably have whatever you need, send him a private message. Ebay.com might also have what you need.

1. You can purchase cheap new mounts from amazon.com or rockauto.com. Or get used ones from a junkyard or ScratchNSniff.
2. I would PM ScratchNSniff to see if he has an OEM cat, otherwise you might not be able to get it replaced in CA. How do you know it's defective? Which cat is it? If the front cat is defective, the coilpacks/wires might need replacement also.
3. P0171 is probably a cracked air intake tube. This part is $30 on rockauto.com and amazon and take 10 minutes to replace with a screwdriver.
4. Brake pads and rotors are inexpensive on rockauto.com.

1. Cosmetic issue.
2. The interior door panel can be sourced used as above.
3. A used CD player can be sourced from ebay or as above.
4. The door locks can also be sourced as above.

Of course, getting the labor cheaply is the difficult part, I'm estimating about 5 hours of a mechanic's labor for the mounts, cat, brakes. Add another 2 hours for the door locks, panel, and CD player. Again, might want to find a forum member who will help in a worthy charitable project.

 

[MaxPower]

Feel free to ask any questions.

 

[ScratchNSniff]

Nice of you to donate the car, especially after fixing it up.

You can buy cheap used or new parts online or at a junkyard and take them to a mechanic. You might want to post in the California section of this forum to see if an experienced forum member will help you fix things up. For new parts, rockauto.com and amazon.com will have cheap prices. For used parts, forum member ScratchNSniff will probably have whatever you need, send him a private message. Ebay.com might also have what you need.

1. You can purchase cheap new mounts from amazon.com or rockauto.com. Or get used ones from a junkyard or ScratchNSniff.
2. I would PM ScratchNSniff to see if he has an OEM cat, otherwise you might not be able to get it replaced in CA. How do you know it's defective? Which cat is it? If the front cat is defective, the coilpacks/wires might need replacement also.
3. P0171 is probably a cracked air intake tube. This part is $30 on rockauto.com and amazon and take 10 minutes to replace with a screwdriver.
4. Brake pads and rotors are inexpensive on rockauto.com.

1. Cosmetic issue.
2. The interior door panel can be sourced used as above.
3. A used CD player can be sourced from ebay or as above.
4. The door locks can also be sourced as above.

Of course, getting the labor cheaply is the difficult part, I'm estimating about 5 hours of a mechanic's labor for the mounts, cat, brakes. Add another 2 hours for the door locks, panel, and CD player. Again, might want to find a forum member who will help in a worthy charitable project.

Could not have said it better at all...100% recommend Amazon for mounts and intake tube...$30 on the intake tube which can easily be replaced in about 5 minutes with a screwdriver as stated and I would ONLY replace 3 mounts NOT including the rear...front and both sides...under $100 for these...brake pads are stupid easy as well and can be changed in about an hour tops...literally a few bolts and renting a caliper tool from AutoZone which will be a 100% refund when returned...only a 14mm socket needed there...

Do you know whether or not the car is a 1.6/1.8/2.0??? If it is a 2.0 I will gladly help out as that is primarily what I mess with...also send me a picture of the factory CD player if you don't mind...

Awesome what you are doing and I would love to help out...giving back to the community is EXACTLY what I am about and will do the best to help you...there are enough people that I know that can help get this taken care of for you...

 

[tangierc]

Shows how much I know about cars. I didn't know there was more than one cat so I couldn't tell you which one.

Thanks for all of the input. This really helps.

 

[tangierc]

It's a 1.8 2000 Mazda Protege ES. I'll take a pic of the radio/CD player and post tomorrow. It has a little over 108k miles and runs great.

 

[tangierc]

Here's the photo of the radio (and the car as well). The CD player doesn't work at all. The volume knob works when it wants to - sometimes tuning the volume down causes the volume to go way up and vice versa.

The cat code by the was is P0421. I don't know which cat that applies to, but frankly I am still surprised to know that there's more than one. I thought most cars only had one catalytic converter.

 

[tangierc]

Hey folks, I'm getting $810 to $960 (ouch) to replace all of the mounts. Does that sound about right to you?

 

[MaxPower]

Hey folks, I'm getting $810 to $960 (ouch) to replace all of the mounts. Does that sound about right to you?

