NewP5 Owner. Saying Hello!

I just checked my cars and neither of them has a roll damper.
It's just the mount.

My DD was built in September 2001, and my parts car was built in December 2001.


Maybe the roll damper was added on later builds ?
 
This is my front engine mount from my parts car for some reference.















And you can always fix your mount with $20 worth of Window Weld !!








Lift your engine up at the front mount to push the sagging mount up first.

You don't want to weld it up all saggy. Lol
 
It was a bad investment.
I spent way too much on a parts car. ($1500)

So far all I've used is the P-brake cables, the radiator, a window switch, a solenoid valve, the main fuse, some grommets and clips, some nuts and bolts, and the remote control. (which is $184 from Mazda.)


I could have bought all that for far less at the wrecker or Rockauto.

It's a rusty piece of crap and whenever I need a part because it's worn out or rusted all to hell, so is the part on the parts car. Lol


Oh well.
It's mine until the bylaw officer tells me to remove my derelict vehicle. Lol

At least it still looks "whole", with the body still intact.






It has been fun and I did learn a lot.


I remember the day after I got it.
I started it up, put it in neutral, and tromped it!
I wanted to see if it would blow up.
(I have no need for engine parts.)

It wouldn't blow!!

There is some sort of governor on it that wouldn't let it go past 7,200 RPMs.

That was a bit of a letdown.

I wanted to send a rod through the block, or right through the hood. Lol

No such luck.


I should have drained the oil first.
 
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My cat still likes the parts car.
Maybe I'll keep it?
(I'm talking about the car. I'm definitely keeping my cat.)







 
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Our car is listed as an interference engine but I know of only one guy that had bent a valve while countless others have snapped a belt and simply just replaced it.

One guy snapped his belt 3 times and just replaced it with no damage.

For what it's worth, the FS-DE is a non-interference engine, as far as I know. I've never been in there and I've never snapped a belt or done a belt replacement, but that seems to be the consensus from most users. Despite this, it does sound like there have been exceptions.

Ironically, when I double checked and did a search on here, and found a quote from pcb saying that the engine was non-interference. Heh...which pcb do I believe? Who is the impersonator?! 😁

In all seriousness, please do correct me if I'm mistaken.
 
This is the way that I understand it.

Every new FS-DE engine is a non-interference engine.
But over time, both ends of the connecting rods wear and develop slack.
There is just enough slack to have the piston throw up far enough to hit a valve.

I assume that hard driving along with engine braking increases the wear.


When I first got my car and did my timing belt, all the parts suppliers listed the FS-DE engine as an interference engine.

To find out, I cut the timing belt off my parts car and hooked a drill up to my crankshaft, and spun it up.
Then I slowly rotated both camshafts around to see if any pistons would hit a valve and it didn't happen.

This only proves that my parts car is still a non-interference engine but I don't think it's the exception.

I'm pretty sure that more than 95% of our engines are still non-interference engines.

I believe that my DD is non-interference especially with the way I drive it, so I'm not changing my T-Belt again until it snaps.

My test may not have been 100% accurate because my drill only spun the crankshaft at a few hundred RPMs so the pistons may not have had enough inertia to take up any slack and go past normal TDC.
 
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Update. I have been pouring half a can of SeaFoam into the engine every oil change to address the burning oil issue.

It SEEMS to be working! I have been checking the oil level every time I fill up (once a week) to monitor.

Thinking maybe adding half a can of seafoam once a month (1200 miles) to see if that will improve the issue even more.

Until then I have a quart of oil sitting in the trunk as a precaution.
 
Strange thing I noticed today.

I feel pulsations during breaking even though all 4 rotors and brakes were removed. I went to America's tire and have them double check the balance and the lug nuts were installed correctly. They say they didn't find any issues.

The last major thing I on the car was having the rear rotors installed. I don't recall feeling any pulsation right after i installed it....

Any ideas of what it could be?

thanks in advance.
 
Maybe slider pins need lubing on the calipers? Those things cause me so much trouble when they've dried out on me in the past.
 
Make sure you install the lug nuts just hand tight in the proper order (every second lug nut, going in a circle).
Then go around a second time to torque them up.

The lug nuts are tapered and the rotor may not seat square if you don't snug them by hand first.

Maybe clean them with brake cleaner in case some grease or oil got on them.
 
It is very possible that the folks at america's tire didn't follow this technique. I'll try this before checking the slider pins.

Thank you everybody. Happy friday!
Update. Reinstalled the tires and still feel the pulsation in the rear brakes while braking. Next step will be trying to see if the sliding pins needs more lube.

Any additional tips would be greatly appreciated as always.
 
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