Cylinder 4 Spark Plug Keeps Blowing

I forgot all about that screw falling, much more reason to look in the cylinder and look at the piston. Maybe stick a magnet in there.
 
magnet.jpg


These come in handy at these times.
 
I forgot all about that screw falling, much more reason to look in the cylinder and look at the piston. Maybe stick a magnet in there.

You have to take apart the manifold and look behind where the ports start at. My flap was stuck sitting right in there. I had to get some pliers and get them out. What's causing the piston to rise up and hit the spark plug is the screw that holds the flap. Should be good to go after words
 
Nah, not yet. I'm about half way through to getting the head off. There is just a few things I'm having trouble with removing.

Any pointers for getting the bottom side bolts for the intake mani?
 
Nah, not yet. I'm about half way through to getting the head off. There is just a few things I'm having trouble with removing.

Any pointers for getting the bottom side bolts for the intake mani?

I would've started with just removing the spark plug and sticking a magnet down in there to see if anything came out. Did you do this?
 
After thinking about it more and getting a txt from Neox suggesting to pull the IM and go fishing with a magnent before I pulled the entire head, I changed my game plan for the car. Once I got off of work, I was going straight to it.

Ok so I picked up a normal magnant wand from my lovely gf since the one I bought was too fat and was able to actually stick it all the way into the cylinder. As soon as it went in "tink" so I pulled it and and what do I find?
DSC02627.jpg


My first thought "What in THE **** is that?" So then I started undoing the top of the IM to see if the butterflies were still in tact. Pulled it off to find this...
DSC02628.jpg

DSC02629.jpg


Hmm, ok? So all the screws and butterflies are in place? I flipped the IM over to see the other side...
DSC02630.jpg


Hmm, whats this?
DSC02631.jpg


2 screws missing. Those are tiny screws though, they couldn't of made all that metal I found in the cylinder. Then I realized, wait a second, those screws are suppose to be holding something! So I run my fingers inside, nothing. Go back to the car to check out the bottom part and...
DSC02633.jpg

DSC02632.jpg


WOW! Are you serious!!
DSC02634.jpg


They were just chilling there, totally loose. I couldn't believe it! Wait, a second, wheres the fourth one? More digging...
DSC02635.jpg


WOWOWOWOWOWOW!! 3 quarters of this ****** are gone! This must of been slowly been letting little pieces inside my motor over the last couple of months!

DSC02636.jpg

DSC02637.jpg


Well, I can't see any damage to the top of the piston, so I'm gonna put everything back together, remove the screws and butterflies, do a compression check to make sure everything is cool, and hope thats the end of this stupid ass problem.

Mazda design fail.

As she sits currently
DSC02638.jpg


SOOOOOO happy to finally know why the **** this was happening!!! Whooo!!!!
 
awesome.

did you say after a text from neox? isn't this exactly what i told you to do from the beginning? screw, or the flapper. exactly what i said.

w/e glad you fixed your issue.
 
These were the ones under the TSB or what ever right... If so does your vin fall under the ones Mazda deemed as problematic?

I ask this, wondering if this is something all of us should be looking out for/removing... I know its been around for a while and well known, but it was my understanding this was only a problem in the cars mazda listed.
 
Last edited:
Here's the official word...

My 2003 Proteg does not apply to the 3005C Intake Manifold Shutter recall, but I'm
worried that my intake manifold has the same defect. What can I do?
Your Proteg does not apply to the recall because Mazda has determined that when your
car was manufactured, the defective intake manifolds were not used. This maybe untrue
however since several owners have reported the same issues as what is outlined in the
recall but their car does not apply to it. There are only two options for you in this case:
do nothing and most likely nothing will happen, however when it does hope that your car
is still under warranty and a Mazda dealership will perform the necessary repairs for you.
Or take preventative measures by following everything mentioned in the recall
proceedures at your own expense. If you have determined on your own that the intake
manifold's shutter valve screws are loose, you will need to replace the screws. You will
need to order the recall gasket kit FSY1-13-SRZ. The kit's contents are:
FSJ2-13-111A intake manifold gasket
FS7N-13-135 intake manifold plenum gasket
JE27-20-305A EGR valve gasket
FP87-13-655 throttle body gasket
FS1J-20-109 shutter valve screws (16)
If the screws or shutter valves are missing, then engine damage may have occured. If no
engine damage has occured, then the intake manifold will need to be replaced with
FSY3-13-SRY. It retails for approximately $220 USD which is a substantial discount
from a regular replacement intake manifold.

If you have a MazdaSpeed Proteg, it does not apply to the recall at all because the
intake manifold shutter design is different and is more robust.
 
Back