I made a similar post on reddit about this and someone commented that the dirty copper windings and the incorrectly-reassembled housing could be due to a customer's taking the unit apart, swapping the Denso's remanufactured guts with his own alternator's broken guts, putting the unit back...
Ha... Sorry, I should have given the deets - and one other fun item.
The new unit went in easily and once we buttoned everything back up (thanks to taking pictures of my holding every single freaking fastener/clamp/etc next to its original location), I fired up the car and the battery light in...
Thought I'd share my experience replacing the alternator for the first time in the 23 years I've owned my Protege5. It died on me in 21F weather five miles from home on a six-lane road. It took a couple jump starts/charges to get it home and it died for a third time as I coasted into my...
I guess one question I'd have is whether high-octane gas actually fixes the pinging. If it does, then that's as sure a sign as I know that it needs higher-octane gas.
As I mentioned above, the three octane levels common in Dallas are 87, 89, and 93 (91 is not commonly available afaik). 89 and...
I bought the part from my local Mazda dealer, and it came with all the blue and green clips. It didn't come with the rear-most black, plastic rivet, or the one-inch black plastic "'clip" that snaps in place near the top of the arch. Luckily, I was able to harvest both from the vehicle (my...
I got a JDM FSDE replacement engine in my P5. I noticed pinging with 87 octane, especially if I accelerated going up a hill. It's $.30 extra to get 89 octane and another $.30 to get 93 octane here in Dallas. I can pay for the 93 octane because I don't drive much (I work from home and ride my...
Ugh.. At this point, many of us have had our accordion intake hose crack on the bottom allowing unmetered air into the intake. Mine cracked years ago; done by an oil change place when they were checking my air filter to up-sell me. They also broke the handle off the oil dipstick and...
I am also interested in hearing about good axle replacements as I've got some clicks. OEM would be expensive, and I don't know that they're still available for purchase (I think the local dealer said they were not last time I checked). From what I've heard, Cardone refurbs are not good.
IIRC, the cluster has two multi-pin connectors. I wonder if the missing warning lights are all in *one* of the two connectors. Maybe you can plug in the connectors and wiggle them a bit and see if any lights come on?
If you can't fix it, maybe just don't use the brake. I put my manual transmission P5 in 1st or 2nd gear when I park it and I don't set the brake. I learned as a kid that this was a valid option and I've never had a problem in 21 years. If you've got an automatic, you can put it in Park, of...
As a general statement about car-part.com, I had a good experience with my one purchase from a car-part.com-affiliated seller, but I had to be careful. For example, I would see a listing for an MP3 ECU and the vehicle pictured was just a regular Protege - and most listings do not even have pics...
Would a salvage yard be a good option for you? Most P5s I see in my local yards have the original roof rack, but I think later models (2003.5 or Canadian models or something?) may have come with the filler strips. Even if they didn't come that way from the factory, you may find a car that had...
That's fantastic news. :) Not really related, but you made me think of this... Way back at 30k miles, I got my manual transmission fluid replaced *at the dealer*. Car immediately had intermittent trouble shifting, most noticeably from 1st to 2nd. I turned the car around and went back to the...
I've had good luck by replacing three of my four mounts so far with OEM ones, but they were spendy. While I drive spiritedly, I don't shift anywhere near aggressively, so maybe my needs are less.
I was wondering about that radiator as well. Definitely keep an eye for leaking coolant on the ground and the level of coolant in your translucent coolant overflow/reserve tank. Hopefully your hood latch is still secure enough that it won't fly up on you at highway speeds.
I just replaced my...