Just picked up a 02 Protege 5 yesterday. Has a big issue

[mazdarichie]

I knew this one had an issue when I bought it. It smokes something terrible! It runs just fine. Idles fine. Engine makes no strange noises. It just has a constant cloud of smoke coming out the exhaust. I know it's oil. I pulled all 4 plugs and all 4 are oil fouled. The engine has 198,000 miles on it. Could it just be the head or the rings? I am stripping a 03 Protege ES that has a good motor in it. Figure I will just swap out the engine if needed. But I wanted some input before I rip the engine out. Thanks.

 

[KBrian]

could be valve guides or worn rings.

 

[The_big_dill]

Its almost always the rings... the oil passages were poorly designed.

It could also be the valve stem seals.

When removing the engine, make sure to remove the transmission links early on before you forget about them, they are the hardest part from my experience.

 

[mazdarichie]

Its almost always the rings... the oil passages were poorly designed.

It could also be the valve stem seals.

When removing the engine, make sure to remove the transmission links early on before you forget about them, they are the hardest part from my experience.

Thanks for the tip. This will be the first time I will be removing a engine from a Protege. Looks like it will be quite a job.

 

[The_big_dill]

It's much easier than on most cars that I have seen

 

[hornsfan10609]

Could be a head gasket. And a HUGE +1 to the motor being easy to pull, it's like legos compared to most cars.

 

[mazdarichie]

Could be a head gasket. And a HUGE +1 to the motor being easy to pull, it's like legos compared to most cars.

Good! Because I will be pulling 2 of them. The one in my donor car. My 03 ES and the 02 P5.

 

[Maroon]

Odds are that the donor engine will burn oil too. It's very common. I would never go through the effort of swapping this engine without doing rings and the valve seals.

 

[Valk]

plus one on the trans link lol. i had to cut one of mine offand i might need a new shift rod for it if i want to reuse the trans for anything lol. i must have spent an hour trying to cut that fking thing off under the car.. the irony is a few weeks later i baught an angle grinder for another project.
id just swap the engines and not think about it. if you wanted to tear into the smokey on after your car moves, thats all good though.

 

[mazdarichie]

I have no concern for the transmission in the parts ES. It's garbage. Has no fifth gear so it's staying with the car.