Bastian's P5 on a college budget

[NemosMP5]

I can dig the mp5 sticker I'd get one if it was red and not pink

 

[Bastian]

Yeah it looks more red in person. I think it's a bit faded too

 

[JDM_Pro5]

I've had mine on for over a year without fading. It's very red

 

[NemosMP5]

id like to get one for the engine cover...i have the mazdaspeed logo on it right now

 

[Bastian]

lol cameron I think we're talking about very different things. We were talking about the badge in the first picture I posted in post #260

 

[JDM_Pro5]

Oh damn lol. Yeah that pic looks pink, my bad guys

 

[Bastian]

does anyone know anything about that badge? People ask me a lot and I have no clue. It was put on by the previous owner and is one of the great mysteries he left me

 

[bikingpro5]

does anyone know anything about that badge? People ask me a lot and I have no clue. It was put on by the previous owner and is one of the great mysteries he left me

used to be sold on Ebay 3+ years ago, they were originally sold by Protege5 online.com back in 2008ish. Super rare to find new now.

 

[Bastian]

interesting, was protege5online a performance vendor or forum or what?

 

[bikingpro5]

interesting, was protege5online a performance vendor or forum or what?

iirc it was a forum similar to other Mazda forums that also had a few parts and vendors but this is going back to 2004 or so and not sure if it ever had a large community of members.

 

[Bastian]

Ok sweet, thanks for the info. Pretty much what I figured.

 

[Bastian]

rally armor mud flaps are en route

also worked on my gauge lights today... strange things. Does anyone know what kind of bulb the smaller ones are?

I know the larger ones are 194. The local autoparts store didn't carry the smaller ones but I replaced the two 194s.

 

[JDM_Pro5]

I can recall the name. Just grab a pack of the small peanut lights at your autostore. That's what I did and replaced them all in the parking lot. I also took off all of the red, rubber condoms so it was brighter

 

[Bastian]

local autoparts store didn't carry them (boom06)

I ended up figuring out what I needed and ordered them online. I took the rubber sleeves off of the two center bulbs for now, and it definitely brightens them up, but it's too orange for me. I honestly don't mind the lights being on the dim side, it actually kind of hurts my eyes if they're any brighter. Me and my sensitive blue eyes lol

Parking brake cable was screwed up and I got that fixed today. Both rear cables were replaced because they were stretched and sticking. Now it actually holds the cars on hills... lol
Yeah, turns out my "seized caliper" was actually the parking brake. My mistake (headshake

Also, quick question: how much play in the shifter is normal for our cars? On my P5, in third gear the knob can be moved side to side about 3 inches. If that is unusual, what would the problem likely be?

 

[Ubel Knubel]

Bastian, I'm 16 and I drive a P5 as well. All the problems you've had, I've had with mine. Especially the seized brake caliper. The only strange part is that I live in Tennessee so who knows why it seized up but it did. Even better I have small rust spots on the rear panels above the wheels and my wheels are beat all to heck. I have a bad clutch and so whenever I'm driving around with my Mazda buddies they always smoke me because I can't shift fast enough because the stupid clutch! (not to mention my tires aren't the best either) It's nice to know I'm not the only teenager on here!

 

[31N007]

@Bastian im not an expert but wouldn't play mean a shift gate is out of wack? :S again, I dont know jack about transmissions. Its good that you fixed the brake issue!

@Ubel I kind of wonder how many people who own p5s (or any Mazda) on here are under 18. I got mine a month before I turned 18. Either way, welcome mate

Oh, and I made a phone mount thing out thing of Lego I'll have to snap a pic of my phone in it this evening. Im kinda embarrassed about it but you know what, im proud about it

 

[Installshield 2]

local autoparts store didn't carry them (boom06)

I ended up figuring out what I needed and ordered them online. I took the rubber sleeves off of the two center bulbs for now, and it definitely brightens them up, but it's too orange for me. I honestly don't mind the lights being on the dim side, it actually kind of hurts my eyes if they're any brighter. Me and my sensitive blue eyes lol

Parking brake cable was screwed up and I got that fixed today. Both rear cables were replaced because they were stretched and sticking. Now it actually holds the cars on hills... lol
Yeah, turns out my "seized caliper" was actually the parking brake. My mistake (headshake

Also, quick question: how much play in the shifter is normal for our cars? On my P5, in third gear the knob can be moved side to side about 3 inches. If that is unusual, what would the problem likely be?

