Recent content by icspots

I can give you two VINs, don’t know if it helps. One is a family member’s 2008 1st gen model, the other is my 2012 2nd gen model. Both US vehicles, both with the spongey brake feel. 2008 - 2983 8032 6524 2012 - 2BL7 C014 1537

Not my 5, but replaced the transmission control module, and transmission mount on my sister’s Mz5 today. Still technically in progress because I went ahead and threw the battery on a conditioning cycle while I was working, and that takes up to 24 hours. Also need to go grab a new air filter...

Take a look at the OE coils and see what their condition is. If they aren’t rusted/broken as mentioned by topFC3Sman noted then the springs themselves are likely fine. I’m still happy with the lowering springs, but outside of a sale I might opt to just do inflatable helper bags inside the...

Gotcha. Yeah, could have a bad gasket on the wiper easily. Some don’t like rear wipers, but I personally think they’re crazy. Biggest annoyance with my newer honda sedan that replaced my Mz3. No rear wiper.

I’d do a bit more investigation. Clean everything up and then try and have someone spray water at the door while you sit inside. You may need to pull the door panel off the inside of the door to get a good look at it. Make sure the door gasket is in good condition and making contact all the...

As to what theblooms said the 1st gen Mazda 5 (and Mazda 3, and probably lots of other Mazda models) had a really terrible low beam lamp retention system. I refer to it as Satan’s headlamp retention clip. The common errors which occur are: - not having the tab on the H7 lamp base lined up with...

Yup, if the headlight housings have the motors it means someone swapped them out with the OEM HID housings. Don’t get rid of those, they’re actually good projectors. You can manually level them, though I can’t remember how. I know years ago there were people with Mz3’s that releveled their...

Negusm has a good suggestion. Only similar experience was on an old ‘86 Nissan Sentra. Starter died and we replaced it with a remanufactured one just like I’d done many times in my old ford. The one we installed ended up having a hairline fracture in the case around where the starter drive...

The RMM bolt was the one that gave me fits. It was partially seized with the rubber bushing, so every turn the rubber would turn with it and then push it backwards. Had to do a sliding full body movement on a breaker bar to clear the front tire, then put a 2’ pipe on it. Took nearly 45...

100%. You could drop the money into a retrofit and have amazing OEM quality lighting. You won’t get that from a set of swappable lamps. I’m not against drop in lamps, sometimes they can do just fine. On my old 3 I did some projector modifications to the OEM halogen projector, and used a...

Responded to the old thread you posted in, but some other things to check. -check for a leaky injector causing a dry fuel line -make sure the ECU connectors are firmly seated (has there been any work in that timeframe which would have had them disconnected?) -Double check your battery and ground...

Any chance you’ve pulled the spark plugs to see if there’s a leaky injector? If it’s leaking into the cylinder while parked the fuel line would be drained when it went to start, and might explain why it’s actually working when it gets to the second or third try (after the line has been primed...

I’d think you could buy any aftermarket universal transmission cooler. All it is is a little independent radiator that the transmission fluid runs through. I helped a coworkers (years ago) install a tranny cooler on an older turbo Chrysler he was doing some mods on. The universal one just sat...

I suppose. Realistically I’ll drive on that piece until it breaks and causes more vibration. I’m betting that saved money will get me through until I replace the van in the next 1-4 years. The stock mount was toast, so I’m pretty sure a fresh mount will do just fine for awhile.