For all proteges: Info about our ride

[stivine6]

Hey guys, i know we have a "high milege club" but i also want to know in addition to the mileage of your protege

1: Auto or Manual
2: Does it have original motor and transmission?
3: How many times has the timing belt/water pump been replaced?
4: How does your protege run right now? Any problems? (Ex: Burning oil, leaks)
5: How bad your rust is?

Any additional details/warning you can think of would be nice

This will help us have some knowledge about the potential we have for these car's compared to one another or any issues we should becareful about.

I'll start off with mine: 2001 Mazda Protege ES 2.0L with 228,600km or 142,045 miles

1: Auto
2: Original Motor and transmission
3: One timing belt change i believe (not sure when since i bought it from a dealer)
4: Runs great, no oil burning or funny leaks
5: Minor rust in both fenders (bubbling) only up close. Been spraying corrosion free and greasing up the areas to slow it down.

 

[CiviCity]

2003 Mazda Protege ES 2.0L with 45 650 KM or 28 986 miles

1) Auto with tiptronic
2) Original Motor and Transmission
3) Never changed
4) Runs perfect
5) No rust except near driver side wheel where the mudguard was. Been putting anti-rust every year.

 

[tyman108]

2000 Mazda Protege SE 1.6L with about 150,000KM

1) Auto
2) Original Motor and Transmission
3) Never changed
4) Runs perfect
5) rust on both rear wheel panel, rocker panel, and on the inside of the door, i am slowly trying to get ride of all the rust right now.

 

[CXPoet]

2000 Mazda Protege LX 1.6l with 205,000 miles

Auto
original engine and tranny(just replaced pre cat)
never changed( to my knowledge)
Runs great although a bit weak on innitial acceleration
rust on trunk edge and small leak somewhere in the trunk seal...

Just got it and I know there is quite a bit of work to be done to it, but all in all not a bad car.

 

[tweety2300]

01 mp3 #1474 170k miles

Original motor and trans

Timing belt changed at 155k still original water pump

Slow as hell, burns a quart every 600-1000 miles, rear struts are worthless Monroe's, 2nd synchro is starting to go, and many more. It's being traded in soon or getting a full rebuild

No rust though

 

[zoom zoom sp20]

2002 mazda Astina BJII SP20
New coils, spark plugs, leads
No rust
Original motor
Original Auto
52,000km
Excellent condition for age

 

[lolwut]

2001 DX 154k miles

Manual
Original trans/engine/clutch
To my knowledge neither have been replaced
Runs like a champ, but has a minor oil leak
Rust free!

 

[stivine6]

good info guys, a few with very low milege totally awesome. Ones with higher milege what kind of preventative maintenance do you guys do or look out for?

Also just changed my timing belt at 230k km and belt/water pump looked to be in good shape. Car is running a bit smoother and quieter ;P

 

[Installshield 2]

2002 Protege 5 manual w/ ~155,000 miles...had 2 summers with a completely different engine installed...which had another transaxle...but it was only temporarily wired with a motec ECU...so...the gauge cluster never worked, and it never recorded any miles haha.

Original clutch and flywheel, but both are on the list of replacements for this winter.
New coils, plugs, and wires.
Front struts replaced at 140,000 miles rears remain the same with Tein S-tech springs for most of the cars life
original wheel bearings, still seemingly in good shape.
original water pump, thermostat, and all accessories/pumps
just changed drive belts last tuesday for the first time, was slipping when cold noticeably.

replaced the timing belt at 35,000 miles when i installed the JDM cam set, but NOT the tensioner. Tensioner died at around 80,000 miles and destroyed the belt. So on my third belt, 2nd tensioner.

Mobil 1 changes every 5 to 6k miles since i bought it, with a KL V6 mobil 1 filter. Doesn't leak a drop of oil, and burns less than half a quart between changes.
On my third run of Redline Mt-90 gear oil, box feels brand new.

the only 'bad' stuff this car ever had was brake related. Seized 2 rear calipers within the first 3 years of ownership. Replaced all calipers with a kit from protegegarage using parts from other mazdas...sort of a 'small big brake kit', if you could call it that. No problems with any of those replaced parts in 90,000 miles...but with much more maintenance on my part. I used to grind the pads down to bare metal like an asshole...i paid for that...

and the rust...I have very little rust overall, but a little bubbling on the driver's side rear fender well. I also have a ugly crease of rust on the forward section of the passenger front wheel well (near the engine mount at that location)...but only in the engine bay, its happening i think from condensation dripping from the AC system. Both of these problems are getting addressed this winter during the clutch install.

in 11 years this car has only ever thrown two codes. One was the secondary O2 sensor after a header install, on the way to buy the non-foulers to prevent it. The other was recently a bunch of P0300 codes related to a dying coil pack.