That's absurd, even for new OEM mounts and inflated labor prices.

 

[tangierc]

LOL - learned something new today folks (being that I don't work on cars). I called Covey's auto parts and asked for a Catalytic converter. I didn't know that was illegal to get a used one or rather being sold a a used one. That was an awkward situation being that they don't know if I'm legit or now (which I am).

After watching this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCbtluiDZxQ) youtube video on the mounts it also seems I need to make sure I get the OEM parts because otherwise you have to take an old part of the mount and mix it with the new if it doesn't come with the bracket. Seems easier to get the one with the bracket ready to go.

 

[tangierc]

Hey folks. In shopping for a complete mounts kit, are the mounts different if I have a manual transmission? I keep noticing various sites mentioning specifically "automatic transmission"

 

[MaxPower]

I believe there is a minor difference between the automatic and manual mounts. BTW: if you're buying online, rockauto.com is great for cheap aftermarket parts. For OEM Mazda parts, onlinemazdaparts.com is the way to go.

 

[tangierc]

Hey everyone. Is there any way to tell which catalytic converter needs replacing? This seems to be a large expense that I may not be able to get done cheaply. So it'd be nice to only have to replace the one with the problem. Or is that now how it works? Do you always replace the entire system?

I got the mounts, new OEM radio, driver's side inside door panel. The catalytic converter is the last major thing I believe that needs to be done. I am not sure what to do about the P0171 code yet. I don't see anything visibly wrong with my intake tube.

 

[MaxPower]

Hey everyone. Is there any way to tell which catalytic converter needs replacing? This seems to be a large expense that I may not be able to get done cheaply. So it'd be nice to only have to replace the one with the problem. Or is that now how it works? Do you always replace the entire system?

I got the mounts, new OEM radio, driver's side inside door panel. The catalytic converter is the last major thing I believe that needs to be done. I am not sure what to do about the P0171 code yet. I don't see anything visibly wrong with my intake tube.

Before you start changing the catalytic converter, you should definitively diagnose the problem.

Is P0171 the only engine code? If so, the problem is very likely an air leak, NOT the catalytic converter. An air leak can be caused by a cracked or dislodged vacuum tube. But on the Protege it is most likely caused cracks in the accordion tube from the air filter box to the throttle body. If you have never replaced this part, it almost certainly has cracks that let unmetered air into the engine. Cracks in this tube can be hard to see, so to properly inspect it you need to remove it from the engine. It is easy to remove.

A replacement is $30 from rockauto.

 

[mazpro00]

Also p0171 could also mean a dirty or defective MAF sensor on a protege, clean the MAF sesnor with MAF cleaner and see what happens. My 1.6l 2000 protege had a p0171 for a defective MAF sensor which i had to replace.

 

[lolwut]

If you do end up having to test the catalytic converters, you can probably rent a heat gun from Autozone or somewhere. You just get the car running, and aim the gun at the cat and it will measure the temperature. If the cat isnt running at the correct temperature, there is your bad cat. But do as the other guys said and check the cheap solutions first.

Edit: Get the car running at normal engine temperature, just to clarify.

 

[tangierc]

Hey MaxPower, I don't know if you ever saw the other code from my above posts. You asked if I had any other code besides P0171. I do, it's P0421. I had P0421 for maybe 2 months or so. Then I got the P0171.
Does this change your suggestions at all?

 

[tangierc]

Update for everyone who's been helpful with advice:

New Radio installed
New (used- without cracks) driver side door panel installed
New engine mounts installed

All that's left is to figure out these P0421 and P0171 codes, get some new brakes on the car, a full tank of gas and it'll be ready to give the car away. Actually I think I'll get a smog check first. It's due in April so I'll save the recipient family that expense too.

 

[03protolx]

0171.......check the intake pipe going to the throttle body for any cracks or leaks. and listen to any hissing around the intake manifold gasket area...

95% chance if you fix the 0171 code the 0421 will go away. they are sort of dependent of each other.

 

[MaxPower]

0171.......check the intake pipe going to the throttle body for any cracks or leaks. and listen to any hissing around the intake manifold gasket area...

95% chance if you fix the 0171 code the 0421 will go away. they are sort of dependent of each other.

Agree with this. The P0171 should be addressed first and is most likely caused by an intake leak from the accordion tube.