Shifter play in my car with similar miles to yours is less than 2 inches in any gear...although, i removed the lever extension 3 days after i bought the car new in 2002...So if you have the full stock shift lever still in place, 3 inches may not be that bad...If you haven't done it yet, i'd recommend Redline MT-90 Gear oil...the gear box takes just under 3 quarts, and that stuff is magic...it won't remove any play or anything, but will definitely slow down wear if you're starting to approach some service limits...

More importantly though...you mentioned 3rd gear only, does that have considerably more play than other gears? Ideally, they should all be mostly the same...also, does the car ever pop out of gear when you let off the gas when moving?

The g-series gearboxes in these cars are internally gated, but a few things can cause play outside of the gearbox itself (hence the question on popping out of gear)...Mazda used some pretty crappy rubber bushings where the shift rod connects to the fork arm outside of the gearbox...which definitely can wear out and cause a lot of annoying shifting issues (play, binding, vibration, etc.)...there is also some busings at the bottom (under the fulcrum, beneath the car, above the midpipe) of the shift lever that can wear out, too...

If all those things check out...it could be a sign of one of the internal shift forks and/or collars beginning to wear out...fork wear will eventually result in the car not staying in gear when letting off throttle...and it becomes more common in 1st, 3rd and 5th gear, where engine rocking pulls it out of gear (rather than tries to 'push' it farther into gear as it would in 2nd and 4th, if that makes sense)...don't get too worried about it right away, luckily mazda used that g-series box in a ton of cars...and simply finding a good used gear box is usually just a few hundred dollars anymore...and if you have access to a good trans shop, the parts to replace are not terribly expensive...you'll pay mostly for labor...

lastly...make sure you are never resting your hand on the shifter when driving...that is the primary cause of excessive fork/collar wear...obviously you had no control on that before you owned it, but making sure you won't do that will ensure it takes a very long time for the problem to get much worse...

 

[Bastian]

I only mention third gear because I use it most often. After driving the car today, I'd say the play is closer to ~2 inches. All gears are the same. That's a good tip about resting your hand on the shifter, I'll keep it in mind. I'll also probably check my bushings.

edit: The car never pops out of gear

 

[Bastian]

Bastian, I'm 16 and I drive a P5 as well. All the problems you've had, I've had with mine. Especially the seized brake caliper. The only strange part is that I live in Tennessee so who knows why it seized up but it did. Even better I have small rust spots on the rear panels above the wheels and my wheels are beat all to heck. I have a bad clutch and so whenever I'm driving around with my Mazda buddies they always smoke me because I can't shift fast enough because the stupid clutch! (not to mention my tires aren't the best either) It's nice to know I'm not the only teenager on here!

Well the P5 is definitely a good car to start with! I've had mine for almost two years now. Just turned 18 over the summer, so now I can do so many more things. Like go to jail. lol

Oh, and I made a phone mount thing out thing of Lego I'll have to snap a pic of my phone in it this evening. Im kinda embarrassed about it but you know what, im proud about it

I MUST SEE THIS. I friggin love Legos, those things were all over my bedroom floor as a kid. They just put a Lego store in the mall near me, and I always drag my friends in there.... hahahaha

 

[31N007]

New thread idea!??

https://skydrive.live.com/redir?resid=50C06A9C62DCD437!867&authkey=!AAH753VE-xKinN0

https://skydrive.live.com/redir?resid=50C06A9C62DCD437!868&authkey=!AFrHQyj0bMEgnIM

I have a pic of my phone in the cradle, im just waiting to get my friends email...

Ill post up some more pics of other creations

I meant to post that in the "what have you done" thread but I was so tired this morning, I didnt realize that I was posting it here! Nevertheless, at least it didnt go unrecognized!

You can smoke now too, I heard its all the rage. And its easy as hell to stop and you'll live longer (something my boss said when I turned 18...)