 

[tradosaurus]

Bought my 2000 Protege LX with 130,000 on the odometer in Dec of 2011.

1) Manual
2) Has original motor and transmission
3) I replaced timing belt/water pump at 132,000 miles. It appeared that it was never changed before that.
4) My Protege runs pretty good. The idle fluctuates mildly. I think I need an IAC valve but the cost doesn't warrant the change.
5) One spot on the passenger side had a rust spot where there was a paint chip coming off. I sanded it down and applied some putty that was a close match to the paint.*

I believe if you wax your car at least once a year the rust issues will be minimal.*

I've also changed the intake manifold gasket which seemed to clear up the car dying at idle.

 

[tradosaurus]

Double post

 

[Installshield 2]

Bought my 2000 Protege LX with 130,000 on the odometer in Dec of 2011.

1) Manual
2) Has original motor and transmission
3) I replaced timing belt/water pump at 132,000 miles. It appeared that it was never changed before that.
4) My Protege runs pretty good. The idle fluctuates mildly. I think I need an IAC valve but the cost doesn't warrant the change.
5) One spot on the passenger side had a rust spot where there was a paint chip coming off. I sanded it down and applied some putty that was a close match to the paint.*

I believe if you wax your car at least once a year the rust issues will be minimal.*

I've also changed the intake manifold gasket which seemed to clear up the car dying at idle.

yeah agreed. I've used Zaino bros. products for most of my car's life. I never went overboard with the 10 layers or whatever some guys do, but try to keep up with it once or twice a year. Thats not a 'wax', but a polish...with a lot of marketing behind it i'm not interested in...but it has done a good job of keeping my paint in great shape. No fading, sun spots, and almost no rust around any of the small chips towards the front end. the only rust i have body wise started inside the wheel well.

Another thing i forgot to mention. If you're in saltier areas, or where salt is used on roads in the winter. At least once a year get under the front end and release pretty much any chassis bolt you can find, then retorque them to factory specs. The control arms are held onto the sub frame by a series of bolts and a bracket that, if they snap inside the frame, guys were drilling out their flooring in the front foot wells...NOT a good time from what i've seen. 90% of the things that make this car difficult to work on are seized nuts and bolts that are hard to reach (therefor even harder to deal with when they get messed up)...just spending an hour every half year to go over a few things with it up on stands will prevent major problems if you like to do stuff yourself.

 

[MixManMash]

2002 Protege ES w/ GT Package, 311,350 kms (193,463 miles). Purchased brand new July 2003.

1. Manual
2. Original Engine and Transmission. Even the original clutch!
3. Timing Belt has been replaced 3 times. The original water pump failed around 169,000 kms, at which time I changed the timing belt for the second time. Since then, I have decided to change the water pump at every timing belt change which I have done every 96,000 kms since the water pump failure. The part is not that expensive and the labour is the same anyways.
4. Runs great, no burning or leaks. Only problem is rust.
5. The rust is getting pretty bad. It didn't matter that my car was waxed & washed regularly. With the roads being salted more aggressively in winter during the past 3-4 years, the rust has progressed. I had a chat with a local body shop that does a fair bit of work with Mazdas and it's all in how Mazda joins 2 panels. Water gets trapped and it rusts from the inside out. Currently, both rear wheel wells are badly rusted, the rear bumper fascia attachment points are non-existent (I got creative with zip ties to hold the fascia tightly. There is even a hole that has allowed water to get kicked up into the jack storage area (jack is now rusted in place). I have a little bit of rust showing on the inside bottom of all 4 doors, a little bit of bubbling on the front fenders by the mud guards, and some rust by the windshield. There is a little bit of rust in the engine compartment too. I'll take some pictures and post them here.

Quite frankly, it will be the rust that kills this car. I plan to drive till it is no longer safe (i.e. rust around suspension mount points, door latch points, etc).

 

[stivine6]

^ ouch that is a ton of rust! Did you ever rust proof it?

Here in Toronto they use a lot of salt, I think my car is managing pretty good with a few minor rust spots around the wheel wells. It was like that when I bought it so nothing I can really do but to apply some grease all over the fenders and rustproof underneath. Seems so work for now

 

[MixManMash]

^ ouch that is a ton of rust! Did you ever rust proof it?

Here in Toronto they use a lot of salt, I think my car is managing pretty good with a few minor rust spots around the wheel wells. It was like that when I bought it so nothing I can really do but to apply some grease all over the fenders and rustproof underneath. Seems so work for now

Only had it done once when it was brand new, but never since. I definitely will in future vehicles. The key is to have it done yearly.

Most of the Proteges in Edmonton & Calgary have varying degrees of rust. The lower mileage ones have less, higher mileage ones have more. I found one with 60,000 kms for sale with 0 rust.

It's at the point for me where it just isn't worth fixing the rust. To fix it properly is probably a couple of grand, plus I'm not sure what they can do around the windshield. I'll drive it till it's just not safe.

That said, my previous vehicle, (1992 Pontiac Sunbird) had way less rust. It was only the bottom of the doors that would rust (very common on the GM J-bodies of that era). I drove that thing to 290,000 kms and probably could have driven it more if I went ahead and fixed the ignition coil pack / igniter module. But $600 in parts, plus the fact the car was rusting, and needed new tires/brakes/struts in short order made my decision easy. That and the fact that it was a 3 speed auto and not that pleasing to drive.

 

[CTt3P5]

mixmanmash...seeing those pics makes me sad.

2002 Protege5....2nd owner....bought with 67,xxx miles back in Jan. of 2006, as of today she has 167,767 miles on the odometer

1: Auto

2: Original motor and transmission

3: To the best of my knowledge they are original as I've never changed them.

4: She is running ok, rear main seal has been leaking for about two years now. I've never noticed any drips/puddles under the car so just letting it ride for now. Developed an irritating front suspension noise recently that I finally got diagnosed as the ps pump on its way out. It does groan when turning the wheel but front end also groans when going over speed bumps...don't think that is ps pump related? Three mechanics couldn't replicate the noise (?) and all suspension parts are tight but did find out the cv boot on PS front had small tear. 3rd mechanic said it looks like it's recent and not a major concern now (will pass inspection) and he claims it's not the cause to my current noise. T-stat, rad hoses, rad cap and coolant sensor were changed around 130K due to a failed t-stat while driving to work, going to replace all with exception of the sensor when I replace the rad which has a small leak on the top. Just failed inspection for torn motor mounts (front and PS) so replacing the front with CS inserts and both sides with AWR 70 durometer inserts...not touching the rear because it's a PITA. DS rear caliper froze (only one thankfully) and I've replaced the front pads/rotors three times and rear pads/rotors twice. DS front LCA was replaced last year and no issues with the others or wheel bearings to date. All I can think of for now but all-in-all she's been pretty reliable and done what I've asked.

5: Rust is evil! Never saw it for the longest time and thought I might get lucky seeing that I live in the NE but I was unable to escape it's inevitable grasp. Both rear quarter panels and rocker panels have rust as well as the PS strut tower in the engine bay. The PS quarter and rocker panels were fixed last year after a guy backed right into it in a parking lot and knocked what little was left out and left me with a hole that would not have passed state inspection.

 

[tyman108]

my water pump just went and need to get it replaced now

 

[Tay9969]

2000 Mazda Protege ES 200,000 miles on the car

1. Manual
2. 40,000 mile Japanese imported 1.8 engine with original tranny
3. No changes on the belt or pump on either motor
4. Old motor ran like a champ till it blew (was not the motors fault) new motor runs great
5. No rust except for a little bubble on the rear passenger wheel arch. Been using anti-rust in the engine bay and wheel wells. New trunk lid, old one had rust from the spoiler to the bumper. Looks great now

 

[limey]

1999 Protege 1.6LX, 124,000 miles
1: Manual
2: Does it have original motor and transmission - yes.
3: Timing belt at 60,000 miles with original owner, not sure on the water pump, auto shops are pushing for timing belt change now
4: Runs fine, no leaks
5: Only rust I've noticed is slight rust around one of the door frames, no other rust apparent

 

[iracemine]

3/4 2002 P5 2.0L 1/4 protege LX, 16K mi
1)manual
2)stock tranny (- third gear and syncros, two forks separate times, and two selecting parts) till two months ago stock motor
3)Stock everything all the way down to the spark plugs. T-belt still looks good. will be putting it back in wend motor comes back
4)Ran great! Smoked bad on start up, and out of corners (race track corners that is)
5)Saw one winter and two summers, the rest of its life it sat in a garage. Hence no rust but bad smoking issue.

Now it just gets towed to the track where it gets beat. at lest 3K of those miles are on track miles.

Will be buying another P5 to daily drive. will post up stats about that rustmobile